BRIGID SHELLY
All about cows with attitude!
By Lynda Cookson
The late afternoon sun casts warm shadows over the fields in Ardmore as Brigid Shelly hoists herself over the stone wall, clutching her painting paraphernalia and making sure not to knock down any stones. She inches slowly towards a herd of cows and settles down far enough away from them not to spook them but close enough so that she can see the shadows of their ears on their faces and catch the rays of sunshine on their noses and rumps. They’re used to her now and calmly munch away while they watch her do the artist thing. The local farmers have been heard to laugh: ‘That one’s got the mad cow disease … jumping over walls for cows!’ – while passersby stop to offer help, thinking that her car has broken down.
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We walked into her studio and picked our way past an easel standing amongst clusters of brushes stewing in brews of turps, and palettes sporting great mountain ranges of colourful paint. In one corner sat a computer, forlornly out of place and lost amongst the tubes of paint and cow paintings on the walls. The cows rule this room – they have real expressions on their faces. Brigid laughed: ‘They’re cows with attitude. I have a client who specifically asks for curious and cheeky cows with attitude, rather than docile, depressed cows. She doesn’t want them to look like they know where they’re going because she hangs them in her restaurant, right above people eating good steaks! I like people to see humour in my paintings, for them to smile and feel something good about nature. At the moment I’m working on a series called “Driving Cows” – lots of cow behinds! Cows are a very Irish thing; they’re earthy and bring us back to our roots.’
