‘Ruffians & Gentlemen’ solo show by Iwona Nartowska O’Reilly back

Iwona Nartowska O’Reilly was born in Poland in 1974. She graduated from Stanislaw Wyspianski School for Fine Arts in Jaroslaw, Poland. She lives in Co. Carlow with her husband and two daughters.

Iwona works in mixed media encaustic, where she combines the millennia old technique of painting with wax and other drawing mediums such as charcoal, pencil and pastels. She possesses a distinctive figure drawing style, in which she accentuates the movement of the body and muscle tone. The use of wax provides the paintings with a strong and robust appearance. The encaustic medium is very well suited for portraying movement and action in painting. This becomes apparent when the brush interacts with the painting surface, occurring at a much quicker rate than other mediums, due to the rapid setting of wax.

In direct reference, Iwona states, “The last few years have seen me gradually changing my painting medium from oil to encaustic, which has allowed me to discover new possibilities in art and has added texture and depth to my works.