“I’ve been able to turn my hobby into a full time career”

Ciara Hampsey is a young artist from Magherafelt who has dedicated her life to the creative industries.

Ciara has been working around the arts since she left secondary school in 2015.

Her art is truely eyecatching, particularly her painting of County Derry born poet Seamus Heaney, which has turned heads since it an image of it was uploaded to social media.

She studied Art, English and Theatre Studies for A-Level, before heading to Queen’s University, Belfast to take on an undergraduate degree in Drama with English. Speaking about her time at uni, Ciara said: “During my time in uni, I was creating a lot of SFX/theatrical make-up looks and posting them on my Instagram. These posts caught the attention of a local nightclub, and I was then offered a spot in the club to do some facepainting for their customers. Little did I know, that time in my life would pave the way to where I am now.”

She continued explaining how her career developed after her graduation saying: “Once I graduated from my undergraduate degree, I decided to return to Queen’s to do a Masters in Arts Management. It was from doing that degree that I realised the opportunities that were present in the arts and creative sectors here. I was still dabbling at face painting at this stage, but I soon moved from painting faces to painting windows for Halloween and Christmas, and this eventually led to painting larger scale murals for clients across Ireland and England.”

Ciara explained how she has always been a bit of a ‘yes’ woman and has said yes to every single opportunity that has come her way.

“Whether I knew how to go about doing it or not I did it. I believe you will always find a way, and one opportunity always leads to another,” she stated.

The Magherafelt woman is primarily an acrylic painter, however, in terms of subject matter, she is pretty open to a wide variety of things, whether it’s portraiture, landscapes, animals, tropical flowers, the list goes on. Ciara says she hasn’t really found her ‘speciality’ just yet. Ciara believes she is living the dream. Speaking on her career she said: “I’ve been able to turn my hobby into a full time career. Not many people can say that. I love the freedom it gives me, I love the ability to travel absolutely anywhere to display my passion. I’m incredibly grateful to have met so many incredible people along the way.”

Ciara also enjoys the collaborative nature of the job.

“I love coming together with my clients to discuss ideas. It’s extra rewarding seeing their happy faces once I’ve brought their ideas to life.”

The artist believes that being from County Derry is undoubtedly a huge part of her cultural identity.

She said: “It’s what I’ve grown up with. I believe the idea of ‘cultural identity’ subconsciously inspires my artwork and career. A lot of my work resides in local hospitality venues, many of which are family-led. I have lost count of how many fiddles, pints of the ‘Black Stuff’ and ‘pub grub’ images I’ve painted over the years. But having partnered with these venues, I’ve witnessed the connection between all things culture. Art, traditional music, local food and beverage, family and how they bring local communities together. It all goes hand in hand.”

Ciara said the sense of community has been integral to her career. I’ve found that the people of Derry are really keen to celebrate local talent and share their stories, as seen with my recent paintings of Seamus Heaney and Liam Neeson.

Ciara’s painting of Seamus Heaney was a commissioned piece for the new Fiddler’s Rest Bar in Portglenone. This was to match another commissioned piece of Liam Neeson. The paintings are on display in the bar, as a celebration of local talent.

In terms of inspiration, Ciara loves street art, and finds herself in awe of the local talent here.

However she says her biggest inspiration is her family.

“As cliche as it sounds, my family have been my main inspiration when it comes to my career. Their support and encouragement over the years has really kept me grounded and we’re constantly sharing ideas with each other,” she said.

Another inspiration of Ciaras’s is the late playwright Jo Egan.

“During my theatre days, I had the pleasure of working with Jo on her production ‘Body Politics’,” she said.

“Jo was someone who was incredibly comfortable and confident in her storytelling. She gave a voice to those whose stories typically went unheard. In one of our last interactions, I fondly remember Jo joking that she was ‘running out of steam’, even though she was working on a new script, and that she was leaving it up to me and other upcoming artists to ‘carry the creative torch’. I think of those words way more than I care to admit, but they’ve definitely aided me in times of creative block or self doubt.”

And last but not least, Ciara admits finding inspiration in song lyrics!

She said: “I can sit and listen to lyrics and images will flash into my head instantly. I’ve a huge list of painting ideas that are all inspired by different songs, from rap to dance to country music. I actually completed a skateboard design at the end of 2023, which was inspired by Ultrabeat’s ‘Elysium’.”

You can find Ciara and her stunning work on Instagram and Facebook - @paintedbyciarah