Therese Kelly is an Irish painter based in Galway whose atmospheric oil paintings explore the landscape, light, and quiet beauty of the west of Ireland. Working primarily in oils on canvas, her practice moves between realism and abstraction, creating works that are less about recording a place than evoking its essence.

For her exhibition,Windows to the West, each painting offers a glimpse into the landscapes that inspire her—a view shaped by memory, emotion, and the ever-changing light of Ireland's Atlantic coast.

Originally from North Cork, Therese graduated from University College Cork with a degree in Economics and Mathematics. During several years of living and travelling abroad, including time in Australia, her passion for painting continued to develop through formal study and independent practice. On returning to Ireland, she further refined her artistic voice through studies in art and design.Living on Ireland's west coast, Therese draws constant inspiration from the landscapes of Galway and Connemara.

She absorbs the colours, textures, and atmosphere of her surroundings before translating them into richly layered oil paintings. The soft sap greens of the fields, earthy ochres of stone and bog, shifting greys of Atlantic skies, and luminous coastal light emerge through expressive brushwork and subtle abstraction. Her paintings invite the viewer not simply to observe the landscape, but to experience its mood, stillness, and enduring presence.

Therese's subjects range from expansive coastal vistas and rural landscapes to intimate interiors and still lifes, each reflecting moments of observation transformed through memory and feeling. Rather than depicting an exact scene, her work captures the emotional resonance of place, creating paintings that encourage quiet reflection and a personal connection with the landscape.

Therese has exhibited widely throughout Ireland in both solo and group exhibitions. Her work has been shown at the Jennings Gallery, University College Cork, the Kenny Gallery in Galway, and the Kanturk Arts Festival. Her paintings are held in private collections across Ireland and internationally, and she has supported numerous charitable initiatives through the donation of her work.

For Therese, painting is an intuitive and deeply personal practice, a way of slowing down, observing, and responding to the world around her. Through Windows to the West, she invites viewers to look beyond the surface of the landscape and connect with its essence. Each painting offers a window into the beauty, memory, and quiet poetry of Ireland's western coast, capturing not only its physical presence but also its enduring spirit.