Kathy Tiernan is a Wonderful Artist
- Tommy Hourigan, Raheen, Limerick
- Nov 6, 2018
- 3 min read
Kathy Tiernan is an accomplished artist whose artistic style and paintings are highly regarded, admired and enjoyed locally in the Grange/Lough Gur locality and well beyond County Limerick.
Kathy was kind enough to permit two of her paintings to appear in the Grange Parish Book, published in November 2015. An article titled "The Kathy Tiernan Painting Collection" was published some time ago on the Grange Parish Website. The article, which carried several of Kathy's paintings, may be read HERE.
Previously, Kathy wrote about herself as follows: "I grew up near the foot of the Hill of Allen in Kildare, where you could see the brown bogland for miles and smell the purple heather and green fern.
Today, I live near another magical hill at Lough Gur, with its stone reminders of the past embedded in the soil.
I try to capture that ancient Celtic shadow in what I paint. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't." Very recently, Kathy wrote as follows regarding her more recent artistic life and provided six images (two of her photographs and four of her paintings) to appear in this blog post - admire and enjoy them below.
"Thanks for the invitation to write a little on what’s happening in my ever-growing circle of art.
I paint most days, sometimes for just a few minutes, sometimes for hours on end. I paint what I see if it is something in a field or in the sky. It comes easily. What I see in my head takes longer.
You might remember that I co-founded a group called ArtLimerick a couple of years ago. This community has now grown to over 60. We held 6 outdoor exhibitions on Little Catherine Street this summer. The location was ideal, and the weather helped in no small way. We have since held 2 other events under the shelter of the courtyard at the Green Yard Café in Punch's Pub, Limerick. Our next event is in the iconic Limerick Milk Market on 18th November and another on 9th December, where 40 artists will gather under one roof to display their own individual artwork. It will be a real achievement to pool such talent and, better still, to give artists a chance to chat and make contact with fellow artists, as it is such a solitary sport.
I’ve been painting quite a bit lately so that I will have work of my own for the exhibitions. Two of the most recent paintings were from photos taken earlier this year in April, when the parish of Grange (and a few more besides) went on a walk along the Cliffs of Moher. It was one of the highlights of the year, and the Child of Prague must have been out the night before because the sun followed us all day. It marked the end of a very long winter and the start of the long summer.
The other paintings are more local: a rose from my garden and the cows in the field at Rahin. I’ve painted more oil and acrylic so far this year, but that will change to watercolour as the nights draw in. I spend a couple of hours a week at the wonderful Carebright facility in Bruff, where painting becomes a pleasant pastime. It would be great to organise an exhibition of the art produced each week, so watch that space in 2019.
When I’m not painting, I make frames in the workshop at home. Framing is an art in itself, where everything is measured to the millimetre. The artistic eye probably helps. A good frame should enhance a painting and not compete for attention, so there’s a balance to be found.
I also run a taxi service for teenage kids in the meantime - they are always glad of the lift but complain when I pull the car over on the road to take a photo of something that catches my eye. It’s a tough life!" As well as being an accomplished painter, Kathy's artistry includes an eye for photography. We look forward to updating Kathy's artistic life story on this website from time to time and to being able to showcase more of her paintings and photographs. Kathy may be contacted as follows:
Mobile Phone: +353 (0)86 0778787
Email: kathytiernan66@gmail.com
Thank You for sharing, Kathy, and Best Wishes for the future.
