Scene and herd in west Kerry

“I EAT them, wear them and paint them... I owe them something, don’t I?” laughs Dingle-based artist Kelly Hood, a woman who quite literally is outstanding in her own (or her neighbour’s) field.

A skilled painter and artist who specialises in local and animal scenes, in a super-realist style (and currently most strikingly in black and white), Kelly has seen a coterie of Irish celebs embrace her cow paintings in particular.

‘Cows in the Hood’ paintings now hang in the homes of Tommy Tiernan, Terry Wogan, sundry RTE types such as documentary maker Michael McCormack — and even Sir Terry Wogan.