Two trees Gougane Barra

oil on canvas  36 x 26 cm

I wanted to do a painting of Gougane Barra that might describe 

the wildness of the place so I followed the stream that eventually

becomes the Lee river up in to the wooded hills until I found an 

area which I felt had just the right look to it.

Thanks for looking :)

Sea cliffs on the south coast

oil on foamx 27 x 20 cm

 A quick study of some sea cliffs on the coast of Cork.

Thanks for looking :)

Colors of Winter

Oil on foamx 24 x 24 cm

Another heavily laden oil work I have just finished.

Once again I have used foamx as a base. The painted

image is one from the Gearagh in Cork. It's an area of 

such scenic quality that I think it would be easy to find

 a thousand paintings in just one visit.

Thanks for looking :)

Study of the head of a crow

Ballpoint pen on cartridge 30 x 20cm

I have to admit I have a weakness for drawing crows, they are such a resilient and

intelligent bird. I have ample opportunity to study them also, living near a large 

roosting colony.

Thanks for looking :)

Some Life studies from the fourth floor studios

Got a chance again, to do some life studies at the Fourt Floor Studies.

The poses last from two minutes to twenty. The shorter poses are shown

above in the top images with the a longer one displayed in the lower image.

At the moment it seems the only time I am taking a break from my ink pens

as a drawing medium is when I attend these studies, but I couldn't  imagine

capturing life poses in anything other than graphite or paint.... yet.

Thanks for looking :)

Exhibition at The Mart Art Gallery.

 I have been lucky enough to have myself included as part of the exhibition, "Art, Line and Sinker," 

in Dublin this week, so if you are around the capitol and have some time to spare then please feel free to drop in.

Life drawing at the Fourth Floor Studios

Yesterday I got a chance to attend some life drawing at the Fourth Floor Studios in the city.

The drawing session runs for a duration of four hours with poses held from one minute 

warmups right up to twenty five minutes so quite a lot of work gets done. Below are some 

of the sketches completed in the fifteen to twenty five minute poses.

Thanks for looking :)

Study of a Velazquez self portrait in ballpoint pen, sandpaper & Bleach

Ballpoint pen, sandpaper & bleach on recycled card  30 x 20cm

Here is a study from a self portrait by Velazquez. For this piece I first scribbled

out the main portrait with my ink pen, I then sanded the whole piece with a medium grade

emery cloth and used a hard eraser to knock back the lighter tones. After some adjustments

with the pen I then proceded to brush with household bleach the areas where I wanted to get 

the highlights. It's a messy approach but I thought it would be worth a try and for the materials

I used it seemed to come out ok. The whole work is done on a piece of recycled white card used
for packaging which I found much easier to sand than the normal A4 cartridge sheets I use from
time to time. Of course this is not the first piece of artwork I have created from mediums which
are all  destined to become rubbish :)

Thanks for looking :)

Quick scribble of a woodland scene

ballpoint pen on cartridge  30 x 20cm

 Here's another quick sketch done with ballpoint pen at the cork sketch group

Drink & Draw event. I heard someone say recently that the ballpoint pen is the 

pencil of the 21st century.. I guess that could be true really as even the cheapest

mass produced pen can still offer up a satisfactory drawing result. I find for speed

and tone and a fine line, a ball point pen can be second to none when you are in a

hurry. I also like to use sandpaper with these scribbles, drawing the ink across the 

page in a semblance of a wash, making for a nice finish. Of course with the pen, 

there's no turning back, once you put down that line it's there to stay, but I like to 

think that's an advantage to as it forces you to make better decisions knowing in 

advance that you will not be able to undo any strokes. I have been using ballpoint

pens now for many years and I find that each time I return to graphite or oil pitt I

 do less corrections as a result of using this medium.

Thanks for looking :)

Quick oilsketch of a cow

 oil on canvas 30 x 20cm

As the title suggests, a quick oilsketch of a cow done in a limited palette

of naples yellow, burnt sienna burnt umber cadmium green 

and a lick of aliziron crimzon.

Thanks for looking :)

Dreamscape

 oilwash on canvas 30 x 20cm

I thought I might try something different for a change so I put this reduced color palette

together just for fun, it's mostly a heavy oil wash with just a few strokes of color laid over it.

Thanks for looking :)

Two Little Pigs

oil on canvas 30 x 20

A quick oil sketch of two little pigs from the heritage farm at Killarney Co.Kerry.

Thanks for looking :)

Painting and drawing from life

Graphite on paper 20 x 30 cm

oil on oilboard 20 x 30 cm

oil on oilboard 20 x 30 cm

 Yesterday I got the opportunity to study some models from life with both pencil and oil. 

These are from the longer poses which varied from twenty minutes to forty minutes.

It's quite a rush to get a piece some way completed in the time available so they are 

quite minimalist in their appearance. It was a lot of fun.

Thanks for looking :)

Re-entry

oil on masonite 20 x 15cm

A quick oil sketch of an astronaut on re-entry just for fun

Thanks for looking :)

Study of a Rembrandt self portrait in oils

oil on canvas 46 x 36 cm

Almost at the end of the art challenge now with the art group "The Galway Pub Scrawl"

Todays theme was "master copy" and so I had the audacity to try my hand at a facisimile

of a Rembrandt self portrait...

Thanks for looking :)

Abandoned

Disposable pen on recycled paper 30 x 20

My entry for day six of the July drawing challenge.

Thanks for looking :)

Invisible to her prey.

Disposable ink pen on recycled paper 30 x 20cm

Here is the day five drawing from the drawing challenge, the subject was, "invisible"

I attached a digital border to this piece to contain the text as I thought the drawing

itself needed a bit of an explanation in order to satisfy the theme

Thanks for looking :)

Old Crow

Disposable ink pen on recycled paper 30 x 20 cm

For the month of July I have joined a drawing challenge started by the Galway Pub Scrawl. 

A drawing group based in Galway. The challenge is to draw something each day for the

month, based on a list. One drawing per day each day. All the drawings done by those in 

the event can be seen here. The above is my entry for day three " your spirit animal "

Thanks for looking :)

Study of Caravaggio's "Doubting Thomas" with disposable pen

  Ball point pen on recycled paper 12 x 8

I started this the other night while with the Cork sketch group at their drink and draw event

 and finished it on returning to the studio. I felt attempting a Caravaggio study would have

 been a bit of a challenge with the,"ten for a penny" ink pens I am using at the moment but 

they seem to be more than able. Any reluctance on my part to do this was based on the fact 

that there is no adjustment allowed so I would have to look at my own mistakes when finished. 

But that's all part of the process and I think I got away with it, for the most part. I do like the 

results though, because the finished scribble gives me a good understanding of where I
might have made better decisions with my pen strokes and it also teaches me to accept the
limits of my ability with the media.

Thanks for looking :)

Sailboats sheltering in the early morning in Drake's pool

Oil on masonite 31 x 27 cm

For this piece I tried to concentrate only on the color shapes in the scene.
Rather than attempt to paint boats in the water I placed on the  masonite
as accurately as possible, a description of the shapes I could see and the
colors they assumed without regarding them as components of the real
world but instead just considering them as a collection of abstract
color shapes.

Thanks for looking :)

Leo

 Ballpoint pen on cartridge  20 x 14 cm

Leo is a dog of no particular pedigree

Small and muscular and tough

His growl so deep it makes you shudder

and he pants like laughter

then walks toward you rolling his big head

which he lands in your lap

and closes his eyes and snorts and sighs

"I am your dog

Where are the dog treats?"

Thanks for looking :)

Empty glass bottle

Disposable pen on recycled paper 30 x 20 cm

It seems lately that I am unable to let go of these cheap pens, I am

finding them so versatile. I just buy them in bunches and draw with 

reckless abandon.. 

Thanks for looking :)

View across the bay

Oil on oilboard 40 x 30 cm

This is a view of the bay below the bridge at Glenavaud. 

The tide is out and the sky

 is full of that soft damp greyness

we are so used to here.

Thanks for looking :)

Very quick tree study

Disposabel ink pen on cartridge paper 20 x 30cm

As the title suggests, here's a very quick tree study.

When I am little caught up for time I like to resort back

to my well used disposabel pen and some cartridge paper.

Thanks for looking :)

The Crow

Disposable ink pen on cartridge paper 30 x 20cm

Heres a quick sketch I did at the Cork Sketch Groups, "Drink and Draw" meet up.

I really like working with cheap disposable pens and recycled paper. When I'm 

using more expensive media I am always worried that the outcome might not

 justify their cost, however with just the basic tools I dont have these concerns

so I tend to be a little less cautous in my approach... something that seems at times 

to prove usefull.

Thanks for looking :)

Exhibition News

This week starting on Friday the 8th I am fortunate to have some of my work on show at "Art in the Park" in a group exhibition at the Lord Mayors Pavillion in Fitzgeralds Park. If you are around there any time please feel free to drop in and have a look.

 The exhibition will run to the 31st of March and I will be there in person on 

the 9th, 10th and 17th painting outside... hopefully, if the weather permits :)

Thanks for looking :)

The Gearagh in the rain

oil on oil board 40 x 30 cm

Another oil of the Gearagh, this time I am trying to capture the amazing winter 

colors of this area, which even on an overcast rainy winters day are still present.

Thanks for looking :)

Early morning January

Oil on canvas 35 x 25

A quick oil sketch from the imagination.

Thanks for looking :)

Wind blowing through the reeds in the Gearagh

Oil on oilboard  36 x 25 cm

Another painting from the Gearagh series I am working on.

The view facing south this time from the edge of the reeds 

on the walkway through the sancturary

facing the main lake.

Thanks for looking :)