Rain is coming in the distance over the hills. In Ireland when dark, rainy clouds approach over seas, the seas can turn a deep green.
Tag Archives: irish art
Ferns
This view is from above the ferns looking down. I like the effect, reminds me of a kaleidoscope or a vortex.
Midwinter Sunset Over Garryvoe Beach – Sold
Captures an amazing sunset over Garryvoe beach in early December 2011. The tide was going out so the sky is reflected wonderfully on the wet sand. This place is a 3 or 4 minute walk from my house.
Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly – Sold
This butterfly is a common visitor to Irish gardens in summer. Sold.
Magnolia Blossom – Sold
This was painted when my second exhibition was coming near, so I worked hard to make sure it was ready in time.
Cornfields at Loughane near Shanagarry, July 2012 – Sold
Back to acrylics with this. Painted from life, at the side of a road looking North. A great experience to be painting outside in the open air, it’s how I started out 13 years ago doing painting. Time to complete 12 -13 hours.
Twilit Winter Sky
I think this is the lowest horizon I’ve ever put on a painting, but then it’s all about the sky.
Roses – Sold
Since I started using oils in January 2012, a lot of my pictures had quite muted colour schemes, especially the last two I did. So in this one I used a variety of bright colours on the roses. The central pale rose had to have very pure mixes; the slightest amount of impurity and the colour would be a faded grey mud. Overall this was a very challenging and absorbing painting.
Grandfather Dan on his Fordson – Sold
This painting is based on a black and white photograph taken on 22nd January 1943. My paternal grandfather Daniel T McCarthy is sitting on his newly bought Fordson tractor. The orange model was made from 1939 – 42. Behind the tractor is a plough. Much of the ploughs in Ireland were still horse drawn at that time. My grandfather was a forward thinking man in terms of farm machinery and this tractor was the very latest in tractor technology at that time. I didn’t know him, he died in 1973. The original photograph had a glare that obscured much of the engine detail. Also the very front of the tractor was cut off in the photo, so I had to consult the original negative plate to get it right. So I spent WAY too much time on this. I faded the colour in the sky to make it look colder and blurred the detail in the ground and background so the tractor stands out more.
Self-Portrait, 2012
Painted from life from my reflection in a mirror. I just love the overall shabiness of it and the expression of mild anxiety on me, it’s an honest to goodness portrayal of who I am.
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