Heather Byrne

I live and work on the north coast of Northern Ireland and love it’s dramatic coastline. I still work as a designer but painting is always on going. My work can be seen in Gallery 1608, in Bushmills, The Yard Gallery in Holywood, Belfast and Sheldons Gallery, in both Belfast and Newtownards.. I have recently successfully showed my work at The Talented Art Fair in Truman Brewery, in London.  I worked creatively as a designer after completing my BA in Graphic Design and illustration at Birmingham Art College, working for several years as an Art Director for leading magazine companies in London, including Conde Nast and National Magazines and later returned to Ireland, working on newspapers in Dublin and Belfast. I use mixed media, acrylic paint and oil pastel on board, paper and canvas.  I make pastel and line drawings outside exploring waterlines and coastal paths and these give me a starting point back in my work space. I like the start of the painting to be kept loose and I explore continuing themes of shorelines, where water and land meet… lead by colour and line, and enjoy when an accidental paint mark brings unexpected movement and often frees up the space and leads the final direction of the work. I love adding layers of colour washes almost like watercolour and scratching back into the wet paint to reveal hidden colour.