The fishgods of Dundrum

I did a lot of sketching in April, but May, not so much. And I miss it. So I decided to pick up my paint brushes and do a quick watercolour sketch of the trees I can see from our upstairs window.

I didn't find any Ulysses mention of Goatstown, but Dundrum is mentioned once, so I added the quote. I did a quick Google search about those fishgods of Dundrum, and found out all about it, and the weird sisters and the year of the big wind, 1903! Isn't the Internet wonderful!!! Specifically, the www.joyceproject.com site for in-depth notes, and the Project Gutenberg for searching through the whole book!

PS: most of my sketchbooks are not very scholarly - they are about figuring out a composition for a more finished piece, and keeping a record of the pigments I've used. Yes, I'm a pigment geek! For instance, I'm fussy about my cobalt blue - some brands use ultramarine (PB29) + white (they call it cobalt blue tone). But I like PB28 best, although it is toxic if inhaled or ingested - so I make sure not to lick my fingers after painting!

And even if I don't get the time to paint a proper painting, I have a record of a particular moment, or a particular place. I often think that even if I could never leave my house again, I would have enough material to paint for the rest of my life, between thousands of photographs and sketches, without mentioning a cat and a dog that I still struggle to capture, an easy-going husband, and mirrors for self-portraits! And of course, I can look out my window and paint the trees, the houses and the sky!