Images of Eyes Gallery I
Celtic Knot Art work, Drawings
Peadar McDaid
Ireland

Peadar McDaid is one of Ireland's foremost Celtic artists, and he is well-known throughout his home county of Donegal and the north of Ireland.  His Celtic art work quickly became familiar to a wider audience through the designs of his distinctive festival posters.  A self-taught award-winning artist, Peadar lives and works in his hometown of Letterkenny.  His interest in Celtic drawings started back in 1983 when he came upon a copy of the "Book of Kells" in his school library.

He was enthralled with the art work of the monks and started to copy the small corner designs gradually moving onto the large more complex designs.  His love of art and his hunger for all things Celtic grew stronger.  Ireland's mythical past and legends offered an ever-present wealth of inspiration and became the foundation and theme of his art.  He has worked to create his own unique style.  In a world where color is the norm the thought-filled black-and-white images made up of lines, dots, Celtic knots and curves flow together to give a strong and bold vision that are as captivating as they are striking.

He has designed (or accepted commissions for) art work, sculpture, jewelry, posters, limited edition plates, and he has produced works for many books and magazines and Thames Television.

Peadar's Celtic art work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Ireland, Japan, and United States.

Image1

"A Tree for You and I" by Peadar McDaid
Image Copyright © by Peadar McDaid

Image2

"Dark Roseleen" by Peadar McDaid
Image Copyright © by Peadar McDaid

Image3

"Knottman" by Peadar McDaid of Ireland
Image Copyright © by Peadar McDaid

Image4

"Magical" by Peadar McDaid
Image Copyright © by Peadar McDaid 

Several attempts to locate any other website containing Peadar McDaid's artwork failed, as did a search for an email address.  We did learn that McDaid is the illustrator of "Irish Love Poems" by Dánta Grá, edited by Paula Redes, published by Hippocrene Books Inc, 171 Madison Av, New York NY 10016, available from internet sources.  There are numerous websites where traditional and other Celtic drawings can be viewed.  

For more Irish artwork, see the nude paintings by Tomas O'Maoldomhnaigh in Gallery II.

See also ink drawings by Maciej Gador and Galina Lukshina in Gallery I.

Originally published Sep 14, 2001.  Republished Apr 12, 2008, with minor edits. 

Celtic art - Art of the ancient and medieval Celtic peoples who spread over Europe in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.  They produced sophisticated metalwork, stone and wood carving, and illuminated manuscripts, decorating these objects with a variety of geometrical, knotted, and spiral designs, stylized animals and human figures.  They took motifs from Italy, Greece and the east, and exploited repoussé and inlay techniques, on bronze, silver and gold.  The entire period is divided into two phases: early Celtic, made in Western Europe during the La Tene period (c. 450 B.C. to the first century A.D.), and later Celtic, made chiefly in the British Isles A.D. c. 100 to c. 650.  Celtic art's final flowering occurred in Ireland during the early Middle Ages (A.D. 650).   [Used with permission from ArtLex Dictionary of Art-- Copyright © Michael Delahunt]

Text and image from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Celtic knots are a variety of (endless) knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, first known to have been used by the Celts.  Though Celtic knots were being created in pre-Christian times, these knots are most known for their use in the ornamentation of Christian monuments and manuscripts like the 8th century Book of Kells.

Not much history of the knots is available before the beginning of the Christian influence on the Celts in about A.D. 450.  There is much evidence for the use of geometric patterns as ornamentation particularly in jewelry before that time.  Some historians have theorized that early Celtic religion prevented their depicting creatures realistically, similar, then, to the Islamic prohibition, which gave rise to the development of Arabic calligraphy.  Still, Chinese and Japanese calligraphy seemed to arise simply from an aesthetic sense and needed no such prohibition to encourage its development.

The same pre-Christian designs found their way into early Christian manuscripts and artwork with the addition of depictions from life, such as animals, plants and even humans.  In the beginning the patterns were intricately interwoven cords, called plaits, which can also be found in other areas of Europe, like Italy in the 6th century.  A fragment of a Gospel Book, now in the Durham Cathedral library and created in northern Britain in the 7th century, contains the earliest example of true knotted designs in the Celtic manner.

It should be noted that some scholars believe the forms known as Celtic knots may actually be Norse in origin.  This theory draws support from the well-accepted idea that the Celts readily adapted ideas from cultures which conquered them or otherwise intermingled.

---This knot, a modern take on Celtic artwork, shown in Wikipedia, was designed and drawn by Sasha Kopf.  See more of her intricate Celtic art at http://www.tapirtype.com/Celtic_Knots/index.html. The text and image are courtesy of Wikipedia Encyclopedia, reproduced here with thanks.

Page updated Dec 28, 2008

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