A Painting by Avril McDermott 120 x 80 cm
Avril McDermott has deep-rooted family connections with West Cork but was born and reared in Dublin. After living for many years in Westmeath, she has now set up home in Union Hall. She is a self-taught painter, having first picked up a brush when she was in her early twenties in response to a long-held urge. As a young working mother her time was limited, but she used every spare minute to hone her skills and underwent her first artistic baptism of fire when she exhibited in the People’s Art exhibition in St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin. That experience showed her more than anything else the standards she had to reach – standards that she was able to strive for more and more as her children grew up. She became a regular exhibitor at Art Ireland in the RDS, Dublin, and her equestrian portraits also began to attract attention when she exhibited at the Dublin Horseshow. She has had many solo exhibitions in Dublin and Westmeath, including one in Glandore Church.