JENNY O'BRIEN PORTRAITS

It was reading an article about the vital work of the Rape Crisis Centre that inspired local artist Jenny O’Brien to come up with the idea of producing a unique calendar to raise much needed funds for the service. Orignally from Wexford, Jenny, who is a very young looking 30 years old, has been living in Galway since 1995 when she came here to study Fine Art in GMIT. Although her intention was only to stay two years, she fell in love with the city and has been here since. “I had been involved with the Wexford Opera Festival through my music and I loved the atmosphere in the town during that week with shows and exhibitions on all the time. It’s like that all the year round in Galway.”

Since the age of 14 years, all Jenny wanted to do was be a painter and after her leaving cert, she started a degree in teaching secondary school art in Dublin. However, having learnt nothing about painting at the end of her first year there, she decided to transfer to Fine Art in Galway.

Having been interested in doing something for charity for some time, and “not being brave enough to jump out of a plane”, Jenny contacted the Rape Crisis Centre with her idea for the calendar after reading an article about the need for funding to continue with their vital work in Galway. The Rape Crisis Centre decided on twelve subjects who are all inspiring women who shine in some way in their own lives and Jenny got to work on the portraits. While she met many of the women, she had to rely on publicity photos for Pauline McLynn and Garry Hynes but is hoping to meet all of her subjects in the flesh at the opening next week. “It’s strange being in the house without all the portraits, I had them all lined up together in my studio for ages because I wanted to see them all as a group as well as working on an individual basis. I nearly felt like I knew them, I became so familiar with their faces but hopefully they will all be coming to the exhibition opening.” Jenny O’Brien also takes commissions for portraits and for caricatures which have become quite popular at weddings. If anybody wants to contact her they can do so through the Kenny Gallery. “I don’t have any big dramatic artistic statement to make..... I just like painting peoples faces,” she remarks.