Siobhan O’Hehir

Siobhan O’Hehir is a semi-abstract landscape painter. She lives and paints in the village of Ancrum in the Scottish Borders but grew up in the west of Ireland. She is a keen walker and rock climber and she feels compelled to respond through painting to these wild places she has walked and climbed in. Much of her inspiration comes from the landscapes of Northumberland, the Lake District, the West coast of Scotland and of course the beautiful Borders plus, more recently, the coastal scenery of Brittany.

Siobhan says ‘These natural places whether crags, mountains, moorland, fields, forests or coast are a rich seam of visual stimuli. Constantly fluctuating weather, natural light, colour and the changing seasons keep drawing me back.

The traces of human intervention in these places provide an additional layer of interest for me. Boundaries running through the vast tracts of the highlands, medieval ring garths still visible in the Lakes or the tree lines and the fences and planted forest demarcating the landscape   all provide points of interest when thinking about wilderness and how it is perceived.

Being so beautiful, often harsh but also fragile, and with a soundscape which is so unique to these less inhabited places, these wild/ part wild landscapes are very emotive. Through my painting I strive to capture some of the intense feelings that the natural world can exert on us.’

Siobhan has a degree in Fine Art from the University of Ulster and a Masters from Newcastle Polytechnic. She exhibits her work throughout the UK and Ireland. She is a part-time lecturer at Borders College in Galashiels.