Above Crickhowell, Wales (2015) Painting by Emma Cownie

Born in Hereford, educated in Cardiff and London, I am a professional contemporary artist, specializing in oil paintings. I am based in Donegal, Ireland and Derry, NI.  All my life I have loved being creative – whether it was drawing and sketching as a teenager, drawing with oil pastels and screen print-making in my 20s and finally focusing on photography and oil painting in adult life.

I originally trained as a professional Medieval Historian and then worked in Secondary Education for almost two decades until my life took an unexpected turn. On 29th February 2012 I was involved in a car accident which led to me developing  PTSD and having a breakdown. My emotional recovery was long and exhausting and is still ongoing. Art was an essential part of that process and still is. I have been a professional artist since 2013, part-time until the summer 2016 when I became a full-time professional artist.

I paint most days.  My work focuses on light and colour, whether I paint rural landscapes, urban streets, seascapes or figurative work. I like to paint people walking around in their everyday lives, painting moods, anticipations, and atmospheres, trying to express presence and pathos. I notice things that others miss. I am fascinated by details and relationships.

In my work, I am drawn to light and shadows and how they shape our emotions. I remember visiting the South of France as a teenager and being mesmerized by the dazzling light, I have been attempting to capture that excitement about light in my paintings ever since. I aim to make people look at the ordinary and see the extraordinary beauty in it.