Aoife McManus, 8 Jul
Ciara Hampsey is a young artist from Magherafelt who has dedicated her
life to the creative industries.
Ciara has been working around the arts since she left secondary school
in 2015.
Her art is truely eyecatching, particularly her painting of County
Derry born poet Seamus Heaney, which has turned heads since it an image
of it was uploaded to social media.
She studied Art, English and Theatre Studies for A-Level, before
heading to Queen’s University, Belfast to take on an undergraduate
degree in Drama with English. Speaking about her time at uni, Ciara
said: “During my time in uni, I was creating a lot of SFX/theatrical
make-up looks and posting them on my Instagram. These posts caught the
attention of a local nightclub, and I was then offered a spot in the
club to do some facepainting for their customers. Little did I know,
that time in my life would pave the way to where I am now.”
She continued explaining how her career developed after her graduation
saying: “Once I graduated from my undergraduate degree, I decided to
return to Queen’s to do a Masters in Arts Management. It was from doing
that degree that I realised the opportunities that were present in the
arts and creative sectors here. I was still dabbling at face painting
at this stage, but I soon moved from painting faces to painting windows
for Halloween and Christmas, and this eventually led to painting larger
scale murals for clients across Ireland and England.”
Ciara explained how she has always been a bit of a ‘yes’ woman and has
said yes to every single opportunity that has come her way.
“Whether I knew how to go about doing it or not I did it. I believe you
will always find a way, and one opportunity always leads to another,”
she stated.
The Magherafelt woman is primarily an acrylic painter, however, in
terms of subject matter, she is pretty open to a wide variety of
things, whether it’s portraiture, landscapes, animals, tropical
flowers, the list goes on. Ciara says she hasn’t really found her
‘speciality’ just yet. Ciara believes she is living the dream. Speaking
on her career she said: “I’ve been able to turn my hobby into a full
time career. Not many people can say that. I love the freedom it gives
me, I love the ability to travel absolutely anywhere to display my
passion. I’m incredibly grateful to have met so many incredible people
along the way.”
Ciara also enjoys the collaborative nature of the job.
“I love coming together with my clients to discuss ideas. It’s extra
rewarding seeing their happy faces once I’ve brought their ideas to
life.”
The artist believes that being from County Derry is undoubtedly a huge
part of her cultural identity.
She said: “It’s what I’ve grown up with. I believe the idea of
‘cultural identity’ subconsciously inspires my artwork and career. A
lot of my work resides in local hospitality venues, many of which are
family-led. I have lost count of how many fiddles, pints of the ‘Black
Stuff’ and ‘pub grub’ images I’ve painted over the years. But having
partnered with these venues, I’ve witnessed the connection between all
things culture. Art, traditional music, local food and beverage, family
and how they bring local communities together. It all goes hand in
hand.”
Ciara said the sense of community has been integral to her career. I’ve
found that the people of Derry are really keen to celebrate local
talent and share their stories, as seen with my recent paintings of
Seamus Heaney and Liam Neeson.
Ciara’s painting of Seamus Heaney was a commissioned piece for the new
Fiddler’s Rest Bar in Portglenone. This was to match another
commissioned piece of Liam Neeson. The paintings are on display in the
bar, as a celebration of local talent.
In terms of inspiration, Ciara loves street art, and finds herself in
awe of the local talent here.
However she says her biggest inspiration is her family.
“As cliche as it sounds, my family have been my main inspiration when
it comes to my career. Their support and encouragement over the years
has really kept me grounded and we’re constantly sharing ideas with
each other,” she said.
Another inspiration of Ciaras’s is the late playwright Jo Egan.
“During my theatre days, I had the pleasure of working with Jo on her
production ‘Body Politics’,” she said.
“Jo was someone who was incredibly comfortable and confident in her
storytelling. She gave a voice to those whose stories typically went
unheard. In one of our last interactions, I fondly remember Jo joking
that she was ‘running out of steam’, even though she was working on a
new script, and that she was leaving it up to me and other upcoming
artists to ‘carry the creative torch’. I think of those words way more
than I care to admit, but they’ve definitely aided me in times of
creative block or self doubt.”
And last but not least, Ciara admits finding inspiration in song
lyrics!
She said: “I can sit and listen to lyrics and images will flash into my
head instantly. I’ve a huge list of painting ideas that are all
inspired by different songs, from rap to dance to country music. I
actually completed a skateboard design at the end of 2023, which was
inspired by Ultrabeat’s ‘Elysium’.”
You can find Ciara and her stunning work on Instagram and Facebook -
@paintedbyciarah