Talking Nature's Place in An Urban World with Niamh O'Brien

In a world where most people would overlook the common city companions; pigeons, Niamh O'Brien stops to capture them in her art. Inspired by the often overlooked characters of urban life, Niamh's work blends everyday mundanity with a semi surrealist style.

At 22 years-old, Niamh has already carved out a distinct style as a self-taught artist. Born in Edinburgh and now based in Glasgow’s East End, she splits her time between a day job and as many hours as possible spent painting. Her love for art goes back to her childhood, but it was during lockdown that she truly committed to developing her practice, using the sudden stillness as an opportunity to return to what made her happiest and push her skills further.

Talking Nature's Place in An Urban World with

Niamh O'Brien

When did pigeons become such a central subject in your work?

I found I loved painting birds in general a couple years ago, however it was my move to Glasgow that began my obsession with the pigeons. The iridescent colours that can be found in their feathers, the way they move and hold themselves is fascinating. 

What is it specifically about Glasgow’s pigeon population that fascinates you to the point of using them as a muse?

I found myself in a city I didn't know all too well and having grown up in a small town outside of Edinburgh, I found it all incredibly daunting. But I would go for walks and see the pigeons roaming the same streets I did. I found a certain understanding in these birds as they were such small creatures in such a large and confusing place and yet they continued to persist regardless. 

Do you think people overlook or even dislike pigeons, and what do you hope to highlight about them through your art? 

Absolutely! When I would sell my prints at markets a large number of the people who would come up to ask about my work were confused or downright baffled that I was finding beauty in something they ignored or even hated. But that’s part of what I love about painting the subjects that I paint. There is something really fulfilling about showing someone a piece or art that represents something that they dislike, resent, or are frightened of and changing their perspective on it. At the end of the day they are just animals, like us, trying to survive, and through my art I hope I have shown people the sympathetic side of a species that's been largely ill treated. 

How would you describe your painting style, has it evolved over time?

My painting style has definitely evolved, especially over the last two years or so. I find it hard to put a name to my art style, but I generally describe it as semi surrealism. I try to make my art feel mostly grounded but obviously the addition of a pigeon or two into a still life scene creates a slightly absurd atmosphere which I love to try and capture as best as I can.

You often combine semi surrealist pieces with the mundane of everyday life, what inspired this mix?

I really enjoy painting still lifes, objects, snippets from day-to-day life. But by centring them around pigeons, especially situations where you would not ordinarily find the birds, it creates a new understanding of the scene. Something so mundane as an office cubicle or a bathroom now feels large, unusual and overwhelming when viewed from the perspective of an animal it is not built for. And as someone who finds a great deal of difficulty understanding the modern world as it exists today I find comfort in projecting that into my compositions.

Has moving from Edinburgh to Glasgow influenced your creative practice in any unexpected ways?

The move from my home town on the outskirts of Edinburgh to Glasgow was a big one and it definitely affected the way I view myself and my work. Going from somewhere rural and comparatively sparsely populated to the biggest city in Scotland was absolutely going to change the way I practiced my art and the things that I focused on. I also found the artist community in Glasgow to be overwhelmingly kind and welcoming. There are so many opportunities for creatives to pursue their passions here and I’m very proud to call this city my home now.

Cities are often seen as places where nature is pushed to the edges. How do you think your work challenges or reframes that idea?

They absolutely are and with every expansion, every new road, building and housing development that gets built, there is less room for the natural world to fit into this space anymore. It can be overwhelming and claustrophobic at times to always have to move through a world where nature has been forced to take a back seat and part of what drew me to pigeons in the first place was their resilience to this phenomenon. They are treated by most as vermin and pests, but they only fall into that category because they have to, because we have neglected them to a point where their existence depends on our waste. They eat from our bins and scour the streets in order to stay alive and yet they continue to. In my work I hope to reframe these animals, not as pests that must be ignored or vilified but as victims of the vast industrialised nature of the world we live in, much like the majority of us like them.

How do you see your work highlighting the bigger question of nature’s place in fast-paced, urban environments?

I hope my work can be interpreted in a multitude of ways and whatever takeaways people get from viewing my art is always a correct one, but I feel compelled to create works that allow people to stop and think about the things we have sacrificed in order to live the lives we do. The huge advances we as humanity have made in the last hundred years have been successful and lucrative for a lot of people, but at the cost of many other things that have been left by the wayside. Pigeons were once kept as pets, loved, and were working animals whose merits were not undervalued, but over time that has been largely forgotten. How many other things, animals and most importantly communities have been lost to the unsympathetic nature of the modern world?

What does your process look like, do you observe pigeons directly, sketch them, or work more from imagination?

I generally work from multiple references for my larger paintings, but because of the unusual subject matter of most of my works I tend to have to use some degree of imagination. Once I begin a painting I find myself sucked into it until it is finished, which results in my being sat in one spot for 7 or 8 hours at a time. I find painting deeply therapeutic so this time goes by extremely fast, fuelled by coffee and biscuits. I also love drawing from life, I live nearby a park so on a good day I will head out to sit on a bench and sketch the birds as they wander. 

You capture quiet, often ignored moments. Do you think slowing down to notice the overlooked – pigeons, corners of the city – is itself an act of creativity/art?

I absolutely believe that! And not only do I think taking the time to slow down and observe the world around you is an act of creativity in and of itself I also think it is necessary for maintaining your mental health. Taking a moment to stop, with no distraction, and just notice what you otherwise never would have is the only way to break away from the busy, productivity-driven society that capitalism has forced us into. It is, in my opinion, an act of resistance to just, be. 

At 22 years-old, you’ve already developed such a distinctive subject focus and style. How do you feel about where you are in your journey as an artist?

My answer to this depends wildly on how good a day you catch me on. I am incredibly proud of where I am in my artistic journey and in how far I have come over the past few years. On the other hand, I still struggle with feeling confident in myself and the quality of the work I produce. The imposter syndrome that I know every single artist battles with does affect me, but with every painting I make I find my feet a little more. 

When someone views one of your paintings, how do you want them to feel about nature’s urban presence, hopeful or something more reflective?

I try not to place a specific idea on my paintings, generally, because I want people to genuinely connect with the work in whatever way they truly feel. I have had people tell me interpretations of my work so far from their original intentions but I love that! Some of my work is clearly pessimistic in tone, and some a little lighter and silly, but as a whole I just want to create work that makes people stop and think, just for a moment. 

Beyond pigeons and acrylics, are there new directions, themes, or mediums you’re curious to explore?

I would love to give oil painting another try, as I find the effects you can get with oil extremely beautiful, however as an impatient painter I find it hard to wait between drying times, but I’m working on that! I would also really like to get back into portraiture. I loved painting people during my final few years at school but at some point I seem to have fallen out of the habit and I would really like to get back into it.

Quick Fire round 

If you could live a trial period in any other city/place where would it be?

I’d like to take a two day trip into the near-ish future, 100 years or so, I don’t want to hang around there, I just want to make sure everything eventually turns out okay. 

What colour do you find yourself reaching for most?

I actually use a really limited palette for almost all of my paintings. I use red, yellow, blue, white and payne’s grey. But if I had to pick one it would be red because all of my under paintings start with a red wash. 

Your biggest non-art obsession at the moment? 

Recently I’ve been really into watching classic horror movies with my partner!

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Check out Niamh's work (and the pigeons)

Niamh's Instagram

Niamh's TikTok