Dipper (Pearce House, Rathfarnham)

This is a sketch i did last week. I was happy enough with the over all drawing. Drawing birds is harder than one would expect, the complexities of drawing the body is an art in it’s self. I found the feet/claws are very difficult. They also are MUCH larger than one would expect. It’s by real trial and tedious error this is the case! Like everything in life - practice makes perfect. My girlfriend and i were at ‘Pearse House’ Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin last weekend (a ‘gem’ of a place) and totally recommended! It’s a large Georgian house with large surrounding gardens. An area of 20+ acres i believe and a hop, skip and jump from Marley Park. This private house and manicured garden/s is different - for one, it hasn’t got too many people, it’s quaint and very secluded. The flora and fauna are second to none! All designed with careful planning and affection.  If your a bird watcher/nature lover: your in for a real treat. We were ‘lucky’ last week when after some time we spotted not one, but two dippers (image above) in the big stream flowing through the estate. They were perched on craggy rocks looking for flies, worms and water associated crustaceans. Before hand we also were lucky  to catch two or three yellow wagtails; stunning birds with a vibrant lemon yellow upper half. My girlfriend though we found a ‘rarity’ or vagrant, as both of us to be very honest…(mostly unseen/ passes by mistakenly)  no such luck, these birds are COMMON! Better keep looking at our field guides!! Visit soon, and it’s free!

'Broad Lough, Co, Wicklow'

This is a beautiful place to visit any time of year. It’s a bird watchers paradise! Tricky place to get to with a few twists and bends, but worth the venture! Nature lovers will be amazed with the beauty of the marshy/boggy landscape. Its a ‘tapestry’ of marsh land, sedges and wood. There is an abundance of water birds inc; ducks, waders, swans,  snipe curlew and many many more. kestrels, peregrine falcons, red kites and white tailed eagles have been spotted here too. I highly recommend this place to visit. I took a few photos when i was there some weeks back with my girlfriend. This in turn developed into a watercolour you see above. A sketch was vital firstly to maintain a foundation to the finished watercolour. The old bridge attracted me to the area - a beautiful stone bridge with foliage and mature trees surrounded us. Both of us are avid nature lovers, bird watching is a weekend pastime. So we ventured here via the N11 motorway off the m50. It’s literately half an hour from Cabinteely Co. Dublin.

'Breezy Afternoon with Yachts' Dun Laoire

This is a relativity old painting from the ‘archives’. Just look at the colours - the sea is slightly’stagnant’, i should have put more subtle hues…(colour) mixed in blue with green to the sea  to reflect the reality of the sky that was. In fairness, you can’t be hard on yourself- painting is very much like school…(or life) - your always learning more! In this i found out quickly much later how ‘blue’ it is. I do like the movement of the yachts with the seagulls above along with the far right dark cloud formation. The electrical cables on the lighthouse add structure far right. (This was done from a plain book sketch, East Pier Dun Laoire Harbour 2010)

'Yacht Study' West Pier Dun Laoire

This was done two years ago…(IF you can read close on page!!). It was a study of a particular yacht. I wanted to catch the the light of it’s ‘loose and fragile’ white mast against the ever changing sky. That day was very changeable and windy. The sea was a beautiful ‘minty blue’ colour, but suddenly it would change back again to very dark ‘azure’ blue - pending on the sky cloud/cover. Weather affects a painting dramatically and in a heart beat! I only wanted to hint at the main theme in this watercolour  sketch - the yacht (centre). It was sketched/painted off west pier Dun Laoire Harbour.

'Pine Trees Cabinteely Park'

Painted a few weeks ago. This is an unusual place for me to paint or draw from. Cabinteely Park is a beautiful park situated between Cornelscourt and Cabinteely Village. The scene above is looking at the ducks pond and the lovely mature scots pines. I was captivated by the reflections of the trees in the clear and still water. The colours were fascinating and very striking. I wanted to give a ‘wet ‘n to wet’ effect with some of the paint. The fence gives some idea of scale and life. I wanted to add figures, but though it might be too much as there is plenty going on in painting.

'National Yacht Club in Sun Light', Dun Laoghaire

This watercolour was done from a quick sketch last week. It’s a very different perspective and format to my usual layout. I hate sticking to the ‘normal way’…(what ever that is!) I like to tinker and play with unusual methods and  styles . I paint a lot of marine subjects and parks etc. With this painting there is quite a bit going on - I have buildings in the background, a church steeple too, and plenty of marine paraphernalia in the fore ground with yachts and cranes, along with the main theme: the National Yacht Club at the left of picture. I left the sky and water simple, if i didn’t, it would distract and ‘over crowd’ the whole painting - so a balance is necessary to the observer. There is subtle colours in the back round buildings; this softens the overall view and gives the painting a more attractive or impressionistic feel.

Sketch: 'Mansion off Monkstown Road'

I completed this simple watercolour sketch some time ago. I just wanted to show you some of my ‘watercolour’ sketchbook work. I always feel more confident painting from a sketch book, as opposed to a ‘finished’ work from a watercolour pad/paper. There’s still some thing about a fresh large virgin page that still intimidates me - could be knowing it’s going to be a ‘final painting’, and i ‘must’ get it right..(wrong attitude completely) This is why my sketch book work appears fresh and ‘loose’…i don’t hold inhibitions - i paint and draw with speed and vigour, you will see it in this sketch if you look closer. PS: Monkstown is a village close to my home.

'Sea point in Sunshine'

I did this watercolour a few weeks ago from a sketch i did ‘on the spot’ - (Plein air). I was happy with the ‘wet ‘n to wet’ sky. The various blues in the sky are interesting and easy on the eye  The whole painting was painted in less than 1 and half hours! I didn’t want to fiddle too long as watercolour can loose it’s ‘freshness’, any good watercolour painter will tell you this. The painting is really simple and fresh - this was my aim. The trees on the far left are just hinted as is the fore-ground rocks on the water. When a watercolour works, you really want to emanate  this again, but like any watercolour, it’s mostly never the case, failure is part of this fragile and trying medium. This area know as: Seapoint, (Monkstown Co. Dublin) is truly a stunning place to visit - any time of year. A painters paradise!!

'The Rise, Mount Merrion'

This is a sketch i did a while ago. I sketched this from my van in roughly twenty minutes. I was going to turn it into a watercolour, however, i decided not to use colour as i feel this pen & ink sketch was better left un- touched. I don’t use pen & ink much as i would like. It’s not as versatile and fluid as a pencil sketch. Pencil seems to always result in a natural and loose way as opposed to ink. Ink works well mixed with with watercolour - usually watercolour and ink blend in a beautiful unison together.

'East Pier Lighthouse in Early Spring'

This beautiful area in Dun Laoghaire is a spectacular place to paint. I love the light house - it gives me a real boost when I’m walking past or bye this building. I had to sketch it when i was there last..(about a month ago). Watercolour seemed to be the best medium of choice at the time i thought. I was very pleased how the sky turned out. (Usually the sky is a disaster to paint, you need to be decisive and bold when executing a sky- watercolour painting as a whole needs a certain skill! Speed and accuracy are the key pointers in  my opinion to watercolour. I added the yachts and gulls to give the added feel of life and a: ‘feel of the wind’ in your face! (Slàn PS: Happy St, Patrick’s Day!)