Go outta that

Go away outta that 50x70cm oil on canvas €1450

I haven’t posted a welling boot painting in a while and I”d like to say that was because of the good weather. Yes, well, chance”d be a fine thing…. my welly boots are still getting great use.

A trip to Clifden

The galleries around the country are picking up again after the winter and I’m glad to say that all of them have been selling for me. So it was time to take a little trip to the west to deliver some new work. OK, a thinly veiled excuse for a little road trip but we don’t really need much of an excuse do we?

The main reason was to visit my newest gallery, The Whitethorne Gallery in Clifden in Connemara where owner and artist, Ann Merrins, made us very welcome.

Glenlo Abbey

Along the way, and it was a long way because after Clifden (oh and a stop in Roundstone village) we headed to Lahinch in Co. Clare to deliver paintings to The Lahinch Gallery. Anyway, along the way, we stopped at the Glennlo Abbey Hotel for a quick break and what did we find but interiors like these below. No promises, but you may see some of these interiors in a painting near you soon!

The same degree of ecology and philosophy

The same degree of ecology and philosophy 30x40cm

It does occur to me that this title may be a little long, but it comes from a lovely song by Morsheebah called Riverbed. In fact it really should be ” we share the same degree of ecology and phlosophy” which makes more sense but is even longer.

The painting is a study that I did for a larger painting but I think I prefer the smaller one to the larger one. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

New gallery representation

I am really pleased to say that my work will be available at The Whitehorne Gallery from this weekend.

It’s a beautiful little gallery, in a gorgeous location in Clifden, Co. Galway, on the west coast. I am very proud to share wall space with some fabulous artists including Kate Began, Markey Robinson, John Morris, Ann Merrins, John Cathill and TJ Miles to name a few.

More pictures soon.

And if you are anywhere near Morpeth in Northumberland in the UK this weekend you might like to check their spring show this weekend.

kisses at the door

kisses at the door 30x40cm oil on canvas

I wanna do this

Andrew Bayer – Lose Sight from Czlowiek Kamera on Vimeo.

curlew cottage

curlew cottage 60x60cm oil on canvas €1450

One City One Book

Do you have this where you are? It’s where the city choose a book to read and lots of events are put on relating to it. It’s like a city wide book club for one month (April) and this year’s book is Strumpet City.

‘Strumpet City’ by James Plunkett. Published by Gill and Macmillan, depicts a pivotal event in Irish social history – the mass lockout of trade unionists by employers in 1913 – and has a wonderfully memorable cast of characters – not least the city itself. One reviewer commented – “if Ulysses is Dublin’s odyssey, Strumpet City is Dublin’s epic”. The same reviewer is of the opinion that if anyone is seeking the Great Irish Novel – they need look no further.

I am really enjoying the book although finding it hard to get the 550 pages read before out bookclub meet next Wednesday!

Here’s a clip from the series made of the book with the amazing David Kelly playing “Rashers Tierney”

One day like this

This is a small painting. One of four that I painted recently.

One day like this 35x45cm

What would you be willing to sacrifice?

I love This. It’s a simple idea but doing it is a bit mad. I love how he is so enthusiastic and excited in the beginning and then when it stops working out for him and he doesn’t know why, he questions everything. I’ve been there.

But the difference between him and a dreamer is, he’s doing it!

Ah ya will!

Ah ye will! 60x60cm oil on canvas €1450

Artist Talk & Demo in Killarney this May

I will be giving an Artist talk and Demonstration in Killarney’s, 5 star, Aghadoe Heights Hotel on May 18th and 19th.

I’ll be talking about my story, how I came to paint and what inspires me. I will talk my painting process and answer questions in a relaxed and friendly and, I must say, very beautiful setting.

I will also be completing a painting during both the Saturday and Sunday sessions.

One session each day. €60 pp per day. Booking for the two sessions can be made through Declan at the Killarney Art Gallery.

declan@killarneyartgallery.com

You can also book a weekend package, to include the two sessions, accommodation and food through the aghadoe heights hotel.

info@aghadoeheights.com

Round and round the garden

Round and round the garden 50x70cm oil on canvas €1495

Celtic angels leave a blessing

My sister Maria, who lives in Canada, recently brought a group of 30 ladies over from Canada to visit Ireland and in particular some of it’s sacred places. They called themselves the Celtic Angels and a more lovely bunch of ladies would be hard to find. They had all been instructed to bring a pair of wellies (I think they call them duck boots or rain boots is the US) but chose not to bring them home. So in the end, guess who got showered with a blessing of  wellies?

It seems it’s got around that I paint wellies. Sometimes when I come home, a lonely pair with be sitting on my doorstep without a note!  As you can see I have lots of dark ladies wellies but I could still do with some more kids wellies and a man’s pair or two. So if you live local, don’t throw them out and if you’re stuck for a pair on a rainy day you know where to come!

Afternoon tea at Hunter’s Hotel

This is the finished painting from the demonstration on Saturday last. It is a scene from the front lounge at Hunter’s Hotel in Co. Wicklow

50x50cm oil on canvas €1195

A demo at the Doorway Gallery

Here are some photos from the demonstration. Thanks so much to everyone who came along, I hope you had as much fun as I did. I think you can see from the photos the great atmosphere during the afternoon.

Something so strong

Something so strong 35x45cm €995

Demo at the Doorway Gallery

I will do a painting demonstration at The Doorway Gallery from 3.30pm this Saturday March 23rd for a group of visiting Canadians. If you are in the city and would like to come along you’d be very welcome to join us.

Hibernian Days

Hibernian Days 60x60cm oil on canvas €1450

Demo at the Hibernian Club on St. Stephen’s Green

Last Tuesday evening I was invited to one of Dublin’s most exclusive private members club’s to give a painting demonstration. The Hibernian Club, founded way back in 1840, sits right on St. Stephen’s Green and is dripping in old boy charm and history.

I’m really not sure how I got in the door!

Here are some photo’s from the night.

Thanks to the Doorway Gallery for there help and to Colm Jackson for photography.

Beauty lies in simplicity 80x80cm oil on canvas sold

Just look at that! One of my paintings on the front cover. Woop woop!

Cover of this month’s Home & Lifestyle Northern Ireland featuring Beauty Lies in Simplicity. Many thanks to Carrie Neely Contemporary art.

Dogwood Blosson 40x40cm oil on canvas sold

Inside detail from article in Home & Lifestyle featuring Dogwood blossom

Perfect Sunday morning

Perfect Sunday morning 60x60cm €1450

The 100 most beautiful words

Ailurophile A cat-lover.

Assemblage A gathering.

Becoming Attractive.

Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.

Brood To think alone.

Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.

Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.

Chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.

Comely Attractive.

Conflate To blend together.

Cynosure A focal point of admiration.

Dalliance A brief love affair.

Demesne Dominion, territory.

Demure Shy and reserved.

Denouement The resolution of a mystery.

Desuetude Disuse.

Desultory Slow, sluggish.

Diaphanous Filmy.

Dissemble Deceive.

Dulcet Sweet, sugary.

Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.

Effervescent Bubbly.

Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.

Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.

Elixir A good potion.

Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.

Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.

Emollient A softener.

Ephemeral Short-lived.

Epiphany A sudden revelation.

Erstwhile At one time, for a time.

Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.

Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.

Evocative Suggestive.

Fetching Pretty.

Felicity Pleasantness.

Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.

Fugacious Fleeting.

Furtive Shifty, sneaky.

Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.

Glamour Beauty.

Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk.

Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.

Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.

Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.

Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.

Imbue To infuse, instill.

Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.

Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.

Ingénue A naïve young woman.

Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.

Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.

Inure To become jaded.

Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.

Lagniappe A special kind of gift.

Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.

Languor Listlessness, inactivity.

Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.

Leisure Free time.

Lilt To move musically or lively.

Lissome Slender and graceful.

Lithe Slender and flexible.

Love Deep affection.

Mellifluous Sweet sounding.

Moiety One of two equal parts.

Mondegreen A slip of the ear.

Murmurous Murmuring.

Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.

Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.

Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.

Opulent Lush, luxuriant.

Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.

Panacea A solution for all problems

Panoply A complete set.

Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.

Penumbra A half-shadow.

Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.

Plethora A large quantity.

Propinquity Proximity; Nearness

Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.

Quintessential Most essential.

Ratatouille A spicy French stew.

Ravel To knit or unknit.

Redolent Fragrant.

Riparian By the bank of a stream.

Ripple A very small wave.

Scintilla A spark or very small thing.

Sempiternal Eternal.

Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.

Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.

Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.

Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.

Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.

Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.

Susurrous Whispering, hissing.

Talisman A good luck charm.

Tintinnabulation Tinkling.

Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.

Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.

Vestigial In trace amounts.

Wafture Waving.

Wherewithal The means.

Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.

Hook, line and sinker

Hook, line and sinker, 60x60cm €1450

It’s unusual for me to paint a family wellie boot painting for three but I’m really liking this one. It’s off to the UK today.

Course and Demo details

Over the next month or so I will planning my upcoming demonstrations and workshops. I plan to give some demonstrations at the Doorway Gallery in Dublin this year and possibly in other galleries too. I may also be giving a weekend course/workshop and have some offers to do so in the UK or US as well as here in Ireland so watch this space and if you have an interest there will be more info to follow soon.

I love to do the demonstrations and workshops and always end up gaining at least as much as I give. However, my passion is to paint, so as always, time is the issue.

Here I am (above) being filmed for RTE last year during a demonstration on culture night at the Doorway Gallery.

Scott Free

Scot free 60c60 oil on canvas €1450

Small fry

Well, I don’t think I could answer those questions any better..

Small Fry Valentine from Small Fry on Vimeo.