Eamon Colman

Eamon Colman was born in Dublin in 1957. He grew up in a creative household immersed in the art world. His father was Northern Irish artist Seamus O’Colmain (1925-1990), whose friends included artists Gerard Dillon, Arthur Armstrong, George Campbell and Nano Reid. Colman’s father showed work at the David Hendricks Gallery, and Colman spent much of his childhood and adolescence there, taking days off school to go there to learn about contemporary art. Colman was particularly interested in the work of Barrie Cooke, its abstract expressionism and depictions of the natural world. This generation of Irish art, its artists and gallerists, greatly influenced Colman. Colman left school in 1976. He attended night classes at both the National College of Art and Design and the National Botanic Garden of Ireland where he studied horticulture. Upon finishing his studies he worked as the greenkeeper for the Royal Dublin Golf Club, and used his free time to paint. With encouragement from artist Sean McSweeney, Colman held his first exhibition, which set in motion his full-time career as an artist. Colman has travelled widely. He is a keen walker and memories of the environments he has moved through form much of the subject of his work. He draws and paints landscapes in an abstract expressionist style using bold colour and mixed media. In 2007 Colman was elected a member of Aosdána. He lives and works in County Kilkenny.