Northern Irish fauna Collection
Animals and birds
A collection of black & white and colour sketches representing some of the most common Northern Irish birds and animals.
Belfast built heritage Collection
Belfast sculptures
A collection of black & white sketches showcasing some of Belfast’s gargoyles, grotesques and sculptures that adorn the city’s historic buildings.
The studio at Maghernahare
Unique sketches and art from the north coast of Northern Ireland
Damien Maddalena was born in Belfast in 1967 and studied graphic design at the University of Ulster, Belfast. He has over 30 years studio experience in creative agencies working on graphic, web and digital design projects. In 2017 he returned to a favoured past time from his art college days and began sketching.
Damien’s style is a form of scribble art and combines precision with looser, expressive marks. He uses everyday media, typically ballpoint pen and paper, to demonstrate that art can be unpretentious and accessible. He believes that a biro is a more relevant and intuitive mark-making tool than a paintbrush and can reach broader audiences. In a twist, Damien notes that reproductions of his work have greater longevity than his originals and is a reflection of how technology is influencing how art is produced and shared. Damien also experiments with paint and his style is a combination of loose mark-making with a palette knife, as well as creating impasto textures and applying finer details with brushes.
He has produced a collection of works based on three main themes:
- native Northern Irish wildlife, with a focus on those species that are endangered or under threat;
- local birds typically spotted in garden and nature settings;
- gargoyles, grotesques and sculptures of Belfast, exploring the curious creatures and personalities that adorn the city’s built heritage from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
