She's especially fascinated by . . . em, well, walls, actually. "I look very closely at those", says artist Pauline Flynn, referring to the influence of walls on her current exhibition at the Peppercanister Gallery on Herbert Street in Dublin. "I'm really interested in structures, textures, surfaces and I also like the passage of time on windows, walls, doors". Yes, it's true. She can often be spotted up against a wall peering closely at its composition with a micro-lens.
What about wallflowers, we wonder, looking round at those gathered together for her opening? Well, it's the stone she's drawn to, she continues, not rising to the bait at all. After walls, "colour is my main interest," says the Wicklow woman about her paintings.
Just inside the door, Patrick Murphy, chairman of the Arts Council, is soaking up the culture. He says the Famine ship, The Dunbrody, which has been rebuilt from the original plans as a tourist attraction, will be unveiled on the quays of New Ross, his native town, next April.
As the rain dies off outside, Noel Smyth, chairman of the Dunloe Ewart development group and patron of the arts, is there to open the exhibition. His brother, architect John Smyth, noticable for his shoulder-length tresses, is also in attendance.
Kozo Matsuda, from Fukui in Japan, a lecturer in Dublin City University, is having a chat with Yozi Ushioda, the retired curator of the Chester Beatty Library, who first came to Dublin from Tokyo 40 years ago. They bow politely before parting to go their separate ways.
Maurice Quillinan, the Limerick-born artist, whose own show is coming up in November, is here too, checking out the venue and the vibe, man. "They're wonderful," he says of Flynn's paintings. "There's a huge depth of paint on them," he says, peering closely at the blue dye pigments on the Japanese hand-made paper.