Sadhbh McElveen is an Irish visual artist working across painting, drawing, and children’s book illustration. She returned to full-time practice in 2020, developing a studio practice grounded in observation through en plein air painting, interiors and regular life drawing. In 2025, she was awarded an ACCESS place on the Royal Hibernian Academy’s Mentored Drawing course, supporting the continued development of her practice.

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She holds a BA in Fine Art (Print) from NCAD, Dublin, and a Diploma in Wildlife Illustration from Carmarthenshire College of Art and Technology, Wales.  Her work has been selected for the SURVEYOR exhibitions at Solstice Arts Centre annually from 2022 to 2025, and she was invited to exhibit in Samhain at Swift (2025), reflecting ongoing recognition of her work within regional exhibition platforms.

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Alongside her studio practice, McElveen has a long-standing professional background as a freelance illustrator, working across publishing, education, and heritage sectors. Her clients include Cork University Press and Trinity College Dublin, where she produced detailed interpretive and illustrative material. She is currently volunteering  as an illustrator with the charity Fighting Words, supporting creative engagement through storytelling.

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Her illustrative work reflects a strong connection to the natural world, combining technical skill and close observation with imaginative, narrative-driven imagery in gouache, pencil, and watercolour.

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McElveen is currently exploring how belief is shaped through storytelling, with a focus on trust, doubt, and superstition in everyday contexts. Through painting, drawing, and participatory elements, she examines how the act of telling a story or a lie is inherently interactive; it requires a willingness to believe. This exchange between teller and receiver has become central to the work. inviting reflection on the subtle, everyday fictions that shape personal identity and relationships. 

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McElveen is a member of Visual Artists Ireland and Children’s Books Ireland, and continues to develop her practice through ongoing research, training, and critical engagement with both contemporary art and the natural environment.

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Exhibitions

 

SURVEYOR open exhibition Solstice Arts Center, Navan. Nov/Dec 2025

Curated by Patrick Murphy

 

Samhain at Swift exhibition, invited to exhibit, Swift Cultural Center, Trim. Oct 2025

Curated by Belinda Quirke

 

SURVEYOR open exhibition Solstice Arts Center, Navan. 2024

Curated by Dawn Williams

 

SURVEYOR open exhibition Solstice Arts Center, Navan. 2023

Curated by Mary Conlon  

 

SURVEYOR open exhibition Solstice Arts Center, Navan. 2022

Curated by Davey Moor

 

Selected Projects 

 

Volunteer for Fighting Words 2023 to Present

Position: Illustrator

 

‎Independently published (22 Feb. 2021) 2020

Arthropoda illustrated a music book by tony Mizen

Position: freelance illustrator

 

Wordwell 2016

early medieval Ireland 431- 1169 Dr. Mathew Stout 

Position: freelance Illustrator 

 

Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd 1997 - 1999

Mapping and layout for Archaeological Consultants & Project Managers

 

Cork University Press 1996 - 1997

Position: Contributing Illustrator for Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape

https://www.corkuniversitypress.com/Irish-Rural-Landscape-p/9781859184592.htm

 

Trinity College Dublin, Geography Department 1992 - 1996

Position: Freelance Illustrator

• Artist’s impressions of archaeological sights & situations  

• water colouring maps and diagrams

 

Unpublished Children's book illustration 

 

Dream Foxes 2023

Catherine and the lighthouse, Written by Gwynne McElveen 2007