1
Eileen O'Connor, the youngest of four children, was born in 1948 in Lanarkshire, Scotland as Eileen Mary Duffy. She was raised in Wishaw, Lanarkshire.She was educated in Hamilton and Edinburgh before moving to Canada in 1969 to teach with the Metro Separate School Board in Toronto.
In 1975, Eileen moved to North Bay with her husband Jim, where they raised three children. She has worked as a professional and part-time teacher for the past twenty years.
Solo exhibitions of her work include: Powassan Hills and Valleys (1988, White Water Gallery), Viewpoints (1989, W. K. P. Kennedy Gallery), Here & There, Now & Then (1996, Temiskaming Art Gallery), 20th Century Pandora (1997, Joan Ferneyhough Gallery), New Works (1999, Joan Ferneyhough Gallery), and New Works (2001, Joan Ferneyhough Gallery).
Eileen's works are in private, corporate and public collections, including Doan Raymond Chartered Accountants, North Bay; Government of Ontario: Concordia Centre, North Bay; Ministry of Transportation; Hillside Funeral Home (North Bay); Ministry of Mines & Natural Resources, City of North Bay; Northeastern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre; Ontario Northland Transportation Commission; Pro Cathedral, North Bay (wall hangings and banners); and Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre.
(The biographical information featured here was written in consultation with the artist in 2006. The artist has requested historical synopsis.)
Interview:
Eileen O'Connor remembers always holding a pencil and always drawing as a child. Her father, who died when she was 12 years old, nurtured her interest in art, introducing her to painting and gallery visits at an early age. She still recalls her first visit with him to the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. He also felt strongly that a teaching career, one of the limited options available to women at that time, would provide security and independence. Eileen followed his advice but never relinquished her desire to one day pursue a career as an artist.
An opportunity in 1987 merged practical concerns with her passion. A mentoring project for artists, North Bay Artists - Development and Promotion, managed by artist Jill Boschulte, helped participants acquire business skills while continuing to develop creatively in the studio. This experience also taught her news ways of seeing and increased her awareness of her creative process. It was a catalyst for developing her work and it was at this time that O'Connor went public, so to speak, with her art.
She creates her art as a form of personal expression, "not doing it for anyone else's expectations". In fact, she says that painting allows her to be freer. She describes her work as expressive and colourful. As a life-long observer of people, the main focus of O'Connor's work is figurative, but she also paints the landscape purely for the pleasure it provides.
Her titles are ambiguous so that each work "has to speak for itself" and so the painting encourages the viewer to have a personal, rather than a prescriptive, response. Her themes, she feels, are universal, and therefore evoke an emotional reaction. A linear aspect has emerged in her art as it becomes more abstract. Taking her work in a new direction, she says, takes courage but is necessary to avoid becoming trite and insincere.
In North Bay, where she and her husband moved to teach, O'Connor found a "fantastic, diverse arts community" with an encouraging climate for emerging artists. Mentoring was commonplace and accessibility was excellent compared to larger cities, she says.
(Based on an interview with Kathy Eckler in winter, 2006)
2
Eileen O'Connor2006
3
Eileen O'Connor, Eve II, acrylic on canvas2005
4
Eileen O'Connor, Catalogue excerpt from Viewpoints exhibition, W. K. P. Kennedy Gallery1989
Credits:courtesy of Eileen O'Connor
5
Eileen O'Connor, Catalogue excerpt from Two Nations exhibition2002
 |
 |
 |
 |