About Ann Kilroy

My studio looks out over the houses opposite. They are terraced, made of red brick with slate roofs and beyond them are the tops of trees and the sky. Before I start painting I go out and over the little bridge at the end of the road and into the park. Walking, looking and thinking is the starting point for all my pictures. I live on the edge of town so it doesn't take me long to be out in the countryside. I absorb the atmosphere, the light and the mood each time I go out. I take photographs and sometimes make drawings but rely heavily on memory and impression. I think of myself as mainly a landscape painter but love the colour and shapes of plants so am often inspired by gardens and flowers too. My favourite medium is oil paint. I start with a prepared surface and apply a coloured wash. I loosely draw in the composition then build up layers of thin paint allowing the image to grow out of the forms and colour. I add thicker paint and detail as I go along. Although I start with an idea the paintings grow and change as I go along and always surprise me which makes painting exciting!