Beverley Healy

Beverley Healy lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she exhibits regularly. In 2011 she won the Ann Cheyne Award for small works and in 2016 received First Prize in the American Art Awards for her portraiture. She was also the Creator and Coordinator of the Dreams Art and Health Research Project which won the Blair L Sadler Healing Arts Awards. She says of her work, "I believe in the healing power of Art. I seek to create work that is not merely a likeness but a beautiful painting, a jewel to adorn the wall of a home or a gallery. My portraits are usually painted in egg tempera on traditional gesso board which allows a softness of colour and sensitivity to detail. My pastel work, on the other hand, allows me to work more freely - I start with a verse or a song and the painting becomes a discovery. I often liken them to visual prayers. In either medium I enjoy colour and the sense of connecting with something deeper as I paint."