A ‘thank you’ present for my brother for sitting so long for his portrait. I remember the reference photo in a magazine being tiny so the likeness is a bit off.

It’s time to go CRAZY! I was 18 and we had a power cut. Some of my most interesting paintings have their sources in unplanned spontaneous moments. So taking advantage of the situation, I set up a spooky scene. Kinda like Munch’s Scream painting. Painted over two nights on 27th and 28th October, 2000

In the previous post, I mentioned that I lived near the sea and near two peninsulas that are on opposite sides of a bay. This is one of them, to the east of where I live. I had just started college when I painted this, one Saturday in October, 2000. I set up my materials on the edge of the field outside my house and painted away in the cool morning air. Little ‘money’ spiders were crawling all over me in the dew. By the early afternoon I was finished. I’ve such a clear memory of painting this, even though it’s years ago.

I really am blessed where I live. I live a mere 100 metres or so from a beach in East Cork Ireland. Garryvoe beach is a popular seaside destination for Cork people. Two peninsulas of land lie to the east and southwest of the beach. Directly south of the beach are two islands, one with a lighthouse on top. They are popular subjects for painting. This painting was an early attempt at depicting them. I smile when I see the foamy waves; they are so naive compared to the way I do seascapes now!

My fourth canvas was an early attempt at painting myself. Back then, I didn’t have an easel, so I painted on a level table. I would be working on the picture at an acute angle, not facing at the picture squarely. Consequently the lower part of my face is more broad than real life, I look a bit bloated.