Last Sunday was a Bloomsday sketching afternoon. The chapter we were covering was Lestrygonians, a chapter where Bloom walks across the Liffey, in a path that looks like the human digestive system. A lot of references to food, and its journey from the mouth to the anus! And also seagulls, swooping to catch any bit of food going! On his journey, Bloom passes in front of Brown Thomas on Grafton Street, and thinks of all the beautiful silks and ribbons that women love.
Still recovering from my flu, I decided not to do the full route from O'Connell Street. Instead, I went to the Marks&Spencers Rooftop café, with its terrace overlooking Grafton Street, and a great spot for seagulls! Another interesting note about it is that the original Brown Thomas store was at 16 Grafton Street, which is now occupied by M&S! After they bought Switzer's in the 1990s, Brown Thomas moved across the street, in what was Switzer's and sold their original store to M&S.
The seagulls were too quick for me to sketch one accurately, hence the very long beak and strange shape. And none of the photos I took worked out, as they kept moving. I should have bought some food, but then they would have pestered me the whole time!! I will have to practise by looking at photos on the Internet! Being able to draw a seagull is an essential skill in Dublin, I believe!
The tall tower with the green roof is from St Teresa's church on Clarendon Street, which gets a mention in Penelope, where Molly Bloom remembers singing there a year previously.
So there you go, that's what inspired me!
The hungry famished gull.
Flaps o'er the waters dull.
He came out into clearer air and turned back towards Grafton street. Eat or be eaten. Kill! Kill!
Ulysses, James Joyce
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