Going back to my roots
Some people might say I am spoilt for choice when it comes to painting beaches. Living in Cornwall with an array of stunning beaches and coast line to choose from is a luxury as an artist but I was actually fortunate enough this year to receive a grant which enabled me to travel to Ireland several times to paint Irish landscapes.
Whenever I arrive in Ireland it’s’ as if I take a deep sigh of relief and I have often wondered what that is about? Surely, it’s more profound than simply escaping from the tin can style Ryan Air craft. I used to think due to my previous terror of flying (I once refused to get on a flight…) that perhaps I was just so relieved that the plane had touched down safely that I would have got down on the run way, ‘Popesque’ style and kissed the tarmac. (Aer Lingus aren’t keen on this approach by the way.) Is it possible that my physical body is actually responding to the environment? I have been reading a lot recently about being a spirit in a physical body rather than being a physical body with a spirit which is a really interesting way to look at things. So maybe my spirit knows I am home.
Whichever way you choose to look at it, I was extremely happy to be painting the Irish landscape. Barley Cove holds so many happy memories and it is a place I have returned to all my life. I woke up early every morning keen to get out and enjoy the opportunity to paint en plein. There is something so freeing about standing on the cliffs, paint brush in hand, being open to the elements and engaging all the senses that it makes you feel a happiness that feeds into the painting. I did actually do a happy dance on top of the cliff and shouted thank you to the sky. ( I checked that there was no one else around- just a few odd looks from cows.) I think it’s important to stop and notice these moments along the way. A couple of years previously, when I was teaching full time and really stressed out, I was wishing that I was free to be an artist and wanted time to paint plein air in Ireland- amazing!
When I look at my paintings, particularly of Chimney Cove, I am transported back to that beautiful Spring morning in West Cork with the sun shining and twinkling on the ocean and it gives me great joy. I have had feedback from the people who bought the paintings of Barley Cove beach that they also have this feeling which is lovely to hear.
The oil paintings were exhibited at various venues in West Cork -The Aisling Gallery, which is a great little gallery above Rosie’s bar, Ballydehob. A few parties were held there during my stay and I was able to introduce my nephew to Murphy’s and the traditional music nights, these are such a big part of my memories of Ireland.
I donated a painting of Wilcox’s cottage by the lake to a charity auction at O’Meara’s bar in Goleen and I was delighted that it raised 495 euros for a little girl suffering from Leukaemia. The community spirit is so beautiful in that part of the world that people were hugging me in the street the following day to say thank you. It was a mutual feeling _ I was so grateful to know that someone had loved the painting and that it had raised money to help the family.
A few of the original paintings of Barley Cove Bay are still available at Aisling Gallery and the E centre in Goleen. All paintings of the Irish landscape are available as affordable art Giclee fine art prints in my online shop.
