Ursula Boylan O'Gara was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1936. From an early age, Ursula and her late brother Steve, instinctively knew how to draw. However, although her parents encouraged art, to earn a living by art was difficult in post second world war years and so she studied business methods and worked within the world of commerce.
Having spent several years as a private secretary, she resigned and studied journalism. She worked for a year with Heibon-sha Publishers in Tokyo, preparing material for Japanese children to promote friendship and peace between children all over the world.
In 1970 she studied physiotherapy in the U.K., worked for a while in a hospital then opened her own health and sports clinic. Two years later, a serious disc lesion compelled her to scale down her work and on medical advice, she closed her clinic. During those early years, she still retained her passion for art and painted at every opportunity.
She received art instruction from an old school friend of her late father, George Collie, Royal Hibernian Academy, in his studio in Schoolhouse Lane, Dublin - returning some years later to study technique. She attended the former College of Art, Kildare Street, Dublin in the early fifties.
In the mid-sixties she met the renowned artist Thomas Ryan, Past President, Royal Hibernian Academy, Hon RA, Hon RSA, who gave her solid advice and constructive criticism of her work.
Having painted in watercolours in the early years, she switched to oils, which became her medium thereafter.
Married to Donal, a retired Aer Lingus/GPA/Ryanair Avionic Engineer, they have two grown-up daughters, Miriam and Adrienne, both of whom live in the U.K. |