Tony O'Malley HRHA (1913-2003)Iasc Buí or Yellow FishOil on board, 90 x 60cm (35½ x 23½'')Signed with initials; also signed with initials, inscribed with title and dated 1996 versoExhibited: Kelly's Hotel, Wexford, 2000.Tony O’Malley became a member of the St Ives Art Group in Cornwall when he moved there in 1960. The artists’ colony included Peter Lanyon and Sir Terry Frost with whom he became close friends, however as an artist he preferred to paint on his own and was not greatly influenced by others but his life’s experiences and his travels with his wife, the artist Jane O’Malley.Iasc Buí or Yellow Fish, painted in 1996, draws on his memory of ‘place’ and on the colour palette gained from visiting the Bahamas. This ‘inscape’ was utilised by O’Malley particularly in the later years on his return to Ireland when he completed his ‘pond series’ paintings, of which this is a prime example. His technique of incising the surface of the painting creates a sculptural, almost 3D effect. Iasc Buí references the shimmering heat of his Bahamas paintings while the Monet-like subject matter where fish appear amongst the water lilies is the inspiration behind this work.O’Malley achieved many accolades as an artist, a member of Aosdana, elected Saoi in 1993, which was restricted to five living artists, and in 1994 he was conferred with an honorary doctorate by Trinity College, Dublin.