Thursday, October 28, 2010

Beyond my Comfort Zone!

I  have an exhibition running during the annual Opera Festival in Wexford (yes, we are a cultured lot here!). But it's in a small upstairs gallery which is usually closed unless there is an exhibition and we were getting less "footfall" than venues at street level, so I decided to bite the bullet last week and paint on the street outside it (got loads of visitors too as a result!). As luck would have it, I got a cold, wet afternoon, but I got enough down in ten minutes to capture some brief fleeting sunlight. I know there are a few inconsistencies, i.e. the backlight suggests that the shadows should be aligned more to the right, but I want the shadows going to the left. I may be totally wrong, but I think having to work in such miserable conditions added something extra to the painting. A bit more expressive perhaps? OK, so bring on winter then!

Winter Approaching, Wexford
(14" x 11" Oil on Board)

5 comments:

Prerana Kulkarni said...

Very nice painting it looks and feels cold! If only there few pumpkins around and couple of witches (specially one with a broom) it would become a Halloween Town! - Just my imagination.

Michael McGuire said...

Thanks Prerana. I think we're on the same wavelink regarding this!

Unknown said...

Some great elements in this, the shadows, the lovely light edge to the cloud. You are right about the inconsistencies in the light direction bit they are not sufficient to distract from the overall impact. Great tactic to paint outside the exhibition, did it result in sales?

Michael McGuire said...

Thanks Mick. I might still tweak those shadows though - it will be an easy fix once the painting has dried. Got a lot of people to go up to have a look anyway, Mick, and thankfully someone bought one of the larger pieces. Still another couple of days to go and you never know.

Christine M Torrez said...

Great mood in this painting!! It brings to mind Lamb Stew, warm fires and cold nights. I'm getting the itch to paint in public locations such as this. Seeing you make it look so beautiful only pushes me on!