Catherine Creaney

Catherine Creaney (b.1978) is an Irish self-taught artist working primarily in portraiture in oil, pastel and pencil in a realist style. She has exhibited internationally and has won multiple awards for her work. In her portraiture her focus is on lighting and expression. Using lighting to create a mood and to enhance her compositions, with an influence from artists such as Rembrandt and Caravaggio. She purposefully chooses expressions in her portraiture that can be open to interpretation and that offer a glimpse into the internal world of the sitter. She has started incorporating backgrounds that also offer the viewer a possible insight into the subject's world. Catherine intentionally creates portraits that capture people as faithfully as possible. Finding the character and perceived imperfections of a face reveal the unique identity and life of the subject.

* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 16^th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.