Leanne Whelan | Artist Spotlight - Dublin Art Classes

I love art. I always have. Being part of Dublin Art Classes means I get to stay close to it, and to be around likeminded, creative people. We get to talk about what we love and enjoy it. That, in itself, is something I value.

I am a graphic designer by profession. It is a structured discipline, rooted in composition, balance and colour. Working alongside artists who take painting seriously has deepened that understanding for me. I have taken Catherine’s Colour Theory course, and I genuinely loved it. Understanding colour at a deeper level matters to me.

Going to London with the artists to stand in front of Turner is a highlight of my year. When I am there, I sometimes think that years from now, a painting from Dublin Art Classes could hang on those very walls. It is a hope. I believe in the artists that much.

Graphic design has shaped how I think. I am a systems person. I am drawn to structure with feeling, to order with intention. I have always loved the quiet satisfaction of pieces finding where they belong.

Long before I had the language for any of that, I was learning it at our kitchen table.

Dad once decided the table needed revarnishing and took a sander to it, leaving a few small marks that never quite disappeared. They became part of the table’s character, part of him. That table saw twenty five years of our lives, and it became the centre of our jigsaw phase. We would ask if we could help, and when he said yes, we took it seriously. If a piece fit, there would be a loud “YES!” around the table.

Dad framed them. They were enormous. The themes were completely different. One was a 17th century horse. Another was a field of hot air balloons. They hung on our walls for years. I don’t think he realised he was teaching me anything back then, but he was teaching me patience, process, and pride in finishing what you start.

For me, painting is a puzzle in itself. Composition, colour, balance, tone. When the pieces fit, when something resolves, there is that same quiet certainty.

When I turn my digital work into a physical jigsaw, it feels natural. It brings the image off the screen and back onto the table. Piece by piece. Built slowly. Finished properly.

It is time. It is love. It is family. And when it finds its place in your home, the story carries on.