Insight into paintings
The turquoise door technique
Exploitation by the down industry, which lead to the extinction of the Great Auk, also took it’s toll on other sea birds .
Gannets were next, by the 1820’s the population of gannets, breading on the little Skellig, had dropped to twenty breading
pairs .Emergency laws were passed to ensure it’s survival .
A technique used for catching them involved towing an old door behind a boat, with fish nailed to it .Gannets would see
this feast and on diving from a height……break their necks in the process .
Their feathers used for pillows and duvet’s, it’s meat eaten and it’s oil used for cooking .
As this painting, is on a large canvas at over seven foot .I decided to try change the laws of linear perspective …so while it
can be viewed form the centre of the painting …it’s best viewed from left to right .
sunshine and optimism amidst the
Anthropomorphic rocks of Dunworley bay
Last cast, Owenahincha
To this day I’m still amazed, as to how I spend hours fishing with a lad, not fifty yards away and never spotted him until
it was time to pack up . I quickly rummaged through my pockets and found the remains of a Bic Biro and sketched his
outline and noted down some base colours .
Sometimes it’s fun to experiment with tone, rather than colour .Working with a limited pallet, can fast track your knowledge
of pigments overnight .
Reverberating sounds of thunder through limestone pavements
The karst limestone region of the burren in county Clare is littered with sea caves .Deep below the rock, hidden from view,
water travels through these cave systems .The loud audible crash of a wave is followed by a distant rumble of thunder,
twenty seconds later . I have to admit that on occasion, hearing this…. thinking ….the glorious sunshine, was about to come
to an abrupt end .
This is a painting of the stunning west Cork coastline .The large winter storms which batter the coast, can have a profound
effect on reshaping our beaches .Sometimes it can also revel hidden gems
Stripped of sand, the rocks behind were a myriad of caves .Towards the sea giant slabs of rock, towered from above .
Ghostly faces began to emerge, like sleeping giants carved in stone, watching my every move .
By the following summer, all the sand had returned and my stone friends, only visible, by the tops of their heads .
The caves had all but vanished and all that remained,…was a distant memory .
A brief overview into some paintings ….every picture paints a thousand words, they say …but I’ll try keep it short .
Evening light at Spanish point
Artists try to replicate Nature as best as possible, using pigments instead of light .This is quite a difficult challenge,
as light is pure but pigments contain impurities .Mixing two primary colours together, produces a secondary colour .
Any child knows that mixing, blue and yellow …makes green .
Always up for a challenge, I embarked on a major conquest to discredit children worldwide, debunk their illogical
theories for once and for all …and disprove this myth .
The challenge for this painting was to try replicate what I’ve witnessed in Nature and blend blue into yellow .
A seamless transition from blue into yellow without physically mixing or optically mixing green …..is possible
…but to be fair to the children …it’s difficult .
The west of Ireland is renowned for it’s unpredictable weather .Four seasons in one day, not a problem .Travelling the
Dingle peninsula, two up on a motorcycle, on a warm calm peaceful morning .We encountered some light drizzle, on
the approach into Dingle village . Little did we know the weather was about to unleash hell .
Drizzle, was replaced by torrents of rain, the wind reached storm force and whipped the seas below, into foam .
Visibility dropped to yards ,gulls and gannets lined the tops of the stone walls …too weather beaten to remain, at sea .
Too far gone to turn back and with nowhere to shelter we continued .The wind took us, wherever it wanted and at times
very close to the cliff edge .
Soaked wet and freezing cold, the depths of misery an despair….suddenly out of the gloom, a road side sign for a café
…utopia …shelter at last .We had every intention of staying all day …..till closing time, if needs be .
Two cups of coffee later while looking out of a large seaward facing window, facing towards the beach at Ferriter’s cove,
a speck of blue appeared in the distant skyline …surely not ?.Within ten minutes the wind dropped, the rain cleared and
the sun came out to play .
We quickly made our way, down to the beach below, surrounded by clouds of vapour, from our sodden cloths …
being baked dry, by the scorching sun .A few graphite sketches, jotting down various local colours, eventually led
to this painting ….to this day, it remains one of my favourite paintings as it’s exactly how I remember, this day .
The dark rocks of Ferriter’s cove