Elisha McGuckin

Tell us a little bit about you?
Creative to my bones. I get all the feels when I see beautifully curated movies and can't help but move when I hear music. I am in awe of nature, but terrified to ever try recreate that beauty.

I work endlessly in my studio while simultaneously being housewife to an incredibly supportive partner and mother to my 2 beautifully creative little girls.

I am insanely busy but passionately driven, I wouldn't have it any other way.

What is your favourite drink?
I won't lie, it's wine. Not any old wine though, I seek out the quirky drops.

What inspired you to start painting?
This is an evolving answer, I think I need to. I love the feeling I get when I am focussed wholeheartedly on one object, it is my form of meditation. The physical feeling of applying paint, both with great care but intuitively. Painting is a necessity for my mental well-being.

My father taught technical drawing and my grandfather was a housepainter sign writer, so there is certainly something in the genes.

What advice would you give other artists/creatives starting out?
DON'T WAIT. I remember going to studio sessions with a beautiful group of artists, I was mid 20s and remember seeing one of the ladies, in her 60s, weep as she expressively laid paint onto her canvas. I was so impressed by her work, she had set art aside to prioritise everything else, she didn’t begin painting until later in life. It took me maybe another 5 years to really appreciate just how important that moment was. So against all odds, plenty of sacrifices and loads of mum guilt I have worked with discipline to begin my art career. DO IT NOW.

You can see more of Elisha’s work here.