Dingle Peninsula - studies

Just as well we were travelling by car, as I brought my paints with me! I did manage to do a few quick studies from photos I had taken that day or from the view out the window. I didn't do as much or as well as I had hoped to. But the weather was great and I chose to go for walks instead! So here is my crop, all done 2 pieces per quarter sheet watercolour paper. Some have potential. Some were disastrous. 

A field that had just been cut for silage. It caught our eye in the light!

The view from the house. Well, a sliver of the view.

The house we rented is called Great Blasket View. For a good reason!

It was warm, but humid I think, and my paint just wouldn't dry!

I will definitely develop this into a painting. Just a bit of rock and the ocean!

I love fence poles

 

Dingle Peninsula - sketches

The staycation - Ireland is the best place on earth when you get the weather. And we were blessed. We had one grey day in our week on the Dingle Peninsula. And extra restrictions (Level 3) were imposed in Dublin the day we came back. If we had decided to go on holidays a week later, we would have had to cancel, as, under Level 3 restrictions in Ireland, you cannot leave your county. So, double-blessed!

The Dingle Peninsula is my favourite place in the world, no doubt. I went many many years without going there, but we've been three times in the last four years, and each time, my heart skips a beat when we drive down Slea Head! It's not the easiest place to sketch. It's really only big sky, the sea, the rocks, the mountains. And it's windy. I could sketch the cute cottages, but there wasn't enough time for that! Because the weather was so good, we walked a lot. So many beautiful beaches and headlands. And because of Covid, the coach tours are not running, so the roads are quiet and it's so much more pleasant to walk.

Some sketches I just did a quick pen sketch on location, standing up in the wind, and added colour and text later on. Others, I did fully on location (it got warmer as the week went on). I'll start with the location photos, and you'll see the finished sketches down below.

If this view looks familiar, blame Star Wars. This is Ceann Sibeal, where they filmed the scenes where Luke Skywalker is living in these beehive stone huts. Some scenes were filmed here and others on Skellig Michael, an island a good distance away. Well, the set was at the top of that headland. It's gone now, but the locals still claim that their town, Ballyferriter, is the home of Star Wars!

Grey day, sketch from the car. Not too many trees. This is Ventry. Lovely long beach down the lane behind those trees.

This was the last day, on Clogher beach. The only time I actually sat down to sketch for an hour or so! The sea was unusually calm.

Studying he colour of the sea and the rocks

Looking in the other direction. 

More rocks.

Quick sketch at Béal Bán, another beautiful beach. Long stretch of sand, and good for swimming (not that I did!)

This is me sketching. Yes, that was our warmest day. But this is Ireland, and I was initially sitting in the shade, so long sleeves and woolly hat were essential!

 

So here below you'll see the same sketches, and a few extras, for which I don't have on-location photos. I've added text, a few lines here and there, or colour. Photos in reverse order from which they were sketched.

And here a few pictures that Brendan took when I was sketching. Not the most flattering. I must do something about my chin (wear bigger scarves?) and my lips (smile more to stretch the lines?). But it's lovely to have them all the same!

Sandycove - focus focus

OK, sometimes you just need to focus and get it done. Having practised this scene in multiple ways, I was ready to paint! So I just went for it! After reviewing everything I learned from my draft pieces. I'm very happy with my curves, I have to say, so it was worth practising! My sky is a bit duller than I would have liked, but hey, that's probably not a bad thing - at least it's not stealing the show! 

And you'll find below my notes, of all the things I tried to keep in mind while painting! Next time I'd like to make it a little more organic, but the curves was what it was about for me, so I'm happy with how it worked out. 

Onto the next thing now!

And then there's days like this

 Days when I keep repeating the same pattern over and over without being really present.

And mixing ugly darks.

And using a brush that's too small for the job. and getting angry. Well, that's a good use for red at least!

Sketching while waiting

Waiting for a call, waiting at the hairdressers, waiting in the park, waiting for my dinner, waiting in the car, ... It seems that life is full of waiting time. I could catch up on my social media. Or I could practise sketching!

Irish War Memorial Gardens - by the Liffey

What do I do when faced with a wall of greens? Paint it all! I did try to differentiate between foreground and background, using values and colour temperature!! The little girl who thought that some of my faraway trees were clouds told me that I wasn't entirely successful!!

The Irish War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge isn't a well-known spot in Dublin. It's a little bit away from the city centre. And it celebrates the soldiers who fought and died during World War I before Ireland became independent. So there is a lot of history there. Many nationalists don't want to recognise these soldiers. But the gardens are beautiful, with wild areas and perfect rose gardens. And the Liffey is at its wildest and most gorgeous there, fast-flowing before it hits the city centre.

The sun was in and out, and I struggled with my shadows as usual!

Practising curves - the hard work - I just want to be done now!!

Trying to practise practise without trying to finish a painting. That is hard for me. But every ugly duckling is teaching me something. Although I'm still not connecting the shapes and letting the watercolour do its thing. I need to work faster and let watercolour be!