Eileen Gillespie

I paint and draw about place through direct observation and memory. I begin with something that catches my eye during daily walks in the woods, my ambles along the shore, or from a place I visit. My paintings reflect the experience of looking at the natural world around me every day. I work in oil on linen and charcoal, pastel and watercolor on paper.

 

Trees have long held my attention, captivatng me and serving as a recurring subject in my work. My paintings are observational and improvisational with an oFen paired down composition and limited paleDe. Focused on nature and the environment, I create this work to connect with and celebrate the world around me.

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Artist Bio

Eileen Gillespie (b. 1963, New York, NY) is a painter living and working in Maine. She spent a year in Rome studying with the European Honors Program at Rhode Island School of Design for which she earned her BFA in 1985. Her time in Rome marked the genesis of a career long interest in structure in nature, architecture, and a sense of place as a subject for her drawings and paintings. She continues to create work based on place, observation, and memory. She received her MFA in painting at the University of Pennsylvania in 1990.  

Gillespie’s awards include a Visiting Artist position at the American Academy in Rome, residencies at Hewnoaks, Millay Arts, The Hambidge Center, The Vermont Studio Center and a Fellowship at Carina House on Monhegan Island, Maine. She is the recipient of a 2004 Artist Fellowship in Drawing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.  
 

Gillespie has exhibited in dozens of exhibitions throughout her career including group exhibitions at the Farnsworth Museum, the Boston Center for the Arts, Boston Athenaeum, the University of Maine – Augusta and Cove Street Arts, Portland. Solo shows include Pepper Gallery, Boston, June Fitzpartick Gallery, ME, Harmon’s Market, ME, O’Farrell Gallery, ME. Her work is in the collections of American Airlines, Boston Athenaeum, Fidelity, Hertz, Mount Sinai Hospital, and Wellington Management among others. 

At present she is the Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Portland Museum of Art where she formerly served as Chair of the Collection Committee. 

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View her previous exhibitions and awards here.