About Alison McIlkenny
Alison McIlkenny is a contemporary visual artist based in Moira, Northern Ireland. Her work is rooted in nature and painted intuitively, offering moments of calm, reflection, and connection in an overstimulated world. From wildflower meadows to quiet seascapes, Alison’s paintings are created as visual sanctuaries — gentle spaces to pause, breathe, and feel at ease.
An Artist Inspired by Nature and Stillness
Living in the bustling yet charming village of Moira, Alison works from her rustic garden studio, surrounded by nature and birdsong. Doves, blue tits, robins, blackbirds, and the occasional cheeky starling are regular visitors, often providing quiet inspiration during her painting process. Her cavachon, Charlie, is never far from her side.
Deeply connected to the natural world, Alison also practices yoga and spends time outdoors, drawing inspiration from the rhythms, colours, and subtle movements found in nature. These influences are reflected throughout her work — calm skies, flowing grasses, soft light, and moments of gentle energy.
Alison’s Creative Process
Alison works primarily in oil mixed media, building her paintings creating texture and glazes, paintings can differ slightly in process. Sometimes, inks, spray paints, sand and texture mediums are applied as an under layer before oil paints, sometimes she begins in oils and finishes in glazes. Each piece begins intuitively, allowing the work to evolve naturally rather than following a rigid plan.
This layered approach allows each painting to feel both grounded and fluid — inviting the viewer to linger, explore, and return to again and again. Alison is particularly drawn to wildflowers with bumblebees, seascapes, and quiet natural scenes, using colour and movement to express feelings that words cannot always hold.
Painting is a refuge for Alison — a way of creating stillness and hope, and of offering others a place to rest visually and emotionally.
More Than Just a Painting
Each artwork is created with intention and care, designed to bring comfort, warmth, and connection into your home. Every piece is unique and handcrafted, making it more than just decoration — it becomes part of a personal story.
Alison has been painting for over a decade and her work is held in private collections around the world. Many of her paintings are finished in bespoke circular frames, handcrafted by her husband, Desy, a professional framer who creates each frame from scratch with meticulous attention to detail.
Supporting Creativity and Community
Beyond her studio practice, Alison runs The Yellow Bee Art Club, an after-school art programme delivered in local primary schools. As a certified Holistic Integrated Creative Arts Therapist, she works closely with children, witnessing first-hand how creativity can help them express emotions, build confidence, and find calm.
Purchasing Alison’s artwork also supports this wider work within the local community, making each painting part of something bigger — a shared commitment to creativity, wellbeing, and connection.
Painted Intuitively, With You in Mind
Rooted in nature and alive with colour, Alison’s paintings are created as small sanctuaries — to live with, breathe with, and return to. Each piece is an invitation to slow down, reconnect, and bring a sense of calm into everyday life.