Isobel and dogs

Isobel with her Golden Retrievers, Kells (7 years), Skye (6 months) and Bracken (13 years).

Biography

I grew up in Dublin, Ireland and started drawing and painting as soon as I could hold a pencil and paintbrush. My mother was very creative in many different areas and always encouraged me. All through my school years I won awards for my art work, and I was very pleased to find an art related job when I left school. I went to work for Donegal Carpets and was involved in the design of their hand-tufted carpets. The designs for these were limitless and sometimes challenging. The finished carpets were installed in many embassies and other well known public and private buildings worldwide. During this time, I continued my studies in the evening with courses at the Royal College of Art and took a commercial art course.

After working for 10 years as a carpet designer, I moved to New Hampshire with my husband. Later we moved to Lake Forest, IL and there, after starting a family, I became involved with the Deer Path Art League, showing in their gallery, participating in their yearly fall show and teaching workshops. My work can be found in professional offices and private collections in the Chicago area and across the U.S., Ireland, England and even farther afield. In 1994, we moved back to Hanover, NH where I now live and have my studio.

While largely self-taught, I have taken workshops with several well-known artists including Nita Engle, Irving Shapiro and Don Andrews. Their influence and generosity of input is appreciated.

New England scenes are among my favorite subjects, and in recent years I have included many flower and garden images. When travelling I bring paints, sketch books and camera to gather material for future paintings. Following visits to England and Scotland, I have painted many country and fishing village scenes. I find the old fishing villages endlessly fascinating, especially on a calm day when there are wonderful reflections.

I work in transparent watercolor. Using a controlled wet into wet technique, my soft cool palette helps create the misty backgrounds that depict the gentle atmosphere of my landscape subjects. I use a glazing technique to portray the effect of still, reflective water - in many instances building up multiple layers of glazes. Favorite papers are Arches (Bright White 140 and 300lb cold press), Kilimanjaro (140 and 300lb) and I have become increasingly fascinated by the synthetic paper made by YUPO and love the bright, jewel like colors of the pigments when they dry on that surface. My palette includes colors from Windsor & Newton, Daniel Smith and Holbein - mostly in the transparent range and I try to avoid the staining colors.

I am a member of the New Hampshire Art Association, I have served on the Hanover Council of the New Hampshire League of Arts & Crafts and am a past president of the Deer Path Art League in Lake Forest.