Introduction

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love drawing and painting. Life, to me, achieves its deepest meaning when it is being interpreted visually.

Born in London, I moved to the heart of Ireland as a teenager in the 1970s. From that early age I began studying painting seriously. In the course of twenty years of formal and informal study, I worked with teachers in different cities. My favourites included the Dun Laoghaire School of Art and a dynamically influential portrait workshop with Mick O’Dea, RHA. I also travelled extensively in Italy, France and America, exploring art in all its permutations.

But it is here, in the verdant and tranquil setting of South Co Offaly that I find my greatest inspiration. Since 2004 I have worked full time as an artist in my specially-designed studio, with panoramic views of the Irish countryside – views I never tire of exploring and interpreting.

The main themes of my work are:
Women – particularly their clothing which tells the complex story of their role in society and how they are perceived in various social contexts; and their portraits, through which I endeavour to capture an expression or characteristic that reveals an aspect of their true nature – a nature which is often at odds with the story told by their dress.

Landscapes – although these may be inspired locally or from distant lands, I always seek a centred stillness, a sense of peace and the tangible possibility of genuine harmony between ourselves and our environment.



For more information on Hazel Greene contact Bramber Studio