Dublin, Ireland Oct 29, 2018 (Issuewire.com) - “Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved to make and create. I attended art college in Dublin and graduated with a degree in sculpture/installation in 2015. After graduating I wasn’t quite sure what to do next. I wanted to take a break from the art world so I took a job in financial services and as the years went by I developed a passion for finance and eventually decided to qualify as an accountant.
In 2014 I started to make art again during the weekends and evenings. After a while, friends and family suggested I share my work, so I created ‘Dabble in Art’ and began posting images on Facebook. I had taken up Watercolour and returned to painting uplifting, happy paintings of animals. I was really surprised by people’s reaction to my work – the paintings made people smile and feel happy, and they wanted to see more.
After painting for a couple of years I started to wonder whether it would be possible for me to build a business around my art. After a lot of soul searching, endless chats with my husband and friends, I decided to go for it. I started to put the wheels in motion to take a break from my financial career to set up my own art business.
In December 2016 I launched my business ‘Dabble in Art’ to showcase my original art, limited edition prints and pet portraits. Dabble has been up and running for 18 months now, and thankfully it’s going really well. Like every start-up it’s a huge amount of hard work, and sometimes it feels like a crazy move but I haven’t looked back.“
About the Artist
Gill O’Shea is an award-winning professional Irish artist based in Dublin. Gill specialises in painting animals in watercolour and pastel. Gills work is unique and contemporary, using a limited palette of bright vibrant colours. Her paintings feature lively, fresh, colourful, bold subjects set against the stark white watercolour paper.
Gills painting style is unique and loose. This looseness is achieved through her approach of painting subjects directly on paper without first drawing an outline in pencil. This allows the painting to naturally evolve as Gill intuitively applies the paint based on how an individual piece is developing.
Gill offers a wide range of artworks to suit various budgets, this includes limited edition prints, bespoke pet portraits, original artwork and since July this year, silk scarves featuring her equine art. Gills work sells worldwide and is particularly popular in Ireland, Europe and the US. Gill is a member of the Watercolour Society of Ireland and the Dublin Art Society. Gill will be exhibiting at stand A58 in Art Source 2018 at the RDS in November this year.
The story behind Gill’s New Collection of Scarves – Wearable Art
Gills paintings are inspired by the Irish countryside where she grew up in Kildare, surrounded by nature, farmlands and horses. As a celebration of the horse in Irish culture, Gill has created a unique range of silk scarves featuring horse portraits printed in strong vibrant colours on 100% silk to combine tactile luxury with affordable art.
As a key ingredient in the recipe of style, the silk scarf is a lightweight, luxurious and incredibly versatile fashion accessory to enable every wearer to inject a new pop of colour into their existing wardrobe.
Speaking about the collection, Gill says “I have always adored print and textiles. I love exploring new ways of making art more accessible and functional, so this year I wanted to create small packages of luxury that would allow people to own a piece of wearable art for under €100.”
As a way of protecting the animals that inspire much of Gill’s paintings, she has committed to donate €5 from the sale of every scarf to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (ISPCA) to support their critical work. The role of the ISPCA is to prevent cruelty, promote animal welfare and pro-actively relieve animal suffering in Ireland.
Stockists
Gills new range of silk scarves for AW2018 feature three unique equine designs in burnt orange, aubergine purple and chocolate brown. Each scarf will retail at €89 and are available to purchase on Gill’s website www.dabbleinart.com.
Media Contact
Dabble In Art dabble.in.art@gmail.com https://www.dabbleinart.com/
