Emily O'Reilly

Processing pain through painting.

If you had asked me 15 years ago where I would be today, I probably would have said something like, "I'm getting ready for another exhibition at XYZ gallery", not "finally picking up my paint brush and dusting off blank canvases to start all over again". Last year, I picked up my brushes again after a 12 year hiatus after the sudden death of my (step)mom. This "Beauty From Ashes" collection became a form of therapy for me to process my grief and pain. Each painting tells its own story and has gone through its own process of development.

Though I hate the avenue in which this journey restarted, I'm thankful to be painting again. It's never too late to begin, it's never too late to restart.