John Doherty with Fiddle

Stephen Bennett was born in London, his father having emigrated from Ardara,Co. Donegal, Ireland. Having graduated from Barking College of Art, London, Stephen entered the hustle and bustle of the London commercial world and spent the first 20 years of his working life as a Visualizer/Illustrator for leading London advertising agencies. He was part of many award winning creative teams while working for Saatchi & Saatchi and other top agencies.

Stephen left the commercial world behind him and  moved to Ardara, the birthplace of his late father, in 1992, to follow his lifelong ambition of working as a painter in Donegal. Inspired by the people and landscape around him he developed his own unique style.  He is now an established exhibitor in galleries throughout Ireland and his expressive figurative and landscape paintings are in private collections worldwide. He also accepts commissions for portraits and welcomes visitors to his studio gallery beside his home in Ardara.

Stephen represented Ireland at the Florence Biennale in 2005.