North Ayrshire: Irvine artist's new exhibition on Cumbrae

The ‘Outwith’ exhibition features a showcase of work by talented Irvine-based artist Kevin
O’Rourke, and is now open.

‘Outwith’ takes its inspiration from the Scottish word meaning ‘outside or beyond’.

Artist Kevin is no stranger to the arts scene as when he’s not unleashing his creativity, he’s the caretaker at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine.

Kevin said: “Having already displayed my works recently at the HAC, I am delighted that 'Outwith’ has now made the journey over to Millport as the Garrison is such a historic and prominent venue.”

Kevin has always been an artist. From Glasgow, Covent Garden in London, France, Switzerland and Guernsey, his work has been all over the world.

Outwith boundaries: Kevin O'Rourke at a previous exhibition (Image: NAC) However, during the pandemic, when galleries closed and everyone was focused on staying safe at home, Kevin looked inward, creating experimental works closer to home.

Kevin added: “Covid completely changed my approach and style.

"The works on display at ‘Outwith’ reflect the times during Covid when everything was in lockdown and the outdoors became more essential than ever.

“Since Covid, I think I’m experimenting more trying out different mediums but mostly
I turned to landscapes in my latest works which I hadn’t really explored before.

The challenge of Covid pushed Kevin to explore local landscapes for art inspiration and hopes it encourages people to visit these climes (Image: NAC) “Spending time outdoors continues to be vital for my health and wellbeing and the pandemic allowed me to look closer to home for inspiration.

“The lockdowns definitely made me appreciate our own landscapes here in North Ayrshire we really are lucky and hopefully the work I have on display will encourage visitors to also explore our amazing coastline."

Entry is free.

The exhibition is open from 9am to 5pm (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday), Tuesday 9am to 6pm and weekends 9am to 3pm.