About Me & My Paintings
I paint the places that bring us back to ourselves.
Hi, I’m Fiona, an Irish artist originally from Co. Tyrone, now living and painting in Co. Meath.
I create expressive, textured paintings inspired by the Irish landscape and coast - places shaped by changing skies, open fields, wildflowers, sea air and memory.
But really, my work is about more than the landscape.
It’s about the places that stay with us. The road home. The beach from childhood. The view that gave you room to breathe. The places connected to people, stories and memories we cherish.
A Quiet Beginning
I grew up surrounded by fields, a forest and the River Blackwater. Our home was filled with traditional Irish music and an appreciation for country life and the landscape around us.
A few steps outside the kitchen door, the fields opened out towards the evening sky. At the time, I don’t think I fully appreciated the beauty of those sunsets. They were simply part of home.
It’s only now, when I go back, that I realise how much the changing light, wide skies and the feeling of space find their way into my paintings.
As a child, I was very shy and didn’t always find it easy to speak. I was often drawn to the quiet inner world of creativity - though it would take me many years, and a few twists and turns, before I found the confidence to share that part of myself more fully.
Painting in the Background
I think I always knew art would become a bigger part of my life one day, but I followed a different path first, working as a primary school teacher.
It wasn’t that painting had disappeared from my life - it was that I kept it mostly in the background.
I spent many hours walking in nature, thinking and daydreaming - wondering if I would ever be brave enough to change direction, and give the creative part of myself more space.
The weeks would slip into months, and before I knew it, another year had passed - another year waiting for the right time.
Something Shifted
Towards the end of 2020, I was organising old family photographs - including pictures of my father as a boy, in the same place where I grew up years later.
It struck me how much a place can hold - people, memory, connection and feeling. It also struck me how quickly time passes.
Around then, something shifted. I realised I couldn’t keep waiting for the right time - I wanted to build a life that felt more meaningful and true to who I was.
I didn’t suddenly become confident, but I did begin to take small steps. I began in the pockets of time I had - after work, late at night when our two children were asleep. I painted more consistently. I shared my art online. I built my website.
Slowly, I began moving more of my life towards art.
Finding Joy
I carry with me the memory of a home filled with Irish music. My parents were both fiddle players, and I grew up seeing the joy and connection that creativity can bring to everyday life.
That has stayed with me.
When I’m at the easel - apron on, listening to Irish music, paintbrush or palette knife in hand - I feel content in knowing I'm finally following what I always should have been doing.
Moments like my first solo exhibition and taking part in Art Source at the RDS in Dublin have felt like quiet milestones along the way - things that once felt out of reach, but are now part of my life and work as an artist.
Who My Art Resonates With
My work often resonates with people who feel deeply connected to places, memories, and the natural world - quiet thinkers, dreamers, nature lovers, and those who find possibility in wide open spaces.
A painting can become a small daily return: to a place, a person, a memory, or a feeling you want to hold onto.
My paintings are for people who want their homes to feel personal - filled with colour, atmosphere and pieces that mean something beyond decoration.
Explore my collections of Irish coastlines, landscapes, and wildflowers - and perhaps find a piece that feels like it belongs to your story.
LMFM Radio Interview
I had the pleasure of chatting with Gerry Kelly on LMFM’s Late Lunch about my exhibition, Echoes of the Land, at the Toradh Gallery.
It was my first time speaking live on radio, so I was definitely a little nervous, but it also felt like another reminder of how art has gently pushed me beyond my comfort zone over the years in the best possible way.
We spoke about my journey into painting, the inspiration I find in the Irish landscape and coast, and the emotional connection we often hold to places and memories.
You can listen to the full interview below (17 mins).