Just looking through the passed 5-6 years of work that are stacked around my small studio. Lots of starts, ideas I didn’t pursue, but here’s the first selection of the pictures that came to something of a fruition. like the name of this post suggests, there’s no real theme here, just evidence of time spent.
Most are from the period of time I referenced to above, but there’s a small number that are older. The way these pictures are painted, are quite different, I don’t like the idea of having a style – preferring to react honestly to the moment….and as many of these are painted years about from each other, consistency isn’t likely anyway.
When I was first back from my studies in Florence I decided to try my hand at landscape painting, having not done much in Italy. Not having a car and living in a small town in southern Ireland there was only so much one could do and be energised to paint.
I’ve got more freedom now, but it’s interesting what you’re forced to paint when options are limited.
Fountain at the Grove 1
Fountain at the Grove 2
Fountain at the Grove 3
Here’s a couple of sketches of a small fountain in a private garden I liked to return to when I was out of ideas.
Walk to the Spaniard (dusk)
Walk to the Spaniard
(midday overcast)
Here’s a few paintings from a similar spot in my home town, a view looking back into the town centre.
Braving the Beast
Slightly different angle to the Walk to the Spaniard this time done in the winter. I recall being very cold and not having adequate footwear.
Birch Grove
Woods near Innishannon
Russian painters have become a big influence on me, these paintings are from around the time when I was first discovering them.
Light at Oyster Haven (Sketch)
Light at Oyster Haven
One of the more recent paintings in the post, just a couple of weeks back….out at Oyster Haven (a small inlet near my home town).
Light and Leaves
Again before I had a car: finding interest in limitation, this view was just a short walk from the studio. I recall enjoying designing the business of the bushes.
Kate Reading
My mother reading in the garden I grew up in.
Light at the Dock
View from one of the local beaches in Kinsale, co, Cork. I did a couple from the same spot, this one was the most fleeting of light effect to try and capture.
Boy and Boat 1
Boy and Boat. (triptych)
Boy and Boat 2
Another small statue I like and have returned to over the years, it designs well from many angles. (Fitzgerald’s park Cork city)
These picture were done between commissioned work and mostly for myself, just trying to have an interesting dialogue with the natural world. I found the act of looking back through them somewhat odd, as I had forgotten about most …was a little like reading an old diary or meeting friends from the passed.
I very much liked looking at the different ways I applied the paint, designed and generally the multiple ways I approached picture making.
They’ll be more posts in such a format…..many more pictures from the past.
