WILDLIFE artist Jessica Pettit-Mee is set to debut her collection entitled ‘Homecoming’ at West Cork Crafts in Skibbereen later this month.
Jessica, who is also known as ‘Jessica Ivy’, works with charcoal and soft pastel to create wildlife pictures and her collection is a reflection of the emotions she felt during the pandemic.
‘Much of my time was spent walking through the quiet woods,’ Jessica told The Southern Star.
‘I’ve used materials taken directly from the land for example inks made from the hedgerows of West Cork and imprints of fallen leaves.’
These natural hedgerow inks are a major element within Jessica’s collection. All of her work is made with charcoal and soft pastel, as well as the occasional gold leaf creation.
Each piece within the collection includes four unique materials – charcoal, pastel, gold leaf, and natural inks – which speak to Jessica’s combination of traditional and modern art styles.
Jessica grew up in Clonakilty where she attended Scared Heart Secondary School before heading to UCC and then St John’s College where she studied graphic design.
It was the rolling West Cork landscape, the striking coastline, and awe-inspiring countryside’s that captured Jessica’s artistic spirit from a young age and from here she developed her self-taught style of painting with ethereal qualities. Jessica focuses on highlighting the realism of a subject while noting its more abstract traits, and specialises in producing beauty from her charcoal and soft pastels.
Her debut ‘Homecoming’ exhibition takes place on October 23rd at West Cork Crafts in Skibbereen.
Her work can also be seen at www.jessicaivy.ie or Instagram at Jessica.ivy.wildlifeart.
