Born in Dublin, Ireland, Eithne Ryan has been a practicing artist for 25 years. Her work is a mixture of abstract and semi-abstract composition.

Eithne draws her inspiration from the ever changing play of light on the Irish landscape and from the mood and energy of the sea.

"It's not easy to say when I actually began to paint, I suppose it's true to say that I never remember a time when I didn't paint. All children paint and draw when young, then they stop. But I never stopped. Sometime in the 1990's I began to consider myself as a painter. I showed my work in galleries in Dublin and Wexford. I also exhibited in Germany and Spain.

I am regarded as a landscape painter but my paintings are mostly of the sea, rocky shorelines, large skies and low horizons painted in soft muted tones. Over the years my work has evolved from paintings which were quite representational to nonspecific, semi-abstract land and seascapes.

I work from my studio in Cahore, Co. Wexford and the surrounding coastline and rocky shores is my constant source of inspiration. I also travel and paint in the west of Ireland, loving the ruggedness of Connemara and the rich textures and hues of the Burren in Co. Clare.

My paintings do not always represent specific places but rather I like to leave enough room for the viewer to explore their own response to each piece. The act of painting is done by me, but what is a painting without a viewer? Only when someone looks at and responds to the work is the process completed. I paint intuitively, always hoping to project simplicity and calm into my work. I am pleased and humbled when the viewer feels this also. Only then is the act of creating achieved."

Eithne Ryan



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