Ciarán O’Sullivan is from Dromiskin, County Louth. He studied at The National College of Art and Design and at Limerick School of Art and Design. He taught Art at Second Level while painting before concentrating full-time on his professional career as an artist.
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Ciarán began his career as a full time artist having graduated from the Limerick School of Art and Design. He exhibited his work throughout his time at college and spent a lot of time visiting art galleries gleaning inspiration from seeing artwork on display. This period of exploration and discovery reinforced his decision to be an artist and to exhibit his work publicly. In 1994, he was selected for the PMPA Undergraduates Exhibition (in association with the Dundalk Arts Office) where he was given the opportunity to display his work for the first time.
Spirited was painted for his first solo show in 2008 which was held in the Basement Gallery, Dundalk. It depicts a girl, wearing a long skirt and a light summer blouse. The title was chosen to reflect the carefree movements of the figure as she merges in and out of focus with the background.
“It was, and still is a very personal piece to me. The inspiration for the painting came from a photograph of my wife taken when she was at Art College. It was a fleeting moment in time, captured forever, that was begging to be immortalised in paint.”
As a contemporary artist, he finds the lack of access to galleries the most challenging aspect of his career.
“Many Galleries remain ‘off limits’ to an artist at the early stages of their career. Galleries who judge artwork on its merits are very much appreciated.
In this regard, it is difficult to persevere and anyone choosing art as a profession needs to have a love of art to motivate them to continue with their work despite the occasional setback. If you can set aside some time to work on your gallery proposals and C.V. it will be well worth it. It is very fulfilling to be accepted by a galley and have your work displayed for public viewing.”
