Impressions of the landscape - quick ink studies

I was exploring headlands before I headed over to Beara, but now my head is full of images from the peninsula. It has headlands of course, but I think my heart is going in a different direction right now.  And I have to listen to my heart! Unless this is a form of procrastination? But if I don't record all these nudges that come to me, they will disappear and never come back. On the other hand, I might never get to finish a painting! I was also inspired by the session with Uma and Co. on Vivify, where we were doing thumbnails with ink and an awkward mark-making tool. I used a cut-up bit of watercolour paper. It held up quite well despite repeatedly dipping in very diluted ink.

Worked from photos for the first pass with diluted ink, then added darker ink afterwards, without the original photo, because I had skipped around and couldn't find them again.

Worked on quarter-sheet cold press paper.

Terenure

We were in Terenure at the weekend. Not a location we go to very often. The forecast was good, after a very wet morning. I did my first sketch from the car, A little cramped, but cosy. I should have moved the seat back. Then I decided to explore. Couldn't settle on anything to sketch. It started to rain. The cafés were busy. I think there are more car salesrooms than cafés in Terenure. So when it stopped raining, I decided to sketch one of those. I was standing up, with my backpack on, as the ground was too wet to put it down. So it was a bit uncomfortable. Which I think gave the sketch more energy. When I finally got to the perfect spot, at the main junction, I was too tired to sketch much of value. But I will know for next time. And I will bring noise-cancelling headphones. The junction is busy, even on a Sunday afternoon. 

The colour of the sea

As I was driving out of Allihies, I had one last glimpse at the sea as the morning sun was hitting the mountains, while heavy cloud covered most of the sky. It was an intense dark warm blue. I think one of my mixes with Phthalo blue (red shade), Carmine, Hansa Yellow Light and Quin Gold will lead me to it. In the meantime, I am pretty close using Phthalo blue red shade and Aquarius Violet - enough to hold the colour in my mind until I have time to get back to it.

Thumbnailing Magic on Vivify

Always fun and inspiring to spend an hour with Uma Kelkar's Thumbnailing Magic pod on Vivify. Great gang of artists, always supportive and full of joy. We worked with markers first, then diluted ink. I should have worked larger for the ink ones. I tend to be too literal when information is given.

Experiments in Mixing inks

I have no idea what I will do with these inks. They are not lightfast, as far as I know. But I want to use them on A3 paper at least (half sheet). Anyways, for now, let's be methodical and mix two at a time. Oops, added a third colour, from another brand, and it didn't burst into flame!! Ooh, also added some neoart (waxy crayon) as a resist (not so interesting), and tried another paper. Couldn't resist a few close-ups to show the separation when you add lots of water! Most of these done on a no-brand cold press paper. Was it Jackson's Art? Last one in an Etch sketchbook.

Pencils4Tea 16 October 2025

I'm still sticking to my graphite pencil practise with Pencils4Tea. But as you can see, I could not resist adding a little bit of colour with Stabilo Woodies. Loved the playlist in this session. You can find all the playlists on Spotify, Just search for Pencils4Tea. I was using the last few pages of a Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook. I think next time I want to use smoother paper.

Inks

Experimenting with some new inks in the Pilot range (and a few I've had for a while - like the wonderful ina-ho, which is unfortunately no longer available). Love how some of them separate when you add water. Can't wait to see what they do when I mix two together! And also how they behave with other inks. The leaflet says not to mix them with other brands, as they are chemicals. Really want to see if they will catch fire or burn through the paper!!

An Chailleach

This is the painting that started it all. I was at the Allihies Autumn School recently, learning more about the Chailleach, the Hag of Beara. Learned so much, and yet feel like I've only scratched the surface. It's going to take me a long time to digest all the information. Do you see her in this watercolour that I painted before I knew anything about this mythological, or very real, figure? For more info, just start with Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cailleach

PS: this painting is for sale, along with others, on my website.

Beara - in the sketchbook - part 2

More from my sketchbook in Allihies. Sometimes, I just wanted to do colour swatching (Gansai Tambi and some Aquarius colours by Roman Szmal, bought in Poznan). Other times a more precise drawing. And yes, I could see the Skelligs from my apartment. Sometimes they disappeared in the clouds, but other days they were so clear.