Here is a longer explanation of celtic art and a list of some famous celtic artists.

Celtic Art

The people we call Celts have deep roots in European history, which can be traced back for at least twenty-five centuries. The earliest recorded Celtic civilization dates from around 700 BC. However, it is also possible that as early as 2000 BC communities with Celtic origins already existed in both Britain and Ireland.

Following the Roman occupation of Britain, from AD 43, only the relatively safer havens of what are now known as the Celtic countries - Cornwall (south-west England), Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Brittany (north-west France) remained. Despite fierce Viking invasions of all these areas, mainly during the ninth and tenth centuries, the Celtic spirit remained alive, and these countries are now the present-day focus for the revival of Celtic culture. Ireland, being more remote and thus relatively undisturbed, became the cornerstone of Celtic Christianity from the fourth century onwards.

Though there has been steady and unbroken continuity of the Celtic art form in all the Celtic countries, especially Ireland and Wales, it is really only since the turn of the last century that the Celtic art revival has really taken off. Today, there are artists and craftspeople working in almost every medium, utilizing Celtic designs.

There are three "traditions" of Celtic art,

The first is the continental Iron age art mainly associated with La Tène culture which draws on native, classical and (perhaps via the Mediterranean) oriental sources. The second, Iron age art in Britain and Ireland, draws on the continental tradition while adding distinctive regional styles. The third, the Celtic "renaissance" of the early Middle Ages in Ireland and to a lesser extent in parts of Britain, borrows heavily from Roman motifs. This third tradition formed the basis for the relatively recent Celtic revival art.

There are four recurring designs to be found in traditional Celtic art.

• Knotwork patterns

The interlaced knotwork patterns with their unbroken lines, symbolize the process of man's eternal spiritual growth, the intertwining of the eternal thread of life.

• Spirals

The spiral is the natural form of growth, and in every culture past and present has become a symbol of eternal life. The whorls represent the continuous creation and dissolution of the world; the passages between the spirals symbolize the divisions between life, death and rebirth. 

•   Key patterns

Key patterns are really spirals in straight lines. When connected, they become a processional path, leading through a complex maze to the sacred center x where Heaven and Earth are joined. Labyrinths, or mazes, were primarily religious objects and were incorporated into the Christian church.

• Zoomorphic Ornaments

Animals and birds were sacred to the Celts. Zoomorphic ornaments show that nothing is as it first appears; plants turn into tails, and, interweaving, develop a head, legs or feet. In the famous illuminated Gospel, the Book of Kells, this influence is emphasized by repeatedly depicting the four evangelists through their symbols: the man for Matthew, the lion for Mark, the calf for Luke and the eagle for John.

Celtic art displays a richness of color, intricacy and symbolism to equal that of any of the world's finest styles of art. The seven created beings of the Celtic world - plant, insect, fish, reptile, bird, mammal and man are all featured in the artwork. But because the copying or portrayal of the works of the creator was forbidden, the artist's representation of natural creatures is highly stylized and abstracted; arms, legs hair and beard are often intertwined in intricate patterns.

Like their pagan gods and spirits, the Druids themselves are said to have practiced shape-shifting, or changing of form, so it is not unusual to find their gods portrayed as having bird or animal servants, or even bird or animal body parts. This same characteristic was later incorporated into the Christian Gospels, where the evangelists are given both animal and human forms.

There are three traditions of Celtic Art

The first tradition is the continental Iron age art mainly associated with La Tène culture which draws on native, classical and (perhaps via the Mediterranean) oriental sources.

The second tradition of Celtic Art, Iron age art in Britain and Ireland, draws on the continental tradition while adding distinctive regional styles.

The third tradition is the Celtic "renaissance" of the early Middle Ages in Ireland and to a lesser extent in parts of Britain. It borrows heavily from Roman motifs. This third tradition formed the basis for the relatively recent Celtic revival art.

Celtic Revival

Since the Romantic era, there has been a substantial revival of interest in all things Celtic, including the visual arts. Many painters, calligraphers, and other artists have worked with the themes drawn from ancient or medieval Celtic art, or else inspired by Celtic literary themes. Some of this work has remained very close to the style of La Tène or illuminated manuscript originals, but much of it has a distinctly new feel. Modern Celtic-themed art can be seen today in a wide range of logos, jewellery, crafts, postcards, and so on.

Celtic font design has proved popular in the computer era; the fonts identified as "Celtic'"—properly called "Gaelic"—are sometimes very close to those of illuminated manuscripts, and sometimes distinctly modern interpretations.

Celtic art types and terms

These were created by Celtic craftsmen during the time of the Anglo-Saxon conquests of England. They were based on a Roman design, usually made of copper with 3 or 4 suspension loops along the top rim, from which they were designed to be hung from within a tripod. Some of the finest examples are found in the horde at Sutton Hoo (625) which are enameled. The knowledge of their manufacture spread to Scotland and Ireland in the 8th century.

An illuminated manuscript page decorated entirely in ornamentation. In Hiberno-Saxon tradition this was a standard feature of Gospel books, with one page as an introduction to each Gospel. Usually made in a geometric or interlace pattern, often framing a central cross. The earliest known example is the 7th century Bobbio Orosius.

A stone cross monument that held biblical scenes in carved relief, usually copying scenes from ivory sculptures and frescoes of the continent. Known in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Also known by the name Celtic cross.

A cross-slab—a rectangular slab of rock with a cross carved in relief on the slab face, with other pictures and shapes carved throughout. Organised into three Classes, based on period of origin.

The fusion of Celtic illuminated manuscript techniques with Anglo-Saxon metalworking techniques. Occurred when Irish Celtic missionaries traveled to Northumbria in the 7th and 8th centuries. Produced some of the most outstanding Celtic art of the Middle Ages in illuminated manuscripts, metalworking and sculpture.

The oldest material Celtic calendar is the fragmented Coligny calendar from the first century BC or AD.

Modern Celtic Artists: