Kate Shanahan is a dedicated artist from Castleisland who is about to open an exhibition in St. John’s Heritage Centre in Listowel for the duration of April.
The exhibition will be mounted there and opened without ceremony on this Wednesday night.
She took up art full time in 2011 after being made redundant. From then on she has been following her passion and heart’s desire. Preferring to work with oils and mixed media she incorporates both into her paintings.
Kate also hand carves on stone and slate. She has the distinction of having pieces of her art sitting on bookshelves in Áras an Uachtaráin.
In 2013 she made a pair of decorated, white marble bookends for President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina – and had the pleasure of handing them over in person.
“Working on Irish slate makes the art of hand-carving more accessible and less costly than stone and marble. Because all my stuff is hand carved it means each one is an original,” said Kate.
A keen people portrait painter, she’s an avid animal lover and loves to paint portraits of pets as well.
Kate can make up personalised slate for any occasion like: weddings, anniversaries, remembrance pieces, retirement pieces and they can be hung on wall or mounted on a wooden plaque.
“If people have any unique, personalised gift ideas I’ll be glad to discuss it with them and I cater for a wide range of styles and for all budgets,” said Kate as she packed her bags for her Listowel exhibition.
Kate Shanahan can be contacted on: 086 06 37 980 or by Email: babybru.shanahan@gmail.com