Hazel Greene is a figurative landscape painter
who lives in Birr, County Offaly. She works in the traditional medium of oil painting, using a naturalistic palette.
Greene’s work is made within the landscapes that inspire it, from the blues and greens of the Slieve Bloom mountains, and the greys and blues of the Burren in County Clare, to the wild lakes and formal gardens in the grounds of Birr Castle. Her smaller works are painted outdoors using a pochade box (a portable painting box with a built-in easel) but larger paintings are made in her studio, where the canvas is sheltered from the wind.
These are peaceful images on which to rest the eye. Greene is interested in capturing atmospheric perspective, landscapes with detail fading into distance, and the fleeting changes of the light. The discipline of her composition comes from her background in design but also shows the influence of the Irish artist Paul Henry (1876-1958) and the German landscape painter August Wilhelm Leu (1818-1897).
Greene has studied with many of the best Irish and international artists, including Jenny Aitken, Una Sealy, Mick O’Dea and Blaise Smyth.
With dual practice in fashion design, Greene is adept at drawing the human form. She also makes artworks on textile and in film. Her 2016 centenary exhibition, Kathleen Kingston, used textile art to tell the story of a pioneering Irish politician in the early years of the State.
