Roísìn O’Shea - Studio 216a
‘Lovely Liz’ oil on canvas painting, 40cm x 40cm
Ros is a South African artist who started oil painting at the St Andrews Art School, Lewes and The New School of Art in 2015. She has enjoyed tuition with international, contemporary practicing artists who have guided and inspired her practice in many ways.
An expressive artist and sailor, who is passionate about people and experiencing the world’s many cultures, Ros is drawn to the challenge of portraiture, to really ‘see’ and capture the people she paints.
Ros is a successful practicing Interior Designer and the founder of Red Square. She enjoys the discipline and focus on composition that her design background brings to her fine art process.
Her main focus to date has been to develop her skills in portraiture and painting from life but she is looking forward to doing more landscapes and painting the interesting people and places she hopes to visit on her sailing adventure commencing in 2022. For now, she is based in studio 216a at the Rye Creative Centre and is enjoying splitting her time between her studio and her boat.
Roísìn is able to work from photos and is available for commissions.
Artist’s statement
My work is an anthropological exploration.
My love of people and capturing their story, has informed most of my work over the last 5 years of studio practice. As a white South African immigrant, of Irish decent, I am conscious of my otherness and how my desire to ‘belong’ has subtlety influenced me in my current adopted country.
I am interested in the parallels, the complex cultural dynamics experienced by people of colour, living in modern Britain and how their cultural heritage forms their outlook, attitude and place in a society often far removed from their familial influences.
My work is an exploration of their subtle strength, their ability to merge the influences of modern British life with varied cultural heritage. This complexity and conflict intrigue me.
The modern young women of colour in many of my paintings are living, working, educating and raising their families in modern Britain.
They have the additional challenge and responsibility to honour their heritage, history, collective memories and literature whilst remaining vibrant, current and relevant in a society often far removed from their traditional backgrounds.
My paintings, rich in colour, serve to reflect the vibrant strength and beauty of these women, tinged with sadness as our homelands and heritage become ever more distant and diluted.
- Roísìn O’Shea, 2021
