Category Archives: Donegal

Blood and concrete

These are ‘Blood and Concrete ‘ 1 & 2

Each piece 100 x 80cm on canvas plus frame.

They were exhibited last month at Green Fuse Gallery in Westport, County Mayo.

I have submitted them to ‘Cairde Visual’ at the Model, in Sligo for their annual juried Summer show as part of Cairde Festival. I should hear soon if they have been selected. Fingers crossed!

These pieces developed out of my response to images of destruction in Aleppo, Syria. However, I don’t see them as sad paintings, but abstract images in their own right. It’s up to the viewer to make their own interpretation. I would be interested to hear from anyone if they have a particular reaction. Thanks

planning

‘Evening walk, Cruit Island’

100 x 155cm

I’m thinking about what will hang where

Which paintings complement each other

Thinking that ‘less is more’ but also how many or how few


‘Donegal’ Pair (now framed), one is 80 x 100, second is 80cm sq

Should they go in the same room

What’s the lighting like


‘Ruined Gables, Night Painting’

98 x 150cm


And what about the Ceide Fields pieces? (100 x 80 and 80cm sq). And there’s another of these there already


And there should be some smaller ones too (‘Its Orange Outside’, pair, framed now, 50cm sq)

But of course its not up to me anyway!

On tenterhooks waiting for a studio visit from the curator

Solo show at Green Fuse Gallery, Westport, County Mayo. 29th April to 10th June

a light touch

I’m using a lot of light mixes for layering over some older works. Favouring ochres, yellows, pale blues laid over the deeper and bolder tones underneath. This is creating some depth and I’m adding further texture with light lines and scrapes using solvent followed by a palette knife





Island Life

This enormous painting continues to challenge me

It is 150cm x 240cm on primed canvas currently stapled to the wooden wall of my studio

The main debate with myself is about the horizon line. I am gradually settling to a decision to keep the horizon visible only on the left. On the right the orientation of the landscape becomes ambiguous.

Today I added a pink layer over the darker tones on the top right section and also some ochre areas. And then applied solvent and made some deep marks with a palette knife to reveal the dark blue underneath

the doorway gallery, dublin

A small work on paper, glazed and framed


A warm, large, (80cm sq)autumn inspired piece on cradled birch panel


An even larger, (100 cm sq), framed piece on canvas, ‘Rock in the Sea’


Wintery, but warm, framed 80cm sq piece on canvas


A bold, framed, pink, red and blue abstract on board, ‘ Deeper yet and darker still’60cm sq


‘Skylight’, 90cm sq, framed oil on board

http://www.thedoorwaygallery.com/

island life

It started like this, a huge piece of primed canvas (160 x 258cm, the end of the roll), stapled to the floor.

It took up so much of the floor that I had to stand on it to get round it



After a while working on it on the floor, I got Malachy to help me hang it sideways on the wall

And then I turned it round the right way

I taped off the edges, built up more layers and thought it was done.

But something was unbalanced

So finally I took the plunge


There she blows!

Here’s a closeup 


And here’s a photo montage


A good day!

Blood and concrete




2 canvases each 100 x 80cm (39 x 31.5″)

As 2016 draws to a close I’m trying, against the odds, to look ahead to 2017 with hope.

Hope that we will all be mindful of anything we can do that helps rather than hinders. In so many areas. For Peace. For People. For the Planet 

The paintings above are called ‘blood and concrete’.