Woke to the promise of a sunny day. The wind had been howling all night and still at full force in the morning. A walk to the beach was invigorating - sun rising behind me, sand blowing in my face. All settled down by late morning, so headed out to Lacken Bay to paint. (I had scoped it out on an earlier day)
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Rainy as i turned left in town and walked up the hill outside of town. Definitely reinforced my desire for the sea. I feel much more at peace with a horizon line at sea level. Was ready to paint all day but the rain had a different plan for me.
All set up ready to go...
oil doesn't like the rain
So Plan B. Tulip and I rode the county roads, looking for sketching locations. Found a few places on back roads and sketched looking out my window.
Well, I awoke today with a brand new outlook about my new best friend, Aimsir (Gaelic for weather). My terrier self was determined to push forward but I realized that I needed to court this Aimsir. Let him lead the dance. With my shift in attitude, we waltzed through the day beautifully
First location, my-go-to place, Bunatrahir Bay, 2 km from town. Forget the easel. I will work out of the back of the car. (A nice carpenter, working at the adjacent cottage, cut me a 32 x 40 inch plywood board out of scraps). It's perfect. The paper and paint is protected and I get to stay outside and work.
you know the drill, first I sketch
Changed format to 6 x 6. Adding notes as I paint. Everything is so expansive, my 4 x 6 marsh format just can't capture the experience. Next location, back to a country road for the early afternoon.
I landed here and starting painting an oil sketch. (right below) What I thought was a mountain through the distant fog became the sea when the fog and mist lifted. You can feel the blue of the sky before you can see it.
I worked from the top sketch (lower one was to my left)
Colors are a little heavy handed ( what a surprise! Ha) and not realistic, I will continue working on capturing the Irish soft weather- (Aimsir bog in Gaelic) I am not looking for a likeness but rather a felt response to the landscape. Hard to see but in the top image, but I promise I saw a stand of autumn trees in there somewhere!
Today marks my first full week at Ballinglen Arts Foundation. Decided to take the train to Dublin to see a few museums. First stop was to see Lucian Freud at IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art). The exhibition, IMMA Collection: Lucian Freud Project 2016-2021 featured 50 works. Also on view, to my delight was William Crozier: The Edge of the Landscape , a major retrospective of the Scottish-born, Irish artist (1930-2011). Hodges Taylor had the pleasure of selling his prints years ago. Now that I am familiar with the Irish coast, I am even more of a fan!
Next stop was the Sean Scully Gallery at the Hugh Lane. ( I keep a few of his catalogues on my bedside table) Great collection but unfortunately the skylight was broken so didn't get the see the work in natural light. A dull yellow haze fell over the room. The work suffered.
Enjoyed viewing a survey of Irish painters and a rather bizarre installation of Francis Bacon's studio. At the end of the day, my favorite image was found in the children's exhibition room. This delightful "tee-shirt" by a young child summed up my day - a little Sean Scully with the sophisticated wit of William Crozier.
