Architecture

Art with a Capital A by PIGSY

Art - the perfect Zoom background

The past year or so has certainly been the year of virtual meetings on Zoom. It’s been hugely beneficial to us all and it has kept things going in the business world. For many adapting to a work from home situation, small routines have helped to keep things professional while working in this new environment. Sticking to regular office hours and routines are a good plan and also wearing smart office clothes serve to delineate between work and home life.

Zoom calls have been a savior for many but there is downfalls to them too. Some people consider that Zoom calls are invasive and they don’t want to display their home setting to work colleagues. This is understandable, but it may lead to colleagues leaving their camera off which possibly diminishes the effectiveness of virtual meetings. Another alternative to this is to use a fake background or a fabricated background with the company logo and branding.

Best Zoom Background - Showstopper Art

However, in my opinion, the best background for Zoom calls is a showstopper piece of art. This allows you to both show off your personal style and taste in art and also show a bit of your personality too.

Art in the office, as well as being great for Zoom meetings, will not only make you happy and give a sense of well being, but it should also give you inspiration and ideas. When you are working on something really mundane and need to take a break, you can simply make yourself a nice cup of coffee and then take a break from the computer screen and loose yourself in your artwork. A little mini art adventure just for you in your office. Imagine how wonderful and uplifting that will feel. In fact, when you go back in to the office you will be making suggestions to management that they should put art in every office for staff.

Check out this piece of PIGSY art in an office setting - it may be the background to conference calls, but it is no shrinking violet. It’s Art with a capital A!

Library Life - Art in the Office

My wife Enid used to work in a public library that loaned out framed art prints for 3 months at a time (how great is this concept?! - see here for more of the great work that is done by Libraries in Ireland). When she was managing a small library a few years ago she worked from a lovely office with a window out on to the library floor (luckily she had a blind on the window as it faced out on to the children’s area - I think she might have found it distracting to work with children looking in on her!) and so she borrowed one of the pieces of art and then rotated in every 3 months. The first pic for her was a vintage poster advertising travel to Miami with her favorite one being a large print of a sketch of “Falling Water” by Frank Lloyd Wright - she renewed this one a few times!

PIGSY Art on Walls

I always enjoy seeing pictures of my art on walls and it was a nice surprise to hear from an art collector a few years after he acquired one of my artworks. The painting had been storage for a few years and was now hanging in pride of place in this CEO’s new office in his refurbished office building. This painting is an indicator of what type of art should be hung in the office and it is truly the best place for it. It’s a big, bold, vibrant, statement piece of art and it makes a great juxtaposition between the industrial office setting with it’s exposed ducting and rustic wood surfaces. The space for the art could not be any more perfect!

Art in your life

I’ve written before about art and interior design on my blog, and I truly believe that art adds a massive dimension to peoples lives. But in this instance as a background on conference calls, it not only enhances the life of the art collector but also enhances the life of all the attendees on the conference call!

Contact me today if you want a PIGSY painting added to your art collection for your office or home.

House Beautiful - Let there be light! by PIGSY

Let there be light!

House Beautiful feature - July 2013: The Ranelagh home of Artist and former Architect Ciaran McCoy and his wife Enid Bebbington

Check out this feature in House Beautiful Magazine about the renovation of my home, where I live with my wife Enid Bebbington and our dog Dr Bones McCoy

Designed by Ciaran McCoy (ODKM Architects)

Constructed by: MSVI Building Construction

Kitchen Designer: Dean Cooper

Conversation pit in Ranelagh, Dublin designed by Architect Ciaran McCoy

Home Profile

A two bed, mid-terrace Victorian House that was in a state of disrepair. It was rebuilt completely with a concrete floor, glass staircase and indoor/outdoor courtyard was added.

Living Area to the front of the house

Influenced by my favorite architect Frank Lloyd Wright, I built a sunken conversation pit style seating area with pull out storage drawers built in under the seating area. The television is housed in a wooden unit that was handmade by Dean Cooper

Lighting

I worked with Patrick Kerr of Shadowlight to design lighting schemes controlled by Lutron switches with dimming functions by Bang & Olufson.

The home of Enid Bebbington designed by her husband architect Ciaran McCoy

Living Room (to the rear)

To define the different parts of the living area, the chimney breast was painted a Dulex Dark Grey with a paler shase of Dulex Grey used in the rest of the house.

A colored concrete floor runs throughout the rest of the living areas and kitchen. Underfloor heating with thermostatic controls keeps the space cosy as does the bright Jan Kath rug.

Dining Area

The floating oak bench was designed by me and it seats 10 people. It was constructed on site by MSVI Construction.

Behind the bench is a seamless angled glass window which is a nod to John Lautner’s Chemosphere House (another of my favourite arcchitects).. My concept was to use the frameless glass in order to create a picture of the stone boundary wall. This window proved to be one of the most challenging elements of the build as access to the site was limited with the use of a crane being out of the question. It took 12 men, 8 hours, to install the half-ton panel panel of glass.

Floating glass cantilevered stairs leading up to the PIGSY art studio in the Ranelagh home of architect Ciaran McCoy

Home Art Studio

A floating glass stairs lead to my home art studio which has a glass roof and glass floor (a lot of light!). The internal walls are clad in birch plywoof and the external walls open in to the room to let light and air throughout the house.

Bathroom

Mini steel i-beams support the bathroom’s glass ceiling. The industrial feel is emphasised by the coloured concrete floor and Subway Tiles from Caesar Tiles. The glass ceiling “borrows” light from the studio’s glass roof above, while opaque white film between the sheets of toughened glass provides privacy

House Beautiful UK Renovation of the Year

It was an honour for me to have my house selected as a finalist for the House Beautiful UK Renovation of the Year Awards 2013, and thanks also to House Beautiful for the excellent showcase of my home. It was great to share photos of my home along with design and architecture tips. Thank you!

Art on Walls by PIGSY

Art on Walls

Art and Interior Architecture goes hand in hand.

Contemporary art by Pigsy on a wall in the lounge of an architecturally designed house with wooden floors and bespoke lighting. Art on walls makes a home complete and provides a focal point as well as art on walls gives an instant color injection an…

PIGSY contemporary artworks are bold and vibrant visual art pieces that enhance excellent interior design. Contact me directly to discuss your space and to talk about the many artworks that are currently available - or contact Designyard for further information.

In the home….and in the home office

PIGSY statement artworks spark conversation and inspiration within the walls of residential interiors. With the advent of Covid 19 and the evolution of homes spaces requiring a work space, PIGSY has seen an increase in clients contacting him for an art piece for the home office. PIGSY art helps create a positive and optimistic work environment. Most recently he has sold pieces which are now displayed internationally - Toronto, Canada and Galway, Ireland along with a piece sold in Spain - all three destined to be hung in the clients respective study rooms.

Home is where the ART is!

Home is where the art is - art is for families! Wall art means that you can show your personality in your home and art is also an investment which can be moved from home to home if you buy a new house. Art can be hung in any room from the bedroom to…

Art brings a feeling of well being in to lives. PIGSY’s expressionist art is a form of upbeat, positive storytelling and a marriage of color, poetry & edgy urban art. Art is a way to inject your personality and style in to your home with neutral walls crying out for a statement piece of art that appeals to the whole family. Something to note when choosing art for the home is that while color is very important it is not about matching colors to the home environment but instead it is about the colors complementing the environment.

See below for images of PIGSY artworks in their forever homes and discover the artist’s contemporary artworks and see how these works of art elevate and enhance inspirational interiors. Available in a variety of sizes and shapes PIGSY artworks work not only changes houses in to show homes but it gives each room a unique aesthetic quality that add to the enjoyment of home life for all of the family and for visitors to the home.

Home Art Gallery

Art shipping worldwide now you can buy contemporary art directly from the artist here in Spain and it will then be shipped to your home to hang art on your wall and make a house a  show home with wall art that the neighbors will envy!

Art in the home also gives you the opportunity to express your personality and show off your style along with your likes. Many people choose not only to showcase single large proportioned artworks in their home but also to mix it up and have a bit of fun with their collections by creating a gallery wall. It can take some time and experimenting to get this looking right (but that is part of the fun!) and I like to map it out on a plan before the actual hanging.in order to prevent puttting nails in walls that are never used. There are also professionals who offer a hanging service who will assist with the layout as well as the hanging.

It also helps to frame you art in a similar style that gives the collection an overall cohesive look. Buying unframed art from the artist helps with this as you can then choose a frame that fits with the rest of your collection when the artwork arrives to your home. On the other hand, I sometimes specify particular frames for specific art works that I have created and each of my art collectors appreciate this as huge thought has gone in to the decision to frame the art and a lot of consideration has also been given as to what frame looks best and enhances the artwork.

Want to talk about art in your home?

Contact me directly to talk about your space and your likes and see if we can together find an artwork that works for you in your home. My artwork ships worldwide from both Ireland and Florida, USA.

PIGSY Art on walls

You can see more photos below of PIGSY art in situ in the homes of art collectors all over the world……and contact me today to discuss a PIGSY painting for your home!

Studio upgrade by PIGSY

A new handrail for the art studio staircase

Ciaran McCoy of ODKM Architects working on a metal handrail design for his cantilevered glass staircase

Cantilevered Glass Stairs

A little while ago, I set about designing a handrail for the cantilevered glass stairs up to my studio in my house on Leeson Park Avenue in Ranelagh. After finalising my design I sourced a master craftsman to construct the metal handrail. The man for the job was Brendan O’Donnell of Brendan Donnell Design at The Maker Shed along with Billy Moore Metalworks.

Tape measure in hand Ciaran McCoy of ODKM Architects sets out to design a bespoke metal handrail for the glass cantilevered staircase in his house

Metal Handrail

The fabricators did a top notch job - the metal handrail fits like a glove.

The new handrail certainly changes the look of the stair case - no more floating glass anymore - but it is safe and it makes my studio in to a far more usable space. It’s a big improvement overall!

Click on to my instagram to see more pics of the handrail.

A floating glass stair case in an award winning house on Leeson Park Avenue in Ranelagh

Here’s the before…

A floating glass staircase with a bespoke metal handrail designed by Ciaran McCoy for his house and art studio on Leeson Park Avenue in Ranelagh

And the after!

Lanes of Dublin - filming PIGSY short film by PIGSY

Feeling inspired - painting in the back lanes of Dublin

I have a fascination for lanes. I misspent my youth down lanes, kicking footballs and playing with my friends along with drawing in chalk on lane walls.

Now as an adult and an architect I am interested in what gets built down lanes. Mews houses are a big part of the Dublin architectural landscape and I am fortunate to be currently working on a project which is exploring the feasibility of a mews house on a particular lane way site.

This Friday I went back to my childhood, with film maker Mike Andrews, and set up a chalkboard in a Rathmines lane and got working. Mike is a documentary maker so at this point all I will say is "Watch this space".........

Lane way painting

I was in the mood to paint and being outside in a lane was inspiring. I painted and Mike filmed. He was pleased with his results and I was very happy too!

lane1.JPG

EDIT 2018 - To view the PIGSY film, click here

Rough Style by Sibylle Kramer by PIGSY

“LPA” (Leeson Park Avenue) by Ciaran McCoy

"Rough Style" by Sibylle Kramer is a weighty tome featuring over 100 projects from all over the world. One of the featured projects is "LPA" designed by me and my former architectural practise ODKM Architects.

LPA was a labour of love as it is a house that has been in my family for 3 generations and I am glad to have brought it back from the brink of dereliction and I now get to enjoy the fruits of my labour and live in this great Dublin house.

HGTV Extreme Homes of the World: Ireland Edition by PIGSY

When HGTV Extreme Homes of The World Visited my house

Back in 2013, a film crew visited my house to film it for an episode of HGTV's Extreme Homes.

It was an interesting weekend with a hardworking crew of 3 who worked from dawn ‘til dusk filming myself and the house. The crew were very friendly and professional and my wife and I really enjoyed the whole process and were very happy with the finished product - it was great to see our house on film in the polished format of HGTV as an episode of Extreme Homes of the World.

Filming Process - HGTV Extreme Homes of the World

Each shot was done a few times. At first the room as a whole would be filmed and then close up shots were done whereby I would highlight and discuss particular details. For example in the shot below to the left I am firstly talking about the deck area as a whole but I also mentioned the detail of the shuttered concrete marked with boards. The they filmed me close up pointing out the shuttering in detail. Presumably then when it came to the editing stage they would piece it all together.

Can you spot what it underneath the deck in the pic below?!

Plywood Cladding in the PIGSY Art Studio

Here’s another example of me being filmed talking about a space which is my studio which is clad in plywood. After the room as a whole was filmed with me talking, they then went on to do a close up of the plywood cladding.

Creating art on film

These are shots of me "painting". I had an empty cup and paintbrush and had to act like I was painting while they were filming. That was fun! It was a lot of big movements and brush strokes.

A sunken hot tub with a pulley system to open up the lid with decking all around the hot tub up against the restored Georgian brick house

Staging Scenes in the Hot Tub

The hot tub in our house is sunken and set under the deck with a lid that I designed that is opened using a pulley system. The crew wanted a scene of the hot tub and they asked us to feature and to be filmed chatting in the hot tub. We waited until the sun went down and Enid and I hopped in to the hot tub and we were then filmed talking to each other and enjoying a drink I didn’t get a picture on the day of the exact set up at the hot tub, but we staged the area in the exact way that you can see in the photo below. This was for a photo shoot for a feature in The Sunday Independent (My Favourite Room by Mary O’Sullivan). Filming in the hot tub was done quickly but just before we got out, the producer asked us to do a little acting where we clinked our glasses together and then took a sip of our cocktails. When we saw ourselves on the broadcast TV show you can see us smiling as we do this as we thought it was a little bit cheesy but a bit of fun at the same time. And it made for good TV!

Two cameras

There were two camera men which helped get through the filming promptly. While I was being filmed and interviewed downstairs, the other camera man was filming upstairs in the bedrooms and other rooms that didn’t need me in those scenes.

Frank Lloyd Wright - 140 Maiden Lane, San Francisco by PIGSY

Maiden Lane: Frank Lloyd Wright Building in San Francisco

Frank Lloyd Wright is one my favourite architects of all time and I use any opportunity on my travels to the USA to visit any of his buildings that I can.

San Francisco - seeking Frank Lloyd Wright

Ten years ago, on our last trip to San Francisco, we visited this Frank Lloyd Wright building on Maiden Lane. It was built in 1948 and when you enter the building, you are instantly reminded of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, of which it was the prototype for.  Originally it was a Gift Shop but when we visited it back in 2005 it was Xanadu Art Gallery.  However, on our most recent visit we found it shut up and we were unable to enter. I see from the Wikipedia page that it has been sold to a high end designer boutique (which was exactly the use that Enid had commented that it would be perfect for while we stood outside and viewed the building).  I'm glad to hear it has been sold and hopefully we will get to view it again in the future!

Ageless Contemporary Design by Frank Lloyd Wright

What an incredible building.  It is beyond timeless - I think it is actually getting better with age and looks more modern than a lot of buildings built this decade.

Brick Detail - Frank Lloyd Wright Gift Shop, Maiden Lane, San Francisco