Father Michael's Roses

While in Cork City, Cork, Ireland we walked to St. Finbarr's South Parish Church, where my Grandmother and Great-grandparents were baptized and married.   It was a Saturday morning when we got to the church which was quiet but open.   It was a bit eerie to think that my ancestors walked through the same doors and gazed at the same statues, window and altar over one hundred years ago.

The church was modest by comparison to some of the grand cathedrals we had been seeing during the trip.
I particularly liked that the stations of the cross were colorful paintings, not statues or stone reliefs like most we had seen.   We lit candles and sat in awe of this sacred place.

Back outside,we walked to the back of the church parking lot to where the rectory was.   There was a sign on the door that the genealogist who usually was there on Saturday morning for questions would not be able to make it on this day.   We were a little disappointed, but lingered admiring the stonework from the outside and generally looking like tourists I suppose.  A wonderful and affable older gentleman walked straight toward us and asked if we were visiting.   We had a nice conversation about our trip thus far, and our regret that the genealogist would not be available.    In the meantime, another man walked along the driveway toward the back of the church, and our new friend enthusiastically announced that this was Father Michael and he most certainly could help us.

St. Finbarr South Parish Cork

And he did.   He walked us to the lower level of the back of the church and opened a huge door to what looked like a vault.   Inside there were rows of 16 inch book binders, carefully labelled with their contents, births, marriages, deaths, and the associated dates.  I pulled out an ancestry information sheet that I had tucked into my bag - just in case.  Father Michael pulled out the huge volumes that corresponded.  He turned the large yellow pages to find the calligraphic lettering, Anderson, Buckley. Births, marriage, seeing it in person was special.

One of these huge volumes had a binder label that was somewhat torn and Father Michael handed me an ordinary tape dispenser and would I please place a bit of tape on it while he held it?   Of course I would, but I was worried about placing ordinary tape over a centenarian treasure.   Back it went into the vault.  We were totally filled with awe as we saw him close the vault and spin the large lock.

Before we departed, he pulled out a surname directory and looked up the names we were researching.   He noted that there had been a Saint Harrington and he would research him and send us the information.  Just this week, we received an envelope in the mail from him with the information he wanted us to have.   The goodwill and blessings from this Ireland trip continue....

Is there a connection to a painting here?  Yes.  There was an astonishing spray of roses outside Father Michael's; and he was the gardener extraordinaire.  His secret to success?  He confided it was horse manure.  I was inspired to use the Daniel Keys floral palette and methods to paint the five inch wide roses cultivated by Father Michael to record this memorable visit to Cork.

Little Person Perspective

Little Person Perspective

I love artwork that depicts little children or babies (because I love little children and babies!).  Unfortunately it is very difficult to capture the beautifully-formed, young faces well.    I include myself on the list of painters who has struggled to create a rendering that is sweet and innocent, versus, odd and somewhat alien-looking:. Whereas adults mostly have prominent, sharp features and at least a few wrinkles that make it easier to define the face and achieve a good likeness, children and babies have features that are soft and subtle - perfect really.  The slightest asymmetry or flaw seems much more pronounced and certainly unacceptable.

I would love to be painting cherubs regularly, but for the aforementioned reasons (excuses?), I have not.  So that sets the stage for the painting described in this post.  I challenged myself with this effort to not just include a little one but to make her face the center of interest.  The rest of the painting is intentionally underdeveloped and subordinate to the perfect toddler expression.   She is looking up in all her cuteness at the people who tower over her at a large family party.   The viewers' line of sight in the painting was designed to be eye level with the toddler.   I welcome comments....

Little Person Perspective Stage Two

A Woman Ahead of Her Time

Eleanor Roosevelt Stage One

I love to paint.   I may have mentioned that already?    I am in the middle of executing a series of Ireland landscapes so I decided to break it up with a portrait, my favorite genre presently.

I have been watching for interesting people whom I would like to paint.  One influential and historical person recently caught my eye, because visually in this picture, she looks very similar to my mother.   The similarity has more to do with the pose than actual features.  Resting her face on her fingers, Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962) looks pensive as she conducts a radio show segment.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a remarkable woman for many reasons.  She was the longest serving first lady of the US, the four terms of President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945.

Although the Roosevelts' marriage was complicated by family interference (they were actually cousins), and Franklin's alleged extra-marital affair, the turmoil did not deter Eleanor from seeking a public life of her own.  She persuaded Franklin to stay in politics following his partial paralysis from polio.  She began to give speeches and campaign in his place.   

She was the first presidential spouse to hold press conferences, write a syndicated newspaper column, and speak at a national convention.  She even publicly disagreed with her husband's policies on occasion and many thought she was too controversial in her outspokenness.  She advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, civil rights for African Americans and Asian Americans, and World War II refugees.

Following her husband's death, Eleanor remained active in politics.   She advocated for US involvement and support to the United Nations and was one of its first delegates.   She served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.   She chaired the John F. Kennedy Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.   By her death, she was regarded as "one of the most esteemed women in the world" and "the object of almost universal respect."  

Eleanor Roosevelt Stage Two

I began with a canvas freshly toned with flesh color.  I used a dark transparent combination of brown oxide and sap green to sketch her features in paint.   I verified my measurements by turning the photo reference and the canvas on their sides, and upside-down.  Flaws in the drawing seem to jump out when viewing the work repositioned like this.  Once I was satisfied with the accuracy of the drawing, I filled in the deepest values with the same dark color.  I then used a soft paper towel to wipe out for the hightlights.  This technique works well for fleshtones because the edges remain soft.   There is a relatively small amount of detail but I think the face is recognizable.

*Text source: Wikipedia.  Photo source: US Government Website open source.

Old Stone Bridge in Middleboro

Old Stone Bridge Stage One

Heron Mocking Me?

Old Stone Bridge Stage Two

When I was commuting to Portsmouth, Rhode Island for work, I would take Route 44 through cranberry country, always a treat (the pretty scenery on the way, not the work part).   There was also a spot in Middleboro where the Nemasket River paralleled and then passed under Route 44.   On this cloudy Saturday we made a plan to head out midday and paint at the Route 44 Nemasket River Herring Run.   Autumn was just starting its preliminary show, so there was not a lot of color in the trees, but I did pump it up to my own liking.

This spot is yet another local treasure for observing nature, fish, ducks and herons.   I took the heron picture and was surprised to see once I uploaded it, that this heron actually is sticking her tongue out.  First, I didn't know they had tongues, and second that they can stick them out and third, what are the chances of clicking a photo while its out?

As for the painting, the openings under the bridge were variable in size and distance apart.   That usually makes a more interesting composition than boring uniformity.   The red underpainting was setting off the greens nicely, although I worked the heck out of it to the point where only a little shows through in the end.

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Old Stone Bridge Final

Bridge Connecting Pembroke and Hanover at North River

Historic Marker on Granite Bridge

Set up at North River Bridge Pembroke-Hanover

I set out to paint autumn reflections on water, either by way of a flooded bog or a pond.    I drove by the nearby bogs, but they weren't flooded yet.   I thought about the North River which crosses under Route 53 on the town line between Hanover and Pembroke, MA.  Route 53 had a nice view of the downstream bridge but it was too busy and not safe. We drove to the downstream bridge which was a quieter road, specifically, Washington Street. This bridge was the location of two historic precursors to the current North River Bridge between Pembroke and Hanover and has two historic markers that describe the importance of this area for shipbuilding in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.    Based on the information on the markers, I was imagining a much different feel -industrial - to this very spot back in the post-Colonial era.  On this day it was a beautiful and classic New England river scene.   So it may not always be true that things were stunning and unspoiled back then; they were building ships along here.  In the spirit of living for today, this spot had much to offer a painter, fall color and reflections, still not peak color but lovely nonetheless.

 Bridge Stage Two

The reflections were the most fun.   I built up the distant tree line with muted color and gradually added more color as the river bank got closer.   I marked where the bridge buttresses would be but did not paint in any of the bridge until I had the trees and their reflections completely in.

Once the trees were mostly in with all their color, I used my two inch brush to draw the color from the trees down vertically into the water.   Once these reflections were drawn down, I wiped the brush clean.

Bridge Stage Three

I used the same big brush to apply horizontal strokes across the water.   These wide strokes made the water look like blurred glass.  I used my palette knife to apply skinny strips of light ripples across the blurry water surface.   By placing the pale ripple color running across even the darkest water reflections, it really made the water look glassy.

The last element was the addition of the foreground branches and large leaves that were bright yellow closest to the bridge I was on.

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Cliffs of Moher

Aerial Map Cliffs of Moher

Along the western coast of County Clare, Ireland there is a series of cliffs that are so amazing that no matter how "postcardesque" the scene was, I felt compelled to paint it.    If there ever was a good scene to practice the principle of receding distance, this would be it.    It's difficult to perceive the size of these cliffs from photographs or a painting for that matter.    The precipitous facades up from the ocean to the top are as tall as a sixty (that's 60) story building.   Visitors can walk along the tops of the cliffs which are lined with slate slabs and fencing which are several feet back from the edge.   Some people were hopping over and standing or walking close to the edge.  This was deeply disturbing to me!  Just thinking about the image of people (including their children) walking and posing for pictures that close to the edge of the cliff sent a weird, creepy sensation from my stomach down my legs to my feet.  As if their proximity to the edge wasn't enough, one woman started clowning around near the edge, teasing her boyfriend by taking additional steps to the edge.  I must be getting old or something, but I had to retreat back to a spot, a good distance from the edge to get away from this mayhem!

Cliffs of Moher in Brilliant Sun

I happily found a beautiful spot - still with a breathtaking view of the cliffs and people-watched while my companions bravely journeyed on along the cliffs.     A harp player with a long, flowing, black cape set up on the path to the cliffs.   Her wonderfully, delicate harp music floated my way as I waited for the adventurers in my entourage to return.

Since the cliffs faced westward, and it was early afternoon, the cliff facades were in shadow.   I was looking straight toward the sun in this bright, partly cloudy sky.   The thin clouds were bright white in front of the sun.  The water was bright as well, a combination of both the reflection of the brilliant white clouds, and the sunrays bouncing off the water and up to where I was.

The series of cliffs was a straight line distance of about three miles.   The further away the cliff, the lighter and bluer it appeared, even though the cliff was in deep shadow.  I'm sure that I'll make adjustments to this one, but I want to keep going with more Ireland scenes while the memories are not too stale.

Old Barn

Old Barn Stage One

This old barn was located near the North River in Hanover.   One side of this street looked like an average suburban neighborhood with houses and their two car garages sitting behind emerald green manicured lawns. The other side of the street looked as if it was out in the middle of the countryside.   The barn looked old and weather beaten, it's red iron oxide trim bleached to pink by decades of sunshine.   The roof was missing large sections of shingles and the large barn doors were wide open.   Another farm structure sat beyond it by about 150 yards, also looking rough and weathered.

Old Barn Stage Two

It was cloudy but bright at first and as time went on, it became more overcast and damp.   For paint-outs, the clouds offer a more consistent scene for a longer period of time since there are no distinct, shifting shadows.  Although the light and contrasts weren't as pronounced, effectively matching this scene meant using a middle range of values.   Since it was October, I toned the greens down with naples yellow and pink.   The meadow grasses had a burnt sienna and gold look to them, and I added some sky blue to account for the distance.   The metal gate was teal gray with splotches of rust.  I liked how its cross rails pointed toward the barn.

If you can feel the moisture of the day or imagine smelling the earthy grasses and fermenting apples through this scene, then it was somewhat successful.  Those are the aspects of the scene I would remember along with the fall colored muted by clouds.

When I finished this up, my initial impression was that it was somewhat dull.   When I got it back to the studio however, I was happy with the harmonious palette.  It matched the day, bright but gray.  A minor issue required adjustments as my easel must have been crooked since the barn verticals appeared slightly skewed.   Would you believe that a barn this old could actually be out of plumb?   Of course - but it wasn't out of plumb - my easel was.   I straightened the cupola and walls back in the studio.

This is one of my newest favorites, lots of thick plein air paint.  I'll post the final version to my website soon.

Mayflower II on Columbus Day

Mayflower II on Columbus Day Stage 1

Plymouth continues to buzz with tourists now even into the Autumn.    On Columbus Day Monday I decided to paint out before dropping paintings off for the upcoming Plymouth Center for the Arts exhibit.    I've painted the Mayflower II before, but I'm learning that repeating subjects can really produce good results.   In subsequent efforts, the learnings from prior attempts kick in and painting what you know is always a good thing.

Mayflower II on Columbus Day Stage 2

At the start of the paint-out, the entire Mayflower was illuminated equally, specifically both the rear plane and the side planes, but by the time I was finishing up, the sun had moved.   It had shifted sufficiently west that the rear plane was brightly lit, but the side was more in shadow.   This change better defined the boat's shape.   I generally preach "locking in" the scene and not chasing changing elements, like the light.   In this case, the light was better at the end, so I used it instead.  One of the changes I still may make is to subdue the foreground grass.

Little Bridge Over Pond at Miramar

Little Bridge Over Pond at Miramar

The land behind Miramar Retreat between the buildings and Route 3 is a natural paradise with a large wetland area with tall grasses and native trees. There are man made features as well, including a ballfield, tennis courts and a walking path around a quaint pond.   This small and scenic pond has an old, ornamental bridge made of stone that crosses it.   I chose a spot across from the bridge.  Other than the fact that the Route 3 traffic could be heard swishing in the distance, it was a like being in the middle of a remote woodland.  The trees were starting to change the color and the reflections of the bridge and trees were serene and picturesque.

Hot Chatham Day in October

Facing North from Chatham Light Overlook

It was another glorious day in Southeastern Massachusetts.  In spite of it being October, the forecast predicted temperatures in the eighties.   I packed up the Cube and headed to Cape Cod, specifically Chatham Center where I visited a couple of art galleries, including one of my favorites, J. Todd, before starting my paint-out.  I wanted to check out their new location and saw that it is right in the middle of everything, next to the gazebo.   I was not disappointed!  My fellow painters have supplied an exquisite collection.  I could have lingered, but I had "fun" to do - I mean "work."

Chatham Light which hovers over the "elbow" of Cape Cod is a popular tourist attraction.   The high vantage point is a spectacular place to see the shifting sand bars that shield Chatham Harbor.   During storms, the wild open ocean beyond the barrier islands cause tremendous variation in the shorelines from year to year.   They seem to change dramatically every time I visit.  To the south is Monomoy Island which is known to have changed its shape and even island status over the years. On this day, the vivid and bright blue Atlantic rivaled the hues you might see in tropical places.

There is a row of parking that overlooks the ocean, and in the past I have found it so crowded and chaotic that I haven't painted there.   Today, the dream spot awaited me (the last spot on the left), so I pulled in and set up.

Harbor from Chatham Light

I became mindful of the feeling of awe we humans experience upon seeing amazing things for the first time. Audible reactions I heard from people as they emerged from their vehicles, walked to the railing and saw the beautiful panorama...    "Oh my goodness!  ....Soooo blue.....Wow.....Beautiful! .....What a spot.....Can we go down there?  ....Where is my camera? ... No wonder you are painting here!"

And that's why it needs to be painted.   Experiencing the beauty of the location for the span of time it takes to create a painting is just as much of the enjoyment as coming away with a series of marks on a canvas that captures the scene.  Oh, lucky me, how exhilarating!   (And a stop at Marian's Pie Shop on the way back was only icing!)

Sketching (A Little) in Ireland

Castletownbere Harbor

I did not bring painting materials to Ireland.   There would be no room in my luggage for the gear and wet paintings.   This trip was about visiting ancestral locales and covering as much of the country as we could.   The itinerary did not lend itself to the concept of a paint-out. I wouldn't change a thing about this, our inaugural trip, but I did occasionally long to paint. Mark my words, the next trip to Ireland will include painting!

Castletownbere and Bere Island Satellite Map

One morning, while in Castletownbere on the Beara Penninsula (all the way to the Southwest tip of Ireland), I sketched a scene of the gorgeous view looking out toward Bere Island.   See the satellite view for an aerial shot.  The green marker is where I was and the island to the southeast is Bere Island (the hill in the sketch.)  The vine charcoal was sorely lacking as a recording method.  I'm sharing a photo that is similar...it didn't capture the color either since it was twilight in that shot.

Sketching at Kilkenny Castle

Whilst (heehee) at Kilkenny Castle, I marginally satisfied the painting itch again and did some more sketching.   I sat inside the back gate, the location of some impressive statues.  I used vine charcoal and a drawing pad.  I didn't get far, and I didn't record who this was a statue of, but it was a woman with majestic layers of folds in her garb.  I liked the shapes against the low and dramatic light.

My husband came away with the more successful rendering with the cool photo of me measuring, showing his flare for composition.

Ennis, Ireland

Ennis Downtown Underpainting

This painting depicts a beautiful, rustic street scene of picturesque Ennis in County Clare, Ireland. We landed in Shannon in the morning, drove to Ennis and checked into our B&B.   We had no specific ties to Ennis; our plan was to get acclimated to the timezone, driving on the left, and just generally get settled before venturing out on our more lengthy travels.

Ennis is a thriving community with a quaint town center depicted in this painting.  We walked this stretch of the main street several times during our visit. The St. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church anchors one end of the center, and the Ennis Friary, which dates back to the late thirteenth century anchors the other.

Ennis Street at Dusk - Stage 1

I liked the armature of this painting.   The dynamic diagonals point from the edges of the scene to the center of interest.    I wanted the viewer to follow the car into the street, look to its left to see the bright red pub, then look up to the end of the street where St. Peter and Paul's Church steeple stretches up into the twilight sky.

The colorful and warm underpainting and broken paint effect represents the decades, even centuries, of paint that lie underneath the shops' painted facades.  Overflowing flower baskets were in full bloom everywhere.

Ennis Street at Dusk - Stage 2

The last element added, and one that made Ennis quite memorable was the addition of the blue and yellow pennant streamers that crisscrossed the street.   We learned that the banners of yellow and blue that we saw on every surface in town were hung in support of the County Clare hurling team, which had made it to the All-Ireland Hurling Championship.  The team was the underdog who would play the final against the strong favorite, County Cork.  All the excitement occurred during our trip, including the final match which we watched in a pub (result was a tie), so we now consider ourselves the world's newest hurling fans!

Fast forward to the repeat of the Championship Game, due to the initial tie...County Clare was the victor.   Ennis must have been rocking!

Magical Ireland

Ireland was pure magic.    Words can't adequately describe the breathtaking vistas, dazzling, sunlit cow pastures, peaceful fields of sheep, and wildly varied clouds against cobalt blue skies.  I don't think a hundred paintings would adequately describe it either.   I stood there taking in all that my senses could absorb.  I took pictures and videos, hoping to be able to re-live this feast-for-the-eyes later.   It's never the same.  How could it be?

Homestead - Cuill, Isle of Doagh

We quickly learned that the country's hillsides, the green and gold patchwork typically shown in travel brochures, were not just infrequent, opportunistic scenes.     The iconic vistas in every shade of green represented the majority of the places we saw in this magical land.   Furthermore, on most days we had full sunshine which only served to illuminate the vivid greens in the land of our ancestors.

Do you sense a string of Ireland paintings coming?  If so, you sense correctly!

McColgan Homestead - Cuill Isle of Doagh - Stage 1 Block In

The photo above will be used to create a large painting that I expect will take a few painting sessions (24" x 36").   It is one of my favorite locations from the trip because it depicts the two McColgan family tracts of land on the Isle of Doagh, on the Inishowen Penninsula, Donegal.   One of the properties still has a farmhouse complete with thatched roof, a barn and various other utility buildings. The property next door  (to the left in the photo) was that of my great-grandparents Edward McColgan and Brigid Gubbins.   This is where they lived before their deaths in 1899 (within a month of each other -shortly thereafter all of their children emigrated to Boston).   Only two of the stone corner walls of their house were visible from the road - barely - and the remaining ruins we could make out were overgrown with vines.

Stage 1 shows the block-in for this special painting.  There is an interesting story on how we found this land during our trip which I will share when I post more progress on the painting.

Crooker Park Tree

We had a fairly short paint-out at a quiet and seemingly little known spot called Crooker Memorial Park located on Tobey Garden Street in Duxbury, MA.   The sandy parking lot had room for at least a dozen cars and it had a nice wide boat launch area into the park's main attraction, Island Creek Pond.  Since it was the last week of September, there was a definite look of autumn red to many of the small trees and shrubs that lined the edge of the water.    With no architectural elements or boats, the challenge was to create a decent painting making the most of what was there, specifically, just trees and water.   My thought was that success would have to be through the composition itself (dark vs. light).

Crooker Park Tree

I am happy with the color matching and the values.   The composition is a little boring, although I think the painting
looks a lot nicer in person.