Born in Dublin, Ireland, Kieran's art journey began with a love of ornithology and drawing birds. His first mentor and teacher was Sister Maureen McMahon, founder of the High Loft painting group. Kieran went on to attend Crawford College of Art and Design graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art Painting.
Fine art has always been his greatest love and after a career in the tech industry Kieran took the step to become a full time artist.
Painting the landscape outside (en plein air) is central to Kieran's current practice, capturing in real time the light and feeling of places that inspire him. His location work will continue to inform his larger more conceptual studio pieces.
Kieran reached the final of Landscape Artist of the Year (series 10) in 2025 where the three finalists painted Stonehenge.
He currently splits his time between painting on location and in his studio in MART Studios in Dublin.
Finalist in Landscape Artist of the Year, Series 10 aired in 2025. After winning his heat painting the Clifton suspension bridge, Kieran made it through the Semi Finals and was one of the three artists to make it to the final at Stonehenge.
1st prize winner - Paint out event
1st prize - Judges award
1st prize - Artist choice award
2nd Prize winner - Donabate
I have been compelled to draw and paint from an early age, developing an early interest in art that depicted the natural world, with Archibald Thorburn’s bird paintings being a huge influence. The need to draw, paint and make work has remained a core part of my life. I’ve always favoured realism influenced by post impressionism, symbolism and expressionism.
There are a number of themes that inspire my work and are never far below the surface. I have a deep love of nature and landscape. I try to combine this with my love of books, science and history. These all play a role in my work. I first learned to paint using oils and now use acrylics. My process involves sketching when I read, this is an important part of my creative process and becomes part of what I will bring into a piece alongside landscape and nature.
When I’m making plein-air paintings I’m trying to express what I’m seeing and feeling, as an avid photographer I’m interested in the physical sensation of a place that is different from a photo and that’s what I’m trying to capture. I paint in Dublin and Wicklow mainly, especially the Wicklow Mountains National Park.
For my larger studio based pieces I try to set scenes that are open to storytelling in the viewer’s mind, I don’t want to explicitly tell a story but rather make suggestions for the viewer. I am always drawn to landscapes that have a sense of time. I can feel closer in these places to those I have lost in my life, especially my father who instilled this deep connection with nature in me.
