Mim Ruth: The first solo exhibition by the self-taught artist

Tallaght artist Myriam Cassidy held her first solo exhibition at Ballyroan Library, in Rathfarnham on May 18 to introduce herself to the audience. The artist invited visitors to come and discover the works that mark her artistic development as a self-taught artist, reports Sihame Saady.

Myriam Cassidy, alias Mim Ruth, has always dreamt of herself with a pencil or brush in hand.

“As far back as I can remember I was always drawing. I remember saying when I grew up, I wanted to be an artist or an actor. I guess art won out in the end,” declares the painter.

She confides that painting has been a major part of her personal development, a self-therapy.

“I would pick the pallet to reflect my mood. I painted as a way of painting out a feeling or an emotion I was experiencing at the time as a grounding exercise. From then I developed a unique style that is still evident in my work today,” she reveals.

The red-haired woman began her career as a self-taught artist. At the age at 21, she experimented painting with acrylics, refining her technique with the help of books. Soon after, she began exhibiting her work in different art groups.

“I sold my first painting at an art exhibition in the Bad Art Gallery on Francis St when I was about 22. So, you could say I’ve been an artist the best part of 20 years. But I’ve been professionally taking it seriously the past two years”.

Monet, Dali, Kahlo, Jack Butler Yeates and Paul Kenton, the famous artist who is all the rage on social networks, constitute these main inspirations. Despite the notable differences between the Impressionist, Surrealist and Expressionist art movements, Mim Ruth claims to belong to several of them.

“I began painting abstract figurative pieces. This was when I was painting emotions out of me, I guess the figure in the paintings may be based on myself. They always say an artist paints what they know, so I guess a lot of me would be seen in my early works, the shape and form of my body, with bold colours and brushstrokes. As I evolved I dabbled within different movements.”

The use of social networks has been very beneficial for her artistic creation: “It gives a great platform to show my work and to sell my work and to meet and chat with other artists and like-minded people,” she admits.

During the pandemic, she even set up a page called, Krafternoon Delights, composed of little video tutorial of her doing a little craft of the day that people could do with their children or by themselves.

Touched by the conflict in Ukraine, the artist did not hesitate to put her art to work for this cause. She organised an auction of her paintings to help the victims of the war. The sale raised nearly €11,000 for the Ukrainian people.

In the future, Mim Ruth plans to continue drawing and painting, but makes no secret of her desire to teach. “I am hoping to set up and run some art classes. I would love to teach people how to paint and how to follow their own unique style as an artist.”

For more information on Mim Ruth visit her Instagram: miminkstudios