Biography

Kevin Flood grew up in Longford, Ireland. His passion for painting began when he was very young when he saw his first oil painting demonstration at a local art group. His formal training was received at Dun Laoghaire School of Art and the National College of Art and Design where he graduated with honours in 1981.

During this time Kevin was fortunate to have the opportunity to study drawing under Patrick Graham; whose work is internationally recognised and is a master draughtsman. Patrick Graham was the pupil of Sean Keating who was a student and close friend of William Orpen.

This period of study involved extensive periods of figure drawing in a wide range of media constantly developing a keen sense of proportion and anatomy but perhaps more importantly striving to render the
subtleties of light and shadow. This strong academic training and link with the great masters of the Irish art world has fundamentally influenced Kevin’s style and perception of art.
As his painting style matured his work has gravitated towards that of the impressionists. With a stronger emphasis on the interaction of colour and light.

Kevin continues to enjoy working in oils, watercolour and pastels and his work explores a very wide range of subject matter including Still Life, Beach Scenes, Landscapes and Garden Scenes. Painting the figure has remained as a source of inspiration and now his wife Ita is the muse for many of these intriguing compositions.

Working from home, Kevin has two studios one where he paints and the larger studio is used as an exhibition space.

His paintings in oils, watercolour and pastel have been exhibited widely in many prestigious galleries and exhibitions. His work is featured in many public collections including Westmeath County Council and Fingal County Council.

He was recently commissioned to produce a series of twelve paintings representing a year at Belvedere House, Gardens & Park; which have been published in the 2010 Belvedere Calendar, which is currently
available at Belvedere House Mullingar.

His original paintings are also in great demand among private collectors in Ireland and abroad. His work is represented by The Oriel Gallery, Clare St., Dublin, Treasures Antiques & Irish Art, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.

Throughout his career Kevin Flood has played an active role in Art Education, initially through his involvement with Westmeath V.E.C. where he was employed as an art teacher. In 1991 Kevin and his wife
Ita founded - Painting Holidays in Ireland - offering intensive high quality painting courses at their studio in Longford and other venues around the country. Several of Kevin’s students have gone on to become successful artists, and exhibit their work widely.

In a recent RTE Nationwide programme, which featured Kevin’s work as an artist and teacher, many of his students when interviewed credited their artistic success to a solid foundation of knowledge that they had gained from Kevin, in the high values of sound drawing, strong composition and sensitive use of colour. As his reputation as a teacher developed so did the popularity of his own work. Kevin and Ita decided to reduce the number of courses they were offering to allow Kevin more time to concentrate on his own work.

Kevin continues to write about many aspects of painting for the Leisure Painter Magazine, which is published in the UK, but is also available in Ireland. To continue his involvement in art education Kevin has combined his vast experience as a teacher and painter to produce a series of instructional DVDs on watercolour painting. The first part - The Daffodil Study - is currently available.