When we speak, Beverley Healy has just finished leading a watercolour class for the Northern Health Trust’s community arts programme – one of several she has run across Northern Ireland. The workshops, hosted in local libraries, are designed for people of all backgrounds, particularly those who might lack confidence in their artistic ability. “I started developing them years ago when I worked with Arts Care at the Mater Hospital, Belfast, often focussing on mental health,” she says. “They’re structured in a way that suits a range of people – especially those who might not think of themselves as artists but want to give it a try.”

Healy sees these sessions not only as a creative outlet for others but as a reminder for herself. “It reminds me that it’s fun just to play,” she says. “I can be a bit of a perfectionist, which can be valuable, but it can also hold you back. Teaching reminds me to let go of that and to embrace the joy of connection – that belief that everyone is creative and that we shouldn’t be afraid to do it wrong.”

Prayer, Process, and the Imaginative Work

While Healy’s portraiture is careful and deliberate, her imaginative work is more spontaneous, unfolding like a form of meditation. “It’s quite a prayerful process for me,” she says. “I start with a blank page and I don’t know what’s going to happen. I just put bits of paint on and pray and paint at the same time.”

Before she begins, there’s a pause – a moment of stillness she describes as essential. “It’s just about letting the work be what it’s going to be,” she says. “Even choosing colours feels like a kind of prayer.”

Her faith has now become deeply woven into her whole creative practice. “I didn’t grow up with faith,” she says, “but I have it now. And when I paint, I feel like I’m creating with the Creator – not just making something on my own.” She often refers to these pieces as “visual prayers,” each one a reflection of contemplation and trust.

Connection Beyond Belief

Though Healy’s art is rooted in spirituality, she approaches her subjects with openness. “I believe everyone is intrinsically valuable, created in the image of God,” she says. “So when I paint someone, that’s the perspective I bring.”

She recalls a portrait of a fellow Artist from her MA course who didn’t share her faith but was open to being painted within that framework. “She knew where I was coming from,” Healy says. “We discussed that the portrait would be about the beauty I see and about hope, about the questions of life that go beyond what we may see. She was happy for me to work that way.”

Holding Space – On Canvas and in Life

Healy’s recent work reflects her desire to slow down and step away from what she calls the “digital soundbite culture.”

“We live in a world full of noise,” she says. “My work is about creating breathing space – a chance to pause and reflect on life’s bigger questions.”

In her paintings, that realization has taken form as literal white space. “I wanted more space in my work, because I wanted more space in my life,” she explains. “It was a real struggle to keep that space – I kept adding and taking things away. But it reflected what I was going through personally: trying to hold on to stillness.”

That sense of stillness is captured in Each Green Breath, a 100cm x 100cm egg tempera painting on vegan gesso. The work takes its name from a line in a poem shared by her sitter – a poem that reflected her fragility and strength. “There’s a green feather in that painting,” Beverley says, “and a subtle swathe of yellow – both almost invisible unless you really look. They echo that balance between fragility and hope.”