Co Down woman Kathryn Callaghan's artwork has featured in films such as The Foreigner and TV shows Dr Foster, Marcella and more

“The reason I paint the things that I paint is normally because people like them, and I want to make work that people like…. familiar scenes, buildings, special places, special drinks, even, things that will help stimulate a nice pleasant feeling or memory, so it’s an experience, not just something to look at.”

Kathryn, 45, clearly has her finger on the zeitgeist, with her work now adorning homes around the world and hanging on the walls of restaurants and hotels, including The Grand Central in Belfast, Bushmills Inn, Mount Juliet in Co Kilkenny and Druid’s Glen, Co Wicklow.

“We have been approached by some hotels directly and sometimes it comes via an architect or an interior designer working on a newbuild or refurbishment, and what they want is artwork that reflects their brand and enchances the environment that their customers are buying into. Typically they are hotels at the upper end of the market and maybe they have a connection with the countryside.

“Those are fantastic projects because you get people from all around the world staying in these hotels, so it’s great exposure. Quite often we would get contacted and people would commission a piece or buy a print based on having stayed in one of the hotels.”

Her work also decorates Mourne View Distillery’s gin, vodka and whiskey bottles. And whilst she has a number of celebrity collectors, she is discreet about their identity.

Kathryn’s pieces have even appeared on television and film sets, including the Pierce Brosnan and Jackie Chan movie The Foreigner, and the hugely popular TV shows Dr Foster, Liar, Liar and Marcella –something she was pleasantly surprised about.

“I had been asked permission (for the paintings to be used), but forgot all about it, then there was a flurry of messages, with people sending me screen shots or photos of their TV,” she laughs, adding, "It’s lovely when people see it and they notice.”

Kathryn, who lives in Lisbane, doesn’t follow the traditional painting methods of brushes and easel, as she explains: “The process is largely contactless. A lot of people won’t realise that the work is made on the floor and I’m on my knees, wearing overalls with knee pads...very glamorous!

“It’s done in layers and then allowed to dry in between each layer. A typical painting might take five days, allowing for the drying time in between. I start off with a blank canvas and the first layer is poured from an open top bottle. I use ink for all of my colours and mix that with other things to change the properties of the ink, for example, I’ll mix it with acrylic gel and that turns it into a honey-like consistency – and that is the first layer of my paintings. That is left to dry overnight and then the next layer is usually applied with pipettes – and you can go from varying heights, dropping and splashing the colour on and then I blow a lot of it over the surface if I want to get a little bit of coverage.

“It’s just a process of layering, and gravity is my friend, because it truly allows you to may a mark that is truly organic and different each time. I work quite fast, because you can’t slow down a drop or a splash –obviously I think about it beforehand, but each layer is made quite fast.

"The reason I paint this way is because what inspires me is the every day moments, the raindrops clinging to the window and the little reflections you see in them, the light shining through the trees when you get dappled sunlight, or a really strong, crisp shadow from a building, how long grass moves in the wind. Everything that’s happening around us in nature and in our cities – and those things are really transient – they come and they go.

“When I realised that’s what inspired me, and it took me years to work that out, then I experimented with different techniques of making art, that would reflect that, so that is why I work fast, spontaneously and organically, and in the moment.”

Kathryn, who is mum to two teenagers and a member of Comber Chamber of Commerce, started off working in her spare bedroom, before moving her studio to a converted cowshed, and then at the start of lockdown bought The Old Schoolhouse at Ballydrain, Comber, which had been lying derelict for some years.

Such has been the demand for her work, Kathryn now employs two members of staff, to help with the business side of things.

"With social media and the internet, people are able to reach their target audiences in a way they never could before. In the past you had to rely on galleries, and those are still brilliant and definitely still have their place, but it is a different landscape now for artists.

​“I have two members of staff, Angie and Ben. Angie looks after order fulfilment, so if you go online and place an order, Angie packs that up and sends it off to you. She also looks after replenishing all of the supplies, the paper and the inks, the frames and all the things we need.

"Ben looks after everything digital, from the website administration, product uploads, social media and graphics.

“In theory the idea is to leave me to paint, but you don’t always get to do that because there’s an awful lot behind a business – there’s all the marketing and the meetings and the finance.

“In terms of my painting, I would love more hours in the day to be experimenting and doing all the fun stuff, but I prioritise commissions.

"This year I was hoping to do a road trip in the campervan and do a lot of outdoor painting of scenes and landscapes around Ireland, it hasn’t happened yet, but I want that to happen next year, maybe.”

And it’s not just about creating pretty pictures, Kathryn (kathyryncallaghan.co.uk) has bold ambitions –once citing her desire to be the next Cath Kidston. To that end, she has produced a range of homewares and invites licensees to collaborate with the brand.

Outside of work, Kathryn enjoys daily sessions in the gym and travelling. As for Christmas, she’s looking forward to a quiet one: “I like nothing more than to eat nice festive food, have the fire lit, have a glass of wine on hand and stay cosy and warm. Nothing too wild.” Then, no doubt, it will be back to the drawing board...or, more accurately, the canvas on the floor.

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