Galway girl catches eye of Kim Kardashian

An Irish digital artist has won the admiration of reality star and fashionista Kim Kardashian.

Ellen McCann, who lives in Galway, is known to family and friends as Nelle, the name she adopted for her art practice just over a year ago.

An email sent on behalf of Kim Kardashian a few weeks ago asked Ellen for permission to use her illustrations on her website and app.

Ellen, who grew up in Moate, Co Westmeath, was delighted when she realised that the American celebrity had chosen her illustrations to serve as the primary centrepiece of her social media presence.

She said: “So, as from now, a selection of my illustrations can now be seen on the homepage of KimKardashianWest.com where she says: ‘More of my favourite fashion sketches ever! These are all so good!’.”

Ellen said she was very flattered to be mentioned alongside two other talented artists, Hayden Williams and Ponyy Boyy.

“I work extremely hard on all my illustrations, so it’s nice when the hard work finally pays off,” she said.

Ellen, 27, has gained a lot of celebrity attention since starting her business and is now hoping that it will soon pay off.

Another achievement was when fashion designer Michael Costello asked Ellen if she would create an illustration of singer and actress Jennifer Lopez.

He uploaded her image to his Instagram page, where it got thousands of views. JLo also shared the illustration on her page.

Ellen, who describes herself as a digital illustrator with a flair for fashion and beauty, moved to Galway seven years ago to do an arts and science course at Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.

She left the course after three years for personal reasons but, looking back, realises it was not for her.

“I have always loved art since I was a child. I drew and scribbled on everything, even the front of my home,” she said.

Ellen won many art competitions at school but was not sure what she wanted to do after leaving school.

She completed a one-year post-Leaving Certificate course in art and design in Moate Business College and, while she was there, succeeded in being part of the Leonardo Project — a three-week work experience programme.

“I went to Barcelona in Spain and the experience changed my life,” she said. “It is a creative city and when I was there I knew for sure that I wanted to be an artist.

”I had a great time when I was studying art and design in Galway — I met amazing people and really found myself but my father became ill and I had to take a break but it was really a blessing in disguise.

“Looking back now I can say that I am doing what I really want to do. I am creating something and that is art — I found my own style.”

While Ellen loves her art, she also wants to make a living from it but that is not really possible at the moment.

Ellen works at a web design company in Galway called Spoogle where she creates visual concepts and manages social media.

“I have often stayed awake all night creating pieces,” she said. “I just love what I do and am not going to stop. One of my biggest drives is to be a success for my family.

“I have good and bad days. I allow myself a break on the bad days and then get stuck in again. I get a huge boost when people appreciate my hard work and efforts.”