Category Archives: cold wax

sketchbook pages on my bedroom wall

Its my last few days here in Wales for a while, I’m heading back home to Ireland on Tuesday, having been away for two months

While I’ve been away from my studio I’ve been making acrylic sketches on paper. 

Today I added a final layer of oil and cold wax medium to the sketches, using just two oil colours, violet and yellow

Then I stuck them up on my bedroom wall with gum strip ,(that sticky backed brown paper that is used for stretching drawing paper)

I also had a great time browsing through some of Richard Diebenkorn’s sketchbooks in the wonderful accessible digital archive from Stanford

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-Diebenkorn-Cantor-Arts-Center/dp/0804799172

New York memories of 2016 & plans for 2018

I had a fabulous, very short trip to Manhattan in July 2016. I had such a good time, and I want to go back for more! I’m hoping to go for nearly a month this Autumn. To see the ‘fall’ colours, to visit more contemporary galleries in Chelsea, and hopefully to paint, if I can find some studio space!

Here are some photos of street views and some favourite works I saw in galleries on my last trip, and a few of the paintings of mine that came out of it

Yves Klein

Matisse and Degas



The High Line, diptych, each canvas 80cm sq, private collection

5th Avenue, small oil sketch in paper made ‘on the road’

Homage, one of a pair of 80cm canvases, available through http://www.velveteasel.co.uk

faves of ’17

Here are some of my favourite moments and paintings from the last 12 months

And here’s to a peaceful, healthy and creative year ahead for us all. Namaste!

4 panels, untitled, each 70 x 50cm, in my studio, made in November


‘Yesterday was red’ aka ‘Pink’

55cm sq on canvas, made in November


‘Vessels’, made in October/November

Shipped rolled up in a tube to a customer in Pennsylvania just in time for Christmas


‘Split’ a diptych, each piece around 90×70-80cm. Currently being stretched and framed by the wonderful Seamus Quinn, at Artworks in Letterkenny, County Donegal


One of a group of paintings, displayed at the Show House, designed by Collette Ward Interiors, at the Ideal Home Show in Dublin this Autumn. This one was subsequently placed with a private collector


Celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary in August this year, though actually this photo was taken out our gorgeous niece Nancy’s wedding!


So thrilled with my fantastic solo show at GreenFuse Gallery, in Westport, County Mayo in May. Photo shows me and the gallerist Vincent O’Donoghue. The paintings behind us are ‘Blood and Concrete 1&2’ which were later also shown at The Model in Sligo, and one of them (the one behind Vincent) was selected by a private collector


‘Due West’, the signature piece of my solo show, of the same name, at Green Fuse Gallery. Its huge, about 150 x250cm

2016-12-30-14.40.05.jpg.jpeg

The making of ‘Ruined gables, night painting’ was a first for me! Painted in the middle of the night with very poor light in the studio, but I love it!


A view of the ruined ‘clachan’ (group of cottages close together) on Cruit which inspired the ‘Ruined gables, night painting’ above


My largest painting to date, ‘Tower’, about 1m x 3m, painted at the end of 2015 and sold to a private collector who lives on another, even tinier island off the North West coast of Donegal. Getting it delivered was quite a feat in itself

Looking forward to loads more adventures in creativity in 2018. Maybe bigger and bolder works! Looking forward to keeping in touch with you all and hearing your news and comments

Oh! And I had a new grandson in May too! Welcome to littleBryn Malachy Doyle!