Ballymaloe House Paint-Out

I joined a neighbouring plein air group for a paint-out at beautiful Ballymaloe House yesterday. It was a dull misty morning, but cleared up a little in the afternoon. I had to look hard to find some colour in the morning, but found these dahlias in the yard.

Dahlias, Ballymaloe House
(10" x 12" Oil on Board)

Since the sun was coming and going in the afternoon, I settled for this shaded corner of the garden for my second painting.

A Quiet Corner, Ballymaloe House

(14" x 11" Oil on Board)

Photos of both scenes:-

Back in the Studio

It's probably been over a year since I did my last studio painting, but I finally got the urge to do so a few days ago. This is based on a plein air painting I did earlier this year.

Towards Clogher Head, West Kerry
(20" x 24" Oil on Canvas)

A Day in Leighlinbridge

We had a group paint-out in the picturesque little village of Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, yesterday. Unfortunately, it quickly turned into a very wet and windy morning, but a local hotel kindly let us paint under the large umbrellas in their external dining area, overlooking the river and marina. I did my first painting while it was raining and was immediately drawn to the red and yellow boat. I still had to push the colours a bit for added impact.


"Standing Out from the Crowd", Leighlinbridge
(12" x 10" Oil on Board)

The sun came out for a short while in the afternoon, but it quickly clouded over, so I had to rely a lot on memory to complete my second one.

Afternoon Reflections, Leighlinbridge

(12" x 10" Oil on Board)

These are acouple of photos of the scenes:-

A Day in Courtown

Our plein air group went to Courtown in North Co Wexford yesterday. It started off cloudy, then rained for a couple of hours, and then became sunny but very windy - a good Irish day then! Actually, it worked out quite well, because the rain came just as we were about to break for lunch.

I wasted about twenty minutes painting my frst one, when one of the boats disappeared! So I had to start again. This time I fell for the charms of the "Brazen Hussy", hard to resist that bright colour on a dull morning.

Morning Reflections, Courtown
(10" x 12" Oil on Board)

I didn't start my second until almost 4-00 pm, waiting for the light conditions to become more settled. I was rewarded with lovely glowing light.

Afternoon Reflections, Courtown

(12" x 10" Oil on Board)

Finally, here a photos of both scenes:-

Bright Sunlight!

Seems like we've had nothing but grey days here for weeks on end, so even though I was tired, having been on the road for a few days, I headed down to my favourite headland in glorious sunshine yesterday morning. It clouded over later in the afternoon, but I managed to complete this while the sun was shining.

Summer Afternoon, Carnivan Beach
(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

This is a photograph of the scene taken before I started:-

Screen and Ballyhack Paint-Outs.

I did this one a couple of weeks ago in the picturesque little village of Screen. A bit showery, but nice bright sunlight in between. I got drawn to these old tree stumps behind a derelict building. Had to move things about a bit, but I like the resulting composition.

Fallen Trees
(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

I did this one yesterday at a group paint-out in Ballyack. It was mostly overcast, but there was a hint of sun every now and then and I tried to capture that light effect.

Harbour Reflections, Ballyhack

(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

Here are photos of both scenes:-

Some Stuff from Art In the Open Festival

It's been a busy few weeks, so I haven't really painted that much. Our annual plein air festival (www.artintheopen.org) was bigger than ever this year, with over 120 artists entering the main competition and probably another 100 or so attending workshops and other events. It was also great to see a much increased international presence this year.

I managed to paint for 3-4 hours on the Saturday of the main event and also got out to paint on a local beach a few days later. As a steering committee member, I was excluded from the competition, but allowed to enter a few paintings in the exhibition. The first one below is no surprise, as I always get drawn to water. The second is a famous Wexford landmark, its rather dull exterior playing down the fact that  the Centenary Stores is really a lively place comprising a pub, restaurant and nightclub. I think it is this which attracted me to it, but I also liked the fact that I could see a lot of subtle warm reflected light in the front facing wall, despite the dull, overcast conditions.

Reflections, Wexford Quay
(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

The "Stores", Wexford

(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

Finally, I got out to paint at a local beach a few days later. It turned into a beautiful sunny afternoon, made extra special by the generosity of one of our painting colleagues, who hosted a barbecue for almost 50 artists. To top it all, I sold this one "off the easel" to a lovely German lady who was on vacation in Wexford.

Summer Afternoon, Rosslare Strand

(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

Here are some photos of the scenes, taken before I started in each case.