New St Brigid painting in Kilcullen church

The new painting and the artist.

The arrival of Covid had an unexpected benefit for Geraldine Losty, the artist for the new St Brigid painting in Kilcullen Parish Church, writes Brian Byrne. It gave her the opportunity to develop a talent which had remained dormant since her Leaving Cert days.

“I had done quite well in art at school, but after that life took over, with family and work,” she recalls. “Eventually, when the children got to a certain age, a friend asked me if I’d like to join her at art classes. It was more of a social thing, and then, after just a couple of weeks, Covid hit.”

With time at home during the pandemic, like so many others, Geraldine decided to pursue her art on her own. At some point, she began posting her work on Facebook, and commissions trickled in, some with an unusual twist. “I found I was doing a lot of work for people whose pets had passed away, and they wanted portraits to remember them by. That grew, particularly with dogs, from people seeing my work.”

She didn’t confine herself to the animal genre, though, she also painted landscapes and portraits of people. "Anything that came up. I recently did a piece for the family of a priest celebrating his 25th anniversary, highlighting different times in his career.” A commission for a St Brigid painting in Clonard parish, Co Meath, indirectly led to the one that has just been hung in the adoration chapel of Kilcullen Parish Church.

“I think somebody in Kilcullen may have seen the one in Clonard, and suggested that they contact me about one for Kilcullen. Fr Gary called me, and it went from there.” Fr Gary says the idea for a Brigid portrait had come from Kilcullen’s Parish Pastoral Council. He says they developed the concept with Geraldine, whom he describes as very professional. “Each step of the process, she sent draft copies. In consultation with the PPC, we decided to include the two churches of the parish community, sheep representing the local area, and the Wicklow mountains in the background.” He says the community's feedback on the finished product, which will be officially blessed on St Brigid's Day, has been ‘very positive’. 

The whole train of commissions since the pandemic restarted her interest in art is something Geraldine very much appreciates. “It has given me confidence in my work. I feel I have progressed and developed, and I suppose I’m very proud at the moment that there have been so many different pieces which have meant much to the people who asked me to do them. The two Brigid pictures are a big deal for me, knowing they will be in churches for the foreseeable future. Yes, I’m very grateful.”

Up to now self-taught, Geraldine says she has an ambition to attend college and study art at some point, to learn more about different mediums and styles. “But at the moment I’m very busy with commissions, so I can’t really do that for now, I suppose.”

Yes, it’s not a good idea to step off a moving train.

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