Philip and Barry Castle form a unique partnership. As husband and wife they have lived together a long time, but their artistic partnership spans almost as many years and has led them to exhibit their paintings together in places as far apart as Belfast, London, New York and Cologne. Their latest exhibition, which was opened by John Rocha this week in the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, is entitled Perspectives and Retrospectives.
This is a show which features both old and new work - both artists are taking stock, looking back on their careers so far and how their work has developed. But it is also an exhibition that looks to the future: some of the more recent work in the show points the way forward, suggesting directions that may yet be taken. Philip describes the exhibition as "looking back on what we have produced, a retrospective, and a perspective on what we would hope to produce in the future".
Sitting in the 18th-century splendour of the Arts Centre in Foster Place, Philip and Barry think back on their life together, how it all started, how they met more than 40 years ago and set out on a shared artistic adventure - shared despite their obvious differences as individual artists.
"I met Barry when I came to Dublin to Trinity College," explains Philip, "when I was reading physics there, except my physics was being left behind me as I became more and more interested in art, so I became a full-time artist."
Born in London in 1929, Philip Castle has the air of an English gentleman. His Dublin-born wife, Barry, has a similar presence and both speak in refined tones, in gentle, distinguished voices that hint at their interesting, almost eccentric backgrounds. In Barry's case that background is literary, her mother having been the famous writer and playwright Maura Laverty, while her father also had literary ambitions, although they were never fulfilled. "His main interest was economics," says Barry. "His books were extremely boring, so they didn't get published; he wrote novels with a background of economics, if you can imagine such a thing, all written while he was working sub-editing for The Irish Times."
Philip, meanwhile, comes from a long line of engineers - he broke with five generations of tradition by becoming an artist. There is a family history of madness, which Barry alludes to but which Philip would rather not discuss, and a certain amount of family fame - one of Philip's forebears pioneered the old-fashioned diving helmet. "The madness always had something to do with making things out of metal," Barry says.
Philip has left the family fascination with metal behind him, finding expression through the act of painting instead. His main subject is the modern city, an appreciation of it rather than a critique. "I'm interested in what men build and do, rather than in men themselves. What you build is a way of expressing yourself," he says. Barry defines her work in quite a different way. She says her approach to painting has more to do with intuition and emotion and less to do with the intellect, the intellectual being more important to Philip's way of working. Barry's paintings are full of natural and organic forms, quite different concerns to the cityscapes and urban complexities of her husband's canvasses.
It is in the method of applying the paint that the artists share a common credo. Philip explains that both he and his wife paint in quattrocento style, building up the painting layer by layer. "It's using colour in a transparent way, built up veneer by veneer. That's why there's a glow to it. The light shines through the paint. It's quite a slow process."
It may be because of this style of painting, in which light is so important, that the couple have decided to divide much of their time between Tuscany and the south of France. Philip complains that there isn't enough light in Ireland for a painter, while Barry confirms that very little of their work is actually done in Ireland. While they do spend a few months each year in Dublin, they usually spend the winter months in their home near Nice, "a little cottage in the middle of a carnation farm," as Barry describes it.
As we speak, there are canvasses strewn all around. It is clear Philip and Barry have a lot to do, with all those paintings to hang in preparation for the exhibition. Before they go back to work they speak of their plans.
"I want to go to the Far East," says Philip, "to paint the buildings there which are laid out and planned with a religious sensibility." Barry nods: "I'll go where Philip goes - if he goes to Hong Kong then I wouldn't mind going there too."
Both artists are determined to keep working. As they prepare to go back to hanging their pictures, Barry humorously remarks: "Artists don't retire, you see. We have to keep battling on." They get back to work.
Perspectives and Retrospectives by Philip and Barry Castle is at the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre in Foster Place until December 6th