This is a small selection of images from the 30 plus books I’ve had the pleasure of working on.
I facilitate workshops and events for children and young people in schools, libraries and festivals. The workshops always revolve around drawing and storytelling. Fun and freedom to experiment with ideas is at the core of all of these events. These are images from a few of those events over the years.
Themes covered vary from character and story creation for different ages, ecology and nature, hand drawn lettering, observational drawing, sea monsters, Silent Books and halloween themed sessions.
Events have included many children’s book festivals including Towers and Tales, Lismore Castle and the Listowel Writers Festival.
At the moment I am Children’s books Ireland Champion of Reading for Scoil Cliodhna In Carraigtwohill, Cork. I have previously been champion of reading for a number of other primary schools around the country. Encouraging a love of reading, writing and story telling.
I’ve also just completed workshops with 9 schools in Cork city for the One Book One Community scheme. This project aims to encourage children to read by getting a number of schools to read the exact same book in a given period of time. Bringing everyone together with one story. I use the themes of the book to create a visual story telling workshop that the children and wider family could participate in.
Over the last two years I have visited over 2000 children in TY and 6th class as part of Creative Careers, ran by Sample Studios, Churchfield, Cork. This project allows young people to gain knowledge and exposure to different creative paths through presentations and practical workshops
I also continue to give one off workshops on request in libraries and schools and have taken part in the October Children book festival in Libraries around Ireland for a number of years.
See the MURALS gallery for images on a recent workshop where I developed a design for a mural with first year students.
Well-being room-this was a storage space. Converted to a well-being room for use by any child needing time out for any difficulties they may be having. It was a very small space, but bright colours, adjustable lighting and some bean bags did the trick. The wishing well theme was suggested by the school. Students participated in the under painting stage there by having a literal hand in its creation.
Outpatients waiting room- used by children’s and adults. The artwork is attractive to children while appealing to older people also.
Plaster room- this was a very clinical space. Using the top half of one wall I created a continuous image full of characters and silly antics. Many of the patients attending here are children who need distraction while getting a cast on/off. Being able to talk around the mural allows staff to give children a more positive experience.
Entrance hallway- this image represents the journey of the Ursulines from their formation and looking on into the future. The project started as an in class workshop with first year art students. They had an introduction to illustration and the process of designing and installing a mural. I designed the image based on the students ideas. They then took part in every stage of the installation. 3.5’ x 22’ approx.
Giving tree- this artwork sits in the foyer of the Curaheen facility, Cork. It was created digitally as a vector file, printed and mounted in place. Organisations and individuals who have donated funding towards the centre are represented by different leaves on the tree. Birds, butterflies and foxes appear here and there around the building as a link back to the tree in the foyer.
In May 2023 both myself and the wonderful Jennifer Farley Illustration were honoured to be invited as Festival artists for the Towers and Tales Children’s Book Festival at Lismore, Co. Waterford. The exhibition opening marked the beginning of the 2023 Festival. Hosted by the Vault Cafe, our work hung there for 2 weeks.
From St Kevin’s Blackbird, the the Children of Lir to Eve and Thady Rua O’Dowd Ireland has a rich history of seeking out strength and magic in the creatures around. Those stories both enthral and entertain. My artworks celebrate those stories with simple and striking textural compositions.
All images are 30 x 40cm, and are printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308. Unframed €120 plus P&P.
Contact oliviagolden1@icloud.com for inquiries
Swan- EALA - Fionnuala child of Lir
Swans were held sacred in Ireland. In past times they were associated with the souls of the dead and angels. It’s thought the Normans brought swans to Ireland and Britain. Their beauty and elegance belies great physical strength and a fierce instinct to defend themselves and their cygnets. It’s likely the swans referred to in the famous Children of Lir story are Whooper or Bewicks swans. The story goes that that King Lir lived happily with his wife four children right up until she died. They missed you very much so he decided to remarry. His new wife Aoife was very beautiful but grew jealous of Lir’s love for his children. She hatched a plan to get rid of them so she could have Lir to herself. One day while at Lough Derravaragh, she used a druids magic wand to cast a spell on them. They tuned into swans. They were destined to be swans for the next 900 years. 300 years in 3 different locations. The spell could only be broken after 9pm years both e sound of Christian bells ringing. Of course Aoife end up having to explain herself to Lir who banishes her from his kingdom. He spend the rest of his days by the lake talking to his children. After 900 years the bells are heard, the swans return to human form and are united and brothers and sister. They are baptised before they die, as of course now they are ancient human beings, they do not survive very long.
It is said that Lough Derryvaragh reflects the shape of a swan! Take a look!
Goat- GABHAR - St Patricks Goat Goat
The goat is commonly considered a wild spirit, and is a symbol of freedom and fertility. Popular in poorer communities as it has the ability to survive on poor land and thrive where another animal would fail. All the while providing meat, milk and leather. The story of St Patrick’s goat hails from county Monaghan. Three men stole one of St Patrick’s goats. When confronted for the truth by St Patrick they all denied any hand act or part in the theft. However, over come by the guilt one of the men could only bleat like a goat when he tried to speak. St Patrick didn’t need any more evidence to prove his theory.
Horse - CAPALL - Seeing Ghosts
Horses have always been revered in Ireland for their beauty, strength and the status that comes with owning just a majestic animal.Not to mention the value of a horse to farming family trying to live off the land. Horses played a very important part in a great many stories of great Irish warriors.
Blackbird - LON DUBH - St Kevin’s Blackbird
Today we think of the blackbird as that striking songbird we may be lucky enough to have grace our gardens. In the past man’s relationship with the blackbird was not as positive .Blackbirds were hunted as they were considered competition for fruits and berries. It was also believed amongst Robert things, that they could communicate with the the other world, or that they possessed the souls of purgatory. The story goes that St Kevin of Glendalough was praying on retreat one day, alone in his hut. As he prayed he stretched his hands out the window long enough for a blackbird to land there, build a nest and lay its eggs. It’s said that St Kevin felt for the bird so he decided to wait it out until the eggs had hatched and the chicks flown the nest, without regard to his own comfort.
Seal - RÓN - Eve and Thady Rua
A common belief in Irish folklore was that seals were actually souls of the dead returned in a new form. A version of this idea is that of the “selkies” who appear human while on land and become seals once they return to the sea. Usually they have a cloak they wear to return to seal form and remove that cloak when they arrive on dry land or the shed their seal skin in the same way.The story of Eve and Thady Rua O’Dowd is based on the myth of the selkie. Thady was about to become chieftain of his clan and it was considered time he got married. As he walked along the shore he spotted a beautiful woman. He saw she had a cloak and realised she was a selkie. He managed to steal the cloak from her and convinced her to marry him. She knew he would not return the cloak. Over the years Eve had seven children. One day Thady was away and one of the children told her where the cloak was hidden. This was her chance. She found the cloak and took the children with her and made for the sea. Once at the shore all of the children bar one pleaded with her not to go. It is said she turned them all to stone where they stood and she and the one child returned to the sea never to be seen again.
Cat - Pangur Bán - WHITE PANGUR
In the modern world we are all attached to our pets and many believe our four legged friends reflect their owners personality and vice versa. Pangur Bán is a poem written by an Irish monk in a German monastery around about the 9th century. Over 8 verses of 4 lines the monk relates his cats hunting habits by drawing comparisons between those antic as and his own scholarly endeavours.
Bee - Beacha - Telling the Bees
The tradition of telling the bees is not unique to Ireland. A great many countries across Europe share this idea. As we all know now the bee is critically important for a healthy ecosystem and to guarantee crop production. In the past it was thought the bees should be told of any important occasion in their keepers life. Births, deaths and marriages. If not it was feared the bees might leave the hide or stop making honey.
Salmon- BRADÁN - Salmon of Knowledge
One of the most well known tales of Irish folklore is that of the salmon of knowledge. It features the great Celtic hero Fionnula Mac Cumhaill as a young boy. Fionn befriends a wise man who lived by the river Boyne. The wise man had been trying relentlessly to catch the salmon of knowledge for seven whole years. At last his persistence paid off and he caught while Fionn was with him. Fionn was instructed by the wise man to cook it, but under no circumstances was Fionn to taste it. As it was cooking Fionn burned his thumb on it and instinctively sucked his thumb to ease the pain. As soon as he did this all the knowledge of the world transferred from the fish to Fionn. The wise man was furious at first. However when that moment of fury passed he realised that it was Fionn who was meant to have that knowledge and not him. From that day on, if Fionn needed to know something all he needed to do was suck his thumb and the answer would come to him.
Fox- SIONNACH - St Brigids Fox
The fox is one of my favourite wild animals. Possibly because an encounter with one is as possible in the city as it is in the countryside. The fox is long associated with cunning and trickery. There are many stories world wide that swing between distrust and admiration for the fox. One positive story from Ireland involves St Brigid. The king of Leinster had a wild fox trained so it could perform amazing tricks on command. One day a workman accidentally killed the fox having mistaken it for a wild fox. The king was furious and sentenced the unfortunate man to death. St Brigid caught wind of this and decided to try and intervene. She set off on a journey to the kings castle. A long the way she encountered a young fox. She greeted it kindly. The fox jumped into her cloak and travelled with her. When Brigid arrived the the king was still seething. Brigid produced the fox from her cloak and struck up a deal with the king. If this fox could perform the same tricks as his own fox then the man could go free. It was a success and the man walked free. The fox stayed with the king and Brigid went on her way. A few short days later when the king was away, the fox, being none to fond of captivity found a means of escape. Once the king found out about this he dispatched a search party, but it was too late.
This is a small selection of portraiture and prints. Some form part of group exhibits with members of Illustrators Ireland, some are personal projects. All shown here are produced digitally. I also take private commissions which are largely rendered by hand in watercolour or acrylics.
The majority of my lettering begins as brush and Indian ink or quink ink on paper, giving it a genuine tactile quality. It’s then scanned and finished digitally as a vector or another digital format.
A4 PRINT AVAILABLE TO ORDER
Hello there!
Thanks for visiting my page
I create individual hand painted pet portrait artworks from your photo(s)
FULL COLOUR PRICES
8X10 inches Head Portrait €200
8X10 inches Full body Portrait €250
For a quote on a group portrait or a larger size, drop me an email via CONTACT here on my site.
PACKAGING & POSTAGE
P&P is extra.
Artwork is posted via Tracked Post
Typical P&P
IRL €12
UK €16
Drop me a line for confirmation of cost to all other places.
COMMISSIONING PROCESS
All standard portraits are 8x10 inches and consist of 1 head or 1 full body image on a white background.
If you would like to include a background special to your pets story I can accommodate that at an additional fee. THE PROCESS
The process is really simple.
1. Send me 2/3 good photos of your beloved pet. Together we can determine which one captures the essence of their personality.
2. Once that is agreed payment must be received before starting, whether by redemption of vouchers or via PayPal
3. Next I paint the artwork and send you a preview of the finished art before packing for post.
4. I send confirmation once the package is in the post including the tracking number.
For maximum satisfaction, book your portrait as soon as possible.
If you are in Ireland allow at least 2 weeks, for the UK or further afield at least 3 weeks.
At any stage just message me for an estimated time for delivery.
This allows for my busy periods and peak postal times such as coming up to Valentines, Mothers Day, Father’s Day and Christmas
THANK YOU
OLIVIA
Here are a few examples of my most recent storyboard, infographic and technical projects. These are all produced digitally for the purpose of editing and time managment.
