A Belfast artist's images of Ireland of old are striking a chord with Irish American art lovers in Prairie Country.
And now doctor-turned-painter Anna McKeever plans to bring a collection of her works to exhibit in the U.S. in 2025.
While some American buyers have visited Anna's South Belfast studio, the majority see her work online and get in touch to purchase a work or request a commission.
Anna's evocative landscapes and portraits are inspired by Ireland's heritage and language - and have an immediate appeal to the American descendants of An Gorta Mór.
The Brinkmann's of Robins, IA, who bought the young artist's evocative painting, The Potato Picker, say the artwork reflects the painful past of the Irish.
"All of my great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland," explains Kelly Brinkmann. "One story that I have researched through church papers and official records and that resonates with me dates to the 1840s when the Famine was very bad. An Irish priest studying in Virginia raised funds to take 250 hunger-stricken Irish families back with him back to America. It was summer time and the weather was too hot and disgusting for Virginians much less the Irish.
"Some of the immigrants stayed, the rest moved west with the priest to St. Louis but that was still too warm for some. The final group continued west to Iowa which was becoming a new state. The priest had enough money to buy some land and the Irish exiles started a farming community on the Mississippi River in Iowa. That is how two sets of my great-grandparents got here."
Added Kelly: "It goes without saying that the Irish have endured much hardship over time. Anna's art is very reflective of that."
Anna says Irish mythology has inspired much of her recent work.
“However, I didn’t want to recreate ancient Irish art, I wanted it to be modern art but with a Celtic influence," she told belfastmedia.com recently.
#Anna McKeever Exhibition…tonight Anna celebrates the launch of her latest exhibition of new works at her studio, Level 2 455 Ormeau Road Belfast. These paintings are truly charming, playful & original. @SuzyJourno @skydavidblevins @colin_davidson pic.twitter.com/arwqyUMd1U
— Eamonn Mallie (@EamonnMallie) November 23, 2023
After a spell as a medic in New Zealand, Anna returned to Ireland and devoted herself to her first love: art. Being back home in Ireland, she says, has allowed her to explore Irish history and mythology and also to reconnect with the land and its ancient past.
“I’ve loved being back home and being able to absorb our culture and appreciating just how old this land is. The west of Ireland and Belfast were big influences and I enjoy going to each place I paint and getting a feel for the location. I like to create a feel for a place and to get its energy."
McKeever's painting style is unique. “I work with oil paint so each painting can take several weeks to finish so I’m often working on several pieces at once. I like to let the paint set and dry before I move on to another part of the painting. When I paint I don’t use a brush, I use a palette knife so it’s an unusual painting technique. In school I would use the wooden end of the paintbrush to apply the paint really thick and the teacher advised me to use a palette knife and I’ve used one ever since, you can get almost sculptural with the paint because you can etch into the paint."
