Finally, another studio painting!

I've started a number of studio paintings recently and then gotten distracted and put them to one side. However, I finally finished this one today. I'm hoping to do some prints of paintings of local landmark scenes for the summer tourist market, and this will be probably be one of them. I was aiming for something other than a literal rendition of a photo, so hopefully the painting captures something of the mysterious energy of this special place.

A Golden Moment, Hook Head
(20" x 24" Oil on Canvas)

This is a close-up of a section of the painting, to give some indication of brushwork and texture:-

 

Finally, this is my "reference photo", but I just used it to frame my thoughts on composition. The painting is primarily based on my painting instincts, rather than slavishly copying anything.

St Mullins Paint-Out

A return visit by our plein air group to the little village of St Mullins yesterday (25/3/12), and what a day it turned out to be with temerature of aprrox 18C (64F) and clear blue skies all day. Last year we got our "summer" at the end of April, this year it has arrived a month earlier! I've painted at this place quite a bit and it was difficult to find anything I hadn't painted before, so for my first I settled for this upstream view of the river:-

Spring Morning, St Mullins
(10" x 12" Oil on Board)

Since the day was so good, I decided to push myself outside my comfort zone and try a larger format, so the next one was on a stretched canvas. This downstream view is alwas spectacular on a sunny afternoon, especially if the tide is out (the river is tidal here, even though it is about 10-15 miles inland):-

Spring Glow, St Mullins

(20" x 16" Oil on Canvas)

Since I had finished my second one by mid-afternoon, I decided to explore the upper part of the village away from the river. But, not having found anything particularly interesting to paint, I was on my way back down the steep hill, when this view stopped me in my tracks:-

Late Afternoon Light, St Mullins

(12" x 10" Oil on Board)

Here are some photos of the scenes:-

Saltmills Paint-Out

I painted with a few friends in Saltmills on Sunday last (18/3/12). A very cold, but bright, sunny day, so a painter couldn't really ask for more in mid-March! The village itself didn't have much to offer in the way of painting material and the mud-flats were a bit uninspiring too. So I had to use a bit of creativity to make an interesting painting. This was my first of the day, and I couldn't wait to finish and get a hot cup of coffee!

Low Tide, Saltmills
(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

Some of us decided to check out an old boat-wreck a couple of miles up the road from Saltmills, if for no other reason than to get out of the cold wind. Apparently, the last working steamboat in Ireland, it may be an eyesore to some nowadays, but not to us artists! I was going to do a conventional "portrait" of the boat, but found the combination of cast shadow, reflections and shallow water irrestible, so this painting is really about what's going on in the water:-

The Old Steamboat, Bannow Bay

(14" x 11 Oil on Board)

These are photos of both scenes, taken before I started. Apologies for the poor quality of the first one, which was taken facing the light with the camera in auto mode:-

Thomastown Paint-Out and Daffodils

An enjoyable day painting with some friends in the village of Thomastown, Co Kilkenny last Sunday (10/3/'12). Disappointingly cloudy, but at least it remained dry all day and it was fairly mild for the time of year too. Thomastown has some really interesting buildings, especially when viewed from the river, so I focused on these. I painted the old mill for my first one - it now operates as a craft centre/school.

Grennan Mill, Thomastown
(12" x 12" Oil on Board)

For my second, I just turned around looking the opposite direction and liked the red glow of this building on an otherwise very dull afternoon.

The Red House, Thomastown
(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

I did this quickie of some daffodils in my garden on Saturday (10/3/'12) - the sun obliged for an hour or so.

Coolree Daffodils

(12" x 10" Oil on Board)

These are photos of the two scenes in Thomastown and the bunch of daffodils:-

Duncormick

I painted with a few friends yesterday at the little South Wexford village of Duncormick. Quite a picturesque little place with a number of historic buildings and a river/bridge, so plenty to paint. But the place was worth a visit just to meet and chat with legendary publican John (Sam) Sinnott - a really nice man and proud owner of an authentic Irish country pub, unlike the places most tourists are lured into. The water addict in me took over again, and I just had to paint the river. For my first one, I went for the obvious and painted this "contre jour" view:-

Spring Sunlight, Duncormick
(14" x 11" Oil on Board)

My second one still has water in it, but it's got more to do with the shadow patterns on the bridge than the water below:-

Afternoon Shadows, Duncormick
(10" x 12" Oil on Board)

These are photos of both scenes, taken before I started (the sun disappeared just as I took the second photo, but it soon returned):-

Kilmore Quay Paint-Out

We had a group paint-out at the little fishing village of Kilmore Quay yesterday (26/2/12). It can be a nightmare to paint there mid-week, because the subject matter has a tendency to leave half-way through the painting, but the boats tend to mostly stay put on Sundays. It was disappointingly cool and dull, compared to the previous day which was warm and sunny and felt almost like summer. Still, when on a paint-out, you just get on with it.

For my first one, I found myself getting interested in the negative space between these boats, with the occasional ripples adding further interest.

In-Between, Kilmore Quay
(14" x 11" Oil on Board)

For my second, I like the painting challenge of these rusty old fishing boats. Tried to "draw" accurately but not tightly.

Old-Timers, Kilmore Quay

(11" x 14" Oil on Board)

I took a couple of photos of both scenes, before I started. As often happens in poor light, the photos suggest a much brighter day than it actually was.

Culleton's Gap/Raven's Point Paint-Out

A group paint-out yesterday at the beautiful seaside location of Raven's Point a few miles North of Wexford town. Here one has the opportunity of painting the beach, sand dunes or the adjacent forest. We were all surprised to find so many people out walking there on a Sunday morning - it was nearly as busy as it would be in mid-summer. It was a beautiful clear, sunny morning, but quite cold. After a frosty start, it eventually got up to about 7-8C (c 45F). Most of us opted for the forest, even though it felt colder in there. Anyway, I just went for the obvious, painting people heading off walking from Culleton's Gap towards Raven's Point. But, sometimes, the obvious can be the best painting subject.

Morning Walk, Culleton's Gap
(12" x 10" Oil on Board)

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