About Me

Ruth's World    Nov 2014

...and in it, I paint, I write and I read books in between running a few small online businesses.  I also work seasonally for Santa Claus (yes, it's true!).  I look after my husband and my two children, I cry for the loss of my mother, I laugh and have great fun with family and friends, I drink red wine and green tea with lemon, and I like the odd Cappuccino too.  I take photos, I eat chocolate, I collect elephant figurines and rubber ducks for no particular reason, I can solve the Rubik's cube,  I love knitting and craftwork but most of all I love, love, LOVE art and painting (see my favourite painting) ...and if you want anymore secrets, read my book (if I ever get around to finishing it , haha!)

Me and my babygirl!

An itch I've needed to scratch all my life; I finally sat down to paint in Sept 2011.  I guess you could say the urge to paint is in my genes because my great grandfather, Michael Ryan was an artist.  My mother told me he used to lock himself away in his attic for hours, painting.  Apparently he had a room, complete with bed, set up there.  Mam said as a child she would often take him up a cup of tea during the day and she thought that it was probably all he'd consumed all day long while he was in painting mode.  She said she remembers a painting he did on the wall outside the outhouse toilet, of a sailor leaning over a wall, who would stare at her while she was doing her business.  She said it used to frighten the bejesus out of her!  I'm guessing that was his intention.  My great grandfather was a painter/signwriter by profession and used to paint the shop signs above a number of the shops in the city where I live.  He did a lot of work using gold leaf and I believe some of his gold leaf work is still there to see in the chapel of the Reparation convent in Limerick. He never became a famous artist although older members of my family say that he was a beautiful artist. I have no idea where all his work ended up but oh, what I wouldn't give for one of his paintings now.  His nephew however, my third cousin, was a famous Irish artist named Fergus O'Ryan.  I'm very proud to have him as part of my family tree.  Read all about him on the page above and in my blog archives.

Another itch I needed to scratch was that of writing and I'm currently writing a book so watch this space.