Ella Kavanagh

From Clonmel, Ella graduated with a B.Ed. Degree in 1982. She now lives and paints on that same land where her father and grandfather grew their produce in Clonmel, County Tipperary. Her parents were greengrocers so she was always surrounded by the sights and smells of fresh fruit and vegetables. These and the orchards and flowers are the subjects, which appear today in her paintings.

‘Jean Baptise Chardin, Luis Melendez and the Dutch masters are a continuing inspiration for my work. These classical painters have fostered my appreciation for the traditional principals of drawing, composition and colour harmony.

My work is personal. I am attracted to simple and familiar things; kitchen ware, cloths, old curios, a quiet landscape or a single figure. My paintings are about stillness and calm, finding something in the ordinary; the integrity of simple things. I paint from life, and this vital connection enables me to paint with feeling. For me this is the most important part of painting, the spiritual part of the work.’