Last day's fishing for 2005

I fished the Rainbow Trout fishery in Maynooth today. It was my last chance to get out this year. The temperature was well down, rarely getting above freezing all day. We also had bright sun and no wind at all.....not good fishing conditions. I managed to winkle three fish out though, 2.5, 3, and 5 lbs so I was happy enough. I missed 3 others because my fingers were so cold I couldn't stop the fly line pulling through them!!. All fish were to skinny buzzers again.
I was in my studio on Monday and did a little work on the painting of the rock pool, If i get a chance over the weekend I may try to collect some specimens. I won't be around for the next 2 days....places to go, people to see...It's that time of year...

an artist studio, not a gallery....

I was in my studio today, working away...as I do....

..............I'm working on a piece as I wanted to do, based on a rockpool..I'm using reference sketches at the moment, I'll get the specimens when I'm ready for them although I picked up a few mussels from the fishmongers today. I'll use them tomorrow too.....

....when a visitor came up (the stairs) into the studio. She looked around and through the works stacked along the wall and complained because I didn't have a variety of artist's works for sale!! I wonder what part of ARTIST'S STUDIO she doesn't understand, I am hardly likely to have other Artist's work for sale from MY studio. But people can be extremely rude, it was as if I'd forced her to come into my studio under false pretences. Just another reason to leave the open studio behind I think.

It is Christmas eve tomorrow so I won't be posting for a couple of days...
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Winding down to Christmas...

I spent yesterday shopping...last minute christmas and weeks groceries etc..
Today I visited my Mother..she is spending christmas with my brother, and took her out to lunch. Consequently I have done no work, I haven't collected my specimens either...I guess I'll leave that 'till after Sunday! I will spend tomorrow in the studio though, and possibly Saturday too... If I don't post between now and Sunday though, Merry Christmas everyone, or as you say in the US...happy holidays?? I wonder what Santa's bringing me?

An Idea for a painting..and a trip to the sea-side

I have decided I might like to try a series of paintings around rock-pools. I like water, and I like painting water so I thought that combining that with still-life or life painting if I collect critters from rockpools and keep them in a saltwater tank for a while might just be enjoyable.
I may take a trip to the sea-side this week and collect a couple of small crabs, a few limpets, mussels and even a starfish or anenome too. Pebbles and bladderwrack will make a nice background too.........
all in all it will be something different and I need to get back to basics...ie. I NEED TO WORK..on something.

Still working, (or maybe not)

I have repainted the sky area...



I may yet put more definition in the sky, the hinted cloud may need to be strenghened....
I am not happy with the photo though, it is losing some of the definition of the original, noteably in the loss of the secondary hill line in the distance. I purposly left the 2nd hills the same tone as the front line but altered the colour/hue, this is getting lost in the photos but in fact creates a nice vibration within the painting, similar to that on the extreme right of the horizon.
I managed to pick it up in this earlier photo (detail)






but it actually appears less prominent than this. Yesterdays photo shows the hill to a more realistic degree but I couldn't get a detailed picture of it as I changed the photo in 'paint'while experimenting last night.

This is the changed photo, note the clouds...they work well in digital 'paint'..but not so well with oil paint

I may be able to capture it better tommorrow.

Progress report....

I continued working on the painting today, this is where I started at..
As you can see the foreground is untidy.......



















I have re-worked the foreground grasses and rock, cleaned the water up, (I did away with the variation in colour) and I've altered the cloud. ...






















Detail....














My next job is to over-paint the cloud as I don't think it is working as it should, I will paint the sky a flat blue again and then repaint clouds with less definition I think, but I will think about it for a while before I continue. I'm going to go Pike fishing tomorrow...........

I've been busy today...

working away in the studio. I put a bit of work in on a painting I have up on the easel....I'll take a photo tomorrow.

I was dropped in a tin of Flake White oil paint....Yipppeeeeeee!!-
It is now discontinued and I haven't found any other white to do the same job as it does...and I got it at a reduced price 'cos it was discontinued...lol.

They erected a Christmas tree in the middle of the courtyard today, but it still looks dreary..........

A Day reflecting on my current work

I had a serious look at my current work this evening before leaving my studio.
I have lost my Colour! My work is dull, bland and bleak- I don't have the vibrancy I should have. I am either painting in a style that doesn't suit me, or I am painting the wrong subjects. It may be the fact that I am feeling down, and need to be more cheerful, but my current work is not what I want to show or do.

...I'm back to square one!!

under seige in Marlay ??

I went to my studio on Saturday and felt like I was under seige. Entrance to my doorway was half blocked by the 'Farmers Market' stalls in the courtyard, so much so I couldn't even put out my sign. There were two 'Artists' selling paintings from stalls in the courtyard...something we were promised wouldn't happen, and were told was a "one-off" the last time it did... Why do I pay rent rates and insurance on an OPEN studio, when no-one can get access to it? Why do 'Artists' appear at the food market outside our studios come Christmas? (the only time we are likely to make any money) and why do our landlords, Dunloaghaire Rathdown County Council not give a damn? The same reason that our Courtyard is being let go to rack and ruin, no longer do we have a Cafe, now we just have rats brought in by waste from the food markets that is not cleaned up after. The yard is used as a car-park during the week, but it's O.K. there are no longer any Kids running around because there is no coffee shop for their Mums, and it's no longer a pleasant place to sit and chat while the kids can play in relative safety...too many cars and vans driving in and out. The flower tubs have been removed, to block off access to the park by the new car-park and not replaced. Most of the picnic tables have gone elsewhere so it's easier for the cars to get in and out. The Markets give an income while hiding the fact that the courtyard, once a pleasant place to be, is fast becoming an eyesore, unkempt and miserable by degrees. It is bad enough that I have a 'Tip' outside my back window, now the front windows (When you can see out of them due to the amount of muck thrown up by the traffic from the hardcore pot hole filling) are looking out on a dirty hardcore car-park or my door is hemmed in by Market Stalls. I haven't bothered returning since, I'm too annoyed.
I'm so angry I can't work. After my trip I was looking forward to starting with renewed vigor, that has gone now. I despair. I am seriously considering finding a new studio at this stage. The attitude to us is a disgrace: Like it or lump it, be grateful for what you get, you get too much anyway... I've been waiting 3 years to have my name added to the list of Units... the name up is 8 years out of date! We were promised work on the courtyard numerous times..we've given up waiting. We co-operated with a 'report' commissioned on the units and there condition, plus reccomendations as to the way forward in the courtyard this spring, were told we could see a copy of it..no chance!. It seems to have been buried or dis-appeared somewhere down the black hole of 'in the near future'. The near future never arrives..it's like tommorrow...it never comes.
....enough for now I'm getting depressed further while ranting.............

I'm back from Florence

I have returned from the Florence Biennale, I did not stay for the full 10 days but came home earlier as Planned...I'm all cultured out! The combination of Contemporary art and the renaisscance art and architecture that pervade Florence/Firenze has me worn out!! I'll post some pics when I get them developed...yes I used cellulose not chip...
I have to say I enjoyed the experience except for problems with someone behind my 'stand' going too high and making my area look worse than a bazaar X rubbish tip, and it took two days to have it sorted even though the regulations clearly stated you can't go above the 2.5 meters.
One or two Artists were a bit upset at the lack of visitors/buyers, but to be honest I think they thought it was an Art market which it clearly was not going to be. As a meeting place for Artists from around the world it was great, Gallery owner/curator participation was a bit scarce though. All in all I feel it was slightly poor value due to a need for more advertising of the Biennale. The work on view was generally quite good, though a few poor/ lacking works were there, but I feel that will always happen in large shows like this (760+ Artists). I made a few contacts and friends from around the world though, and, I saw what Artists are seeking and doing from other cultures etc. which can only benefit my own work. I can't say I will go back again 4,000 euro in total costs (registration, shipping, flights, hotel etc.) is a bit high, but if I got full instead of partial funding I would definitely consider it.