Rosemary Kavanagh OCarroll

Migrant Workers, Homestead, Florida
oil on canvas
23 x 36 in.

I am a political artist who documents labor and child labor worldwide. I normally work with oil on copper incorporating wool fiber from my sister Bridget’s sheep farm. In the past few years, I have concentrated on painting weavers in the Middle East and India. I was in Turkey last October at a rug dealer’s, and painted children working in Afghanistan and Egypt. But now I am documenting and painting the migrant workers in this country. I fly to the designated areas, rent a car and take photos and draw on site in the fields. This has been a humbling experience for me, because the Mexican and Guatemalan migrants work very hard and are basically ignored, even though we eat the fruit and vegetables they pick, with the realization that they have been here long before I was born.

I have been painting since I was four. My mother taught me. I was born in Detroit, Michigan, have ten siblings, studied at Pratt in NYC, met my husband in a castle in Ireland and lived and painted in Ireland for 8 years. My two oldest daughters were born in Ireland. While I was there I learned what it was like to be an outsider, and how kindness is very important to those who are not in their native land.

I have exhibited in many juried shows and have had two solo shows on Child Labor in the 19th Century and Afghanistan. I have a painting degree from CCSU.

© Rosemary Kavanagh OCarroll