Our Story

Brigid Shelly is delighted to be known as the “Cow Painter” as she has been specialising in painting this wonderful animal for over twenty years.

Why Cows?

“Part of it is their curiosity and quirkiness that makes them a good subject to paint but also the fact that they are and always have been an integral part of the Irish landscape.

In ancient Ireland a man’s wealth was based on how many cows he had. They have always been there, sustaining us and that is part of the reason I am paying homage to this great animal on canvas. I am also  being drawn more and more to the sights that have been there for centuries that we are losing, like farmers driving their few cows along the road.”

I grew up in an Irish family in England but with no family  anywhere near us. Summer holidays spent with farming cousins in Ovens and the Whitechurch area of Co. Cork and with grandparents in Ballycotton gave me a strong sense of belonging and rootedness. My Mum’s home place like many farms was handed down, father to son (Timothy to James) for centuries and the cows were always there so when I started painting cows, they spoke of that familial bond for me and for many others”.

Brigid has sent her cows to nearly every far flung place in the world and to anyone who wants a little bit of Ireland on their walls.

Her designs and images are now printed on a variety of quality items from “cowshions to cowsters”