A day at the seaside

Sunshine, ice-cream, and urban sketching with my friends in Dublin Sketchers , and I even included a James Joyce connection - a perfect birthday!

And these concluded my contribution to the #30x30directwatercolor2018 challenge! But I enjoyed it so much that I might do some more!

Dublin Castle - Crawford

I really thought winter was over when I was able to sketch outside last Sunday week. But no. Not yet. Not for a while.

This is one of those sketches where the connection with Ulysses is tenuous. But it made sense to me at the time, based on a memory of a previous exhibition held at Dublin Castle. I bet there are plenty of connections like that in Ulysses, where no-one can figure out what Joyce was alluding to, just because the answer could only be found in Joyce's head. Not that I'm comparing myself to James Joyce!

Lots of tours around Dublin Castle at this time of the year. One of the tour guides I heard said that the pattern on the lawn in front of the Chester Beatty Library is a Celtic pattern that means Welcome. It doesn't quite match the information on the Dublin Castle website, which says that "At the heart of the gardens is the grassy sward of the Dubh Linn Garden, where patterns representing sea serpents are cut into the lawn. This lawn is on or near the site of the original dubh linn or ‘black pool’, where the Vikings harboured their ships and set up a trading base. It was this pool that gave its name to the city: Dublin." The tour guide did talk about the black pool and said that it was originally believed that the dark waters of this pool were the reason Guinness was black! So there you go, Dublin is the original Blackpool, and you can never be sure tour guides are telling you the truth! (PS: you will find this same paragraph on Dublin Sketchers' website, but since I wrote those lines, I think that's ok!)

I had great fun at home playing with the acronym so it would stand out.

"K.M.R.I.A.
—He can kiss my royal Irish arse, Myles Crawford cried loudly over his shoulder. Any time he likes, tell him.

While Mr Bloom stood weighing the point and about to smile he strode on jerkily."

More seagulls

One of them is starting to look like a seagull, but which??

Amazing sky over Dublin bay

I was driving back from Sandycove a few weeks ago, after a short afternoon with Dublin Sketchers. Short because the weather was too cold to hold a pen or a paintbrush for more than 10 minutes!

On my way home, I decided to take the coast road. I don't know why. It just felt right. When I got near Seapoint, the sky just lit up. It was so wonderful I had to park, get out of the car, and take lots of pictures.

When I got home, I knew I had to paint that feeling!

Here is one of the original photos (taken with my iPhone -it's not new, but it takes nice photos when the light is right):

Winter wonderland

Taken with my iPhone. No Photoshop or Snapseed.

New Year's Day walk - Dun Laoghaire and Sandycove

A few pictures from our walk on New Year's Day. Easterly wind, choppy seas, b***y cold. It didn't stop the swimmers! Apparently, ten minutes is as much as you should stay in the water when it's cold. Probably less if it's really cold, like in Russia. Here, the temperatures rarely go below zero celsius. But it's the wind!

Dublin Castle State Apartments

"My love affair with Dublin" should be the title of all these posts!

Great afternoon with Dublin Sketchers at the State Apartments in Dublin Castle. It was a cold and drizzly day. And we had special access to the beautiful, warm and bright rooms in the State Apartments, so I sketched indoors! I couldn't resist. I got so warm I had to take my coat off, though.

Until 1922, Dublin Castle was the centre of the British administration in Ireland. It has wonderful state rooms designed, literally, for kings. And apparently a throne whose legs were chopped off for a not so tall queen. It was also home to the viceroy, who ruled Ireland on behalf of the monarch. Lots of gilding. So many amazing chandeliers.

But what caught my eye on Sunday was the building across the courtyard (I'm not sure of its use). A tricky bit of architecture in terms of proportions. I battled with it for an hour and a half, in pencil - a record for me. Still got lots of basic proportions wrong (but I think my building is more harmonious than the original, with it's ridiculously tall tower!). Then I went to the Terrace Café to ink it. Watercolour was added a couple of days later! I used to be much faster, but I am learning precision (of sorts) so I need to slow right down. With practise (a lot of practise), I will get faster hopefully. And better?  Without having to measure so much, so I can be more spontaneous again! Or I might just lose patience and throw it all out the window!

The finished sketch

What I got done on site (pencil, then inked in the café)

The full spread, with a copy of the official sketch from the OPW, which shows how short the tower is in my sketch!

George's Dock

Another cold day at Dublin Sketchers last Sunday. I wore the same elegant outfit as the previous week. And I was cosy. The more I sketch outdoors, the more I'm determined to stay sketching outdoors into the winter for as long as I can. I may be glad of the indoors next week, or there might be a rainy day and I'll have no option. Or I'll become a really hardy urban sketcher! It's a bit like some men that I know that take pride in wearing shorts into the autumn (BB lasted until the end of October last year, but didn't do quite as well this year - it just wasn't that kind of a summer. There is a man in the park who's still wearing shorts - nearly mid-November - a record maybe, but not a great fashion statement). Or maybe it's the excitement and enthusiasm brought about by the fact that Dublin Sketchers is now a Chapter of Urban Sketchers! Or, more probably, it's that I'm making my way through SketchingNowBuildings and I want to put into practise my newly-acquired skills.

The location chosen for the Dublin Sketchers outing was Connolly Station (check out the link for two interesting facts about Connolly Station!). But it was too hectic for me and my Moleskine (I'm using the A4 landscape one). So I walked around the back. Not via Sheriff Street, which I still consider too rough a street for casually strolling or sketching. But Harbourmaster Street, at the back of the IFSC - completely quiet on a Sunday afternoon. Probably humming with banking and finance professionals from Monday to Friday. I chose a little spot behind a Michie Sushi restaurant (open 7am-9pm Monday to Friday, closed Saturdays and Sundays - Ireland has finally embraced sushi), facing George's Dock. And I set to work. The sun was shining across the Liffey (which I couldn't see), and I was fascinated by the space in the skyline between a little church across the river and the ultra-modern IFSC building. And I developed the sketch from there.

After an hour and a bit, I had my pencil sketch done. No ink. No watercolour. But it was time to go in and warm up. A camomile tea and a slice of carrot cake later (thank you, Parlor Café, North Star Hotel), I was ready to add colour. The picture below shows how far I got on location.

Colour added as soon as I sat down in the café

Pencil sketch done on location

Hazel Avenue

I am 31 years in Ireland, and one thing that I have only recently noticed is that hedges are very popular in suburbia here. Looking at works from urban sketchers around the world, and from my own experience in Belgium until my early twenties (and now you know my age), it seems to me that people in other countries like to show their houses to the world, whether it is to display their wealth or to let in the light, I don't know. In Ireland, well, in South Dublin anyway, houses are often hidden away behind high hedges. I believe there are bylaws that prevent the erection of high walls in front of houses, so we have a combination of low walls and high hedges and trees instead. Are the Irish more private than their European counterparts? Is there a similar trend in the UK? I don't know.

All I know it that low walls and hedges are very hard to sketch in terms of perspective!

Another thing of course are the electricity cables - in more central areas, they are all underground. And probably in newer neighbourhoods too. But I love the criss-crossing of those cables! Another thing I love about Japan too, actually, those electric cables - they are everywhere, in cities and towns. A friend of mine thought they looked ugly, but I like them. I've only sketched them once - I'm not fast enough of a travel sketcher to make time for good sketches when on holiday with my husband. He's very patient, but half an hour is not enough for me (on that occasion, he was buying a knife, so I left him inside the shop and sketched outside).  And did you know why Japan, a modern country, doesn't bury its electric cables underground? Because of the earthquakes. Much easier to find and repair the faults when the cables are above ground!

(Sketched from the car - and I did attempt to draw a car on the side of the road and a white van in a drive - the white can got cut off as I was painting a gable wall and forgot about it, but you probably didn't notice until I told you. Did you?)

Trinity College Dublin

I was sketching around Trinity College not long ago. I was practising "working structurally", a technique from SketchingNow Buildings, an online course by Liz Steel, which I'm finding very useful as I want to sketch more complex scenes these days and need to develop my observational skills, as well as a sound method for approaching intimidating classical buildings.

This time, I worked in a small square sketchbook, as I had a sore back and I didn't want to be carrying lots of art supplies with me. I am not a delicate draughtsperson, so changing to a different sketchbook presented its challenges for me. Plus, I didn't have much time. And we all know what happens when I rush.

But Trinity College is such a wonderful place - it has both ancient and modern architecture, lots of steps to sit on, and a constant lively crowd pacing its squares, students and tourists alike! And a few quiet corners too. And cricket matches when the weather is good!

For this sketch, I was sitting on the steps across from the Examination Hall on Parliament Square. All was quiet and peaceful, until a security guard asked everyone to clear the steps. I thought there might be a wedding in the chapel behind me. But a few minutes later, the commencement procession crossed the square to reach the Trinity College Chapel, with all the pump and ceremony expected for the occasion. Graduation Day! Or Commencement in Trinity parlance. At this stage, I was standing behind a bin, still trying to finish my sketch. Actually, those solar-panelled bins are very handy - a good flat surface for my sketchbook! Must remember that! When I could no longer see the Examination Hall, I started sketching the new graduates, in their beautiful black gowns trimmed with cream (fake?) fur.

I then decided to move to a quieter spot. I'm not sure what it's called. There was no name on the building (that I could see anyway). It just looked like an ancient Greek temple. It's beyond Library Square, on the Pearse Street side. After struggling with pillars, I moved back to Parliament Square and sketched proud fathers taking pictures of their offspring! And the black things in the air are not crows. They are the black square hats that are thrown in the air after graduation. All of this ritual is alien to me. We didn't have any formal graduation in my college. It was all very low key. Just exams, passed. A thesis, passed. (First class honours - I was a good student) And less than a week later, I had moved to Ireland anyway! 

And here, I couldn't resist throwing in a few pictures of the Long Room. Wouldn't it be wonderful, and scary, to sketch in there some day?

Never Give Up - The Dodder

A lot has happened since I wrote that previous post about my attempts to paint the Dodder at Bushy Park.

Funny how it is that I have an attachment for that spot. Or maybe an obsession? We rarely go that way these days. We now tend to park on the other side of the park, off the Templeogue road. When we first got Timber, we used to park near the junction with the road that goes to Rathfarnham (and Terenure in the other direction), and cross that little bridge over the river. Every time, the light was different. But the sides of the path by the river could on occasion be very mucky. Not good when you have an enthusiastic puppy. Mucky paws, mucky car, mucky towels, mucky house... So that's why we ended up parking on the other side. But I kept going back to that photo - it was always a scene I wanted to paint.

Anyways, back to the painting - I went back and reworked my second attempt, which was so ugly I hadn't even put up a photo of it on the blog. It was even blockier than my first attempt.

When I despair about a painting, I often dig out old books that I think might help me tackle a particular problem, in this case one of the books on watercolour I got ages ago, called How to Make a Watercolor Paint Itself, by Nita Engle. I remember when I tried the techniques described in the book at the time, the results were very disappointing. Just because I didn't have enough experience in order to grasp what was needed. I've learned a lot about watercolour since - how much water to use, how to use the right pigments so things don't turn to mud, how much paint to put on the brush. It makes a big difference. That's the way it is with any form of art, you're continuously learning, building your skills in a spiral (I got that from Liz Steel), with something new you've acquired every time you go around, which helps you "get" something that made no sense the previous time you travelled that path.

I'm not done yet, but now there are elements I love in it. So I know I'm climbing the right mountain at least.

The ugly duckling step one - and that was after lifting a lot of paint already.

Step two - masking highlights and flooding the paper with lots of water and pigment, and letting watercolour do its magic. Happy with the bottom half. I need to tackle those trees next.

Still need to figure out how to make the blob in the centre into a darker set of leaves. Nearly done, but this is the scary stage where I can still mess it all up! Will post the final picture when it's ready, but I'm procrastinating!

Some you can't win

I've been mulling over one of my photos of the Dodder near Bushy Park for a couple of years, and I finally decided to take the plunge and paint it in watercolours.

Too blocky. But the pale blue in the centre is nice.
It's Delft Blue (Schmincke) by the way.

I'm aiming for a soft look, full of yummy colours and a good tonal balance. But it hasn't worked out so far - all I'm getting is blotchy and dull. Water is always a challenge for me - I find that there are so many strong contrasts and interesting reflections that I get lost in the detail and the end result is too solid.

I guess I haven't really found the recipe that works for me all the time. Probably to do with the fact that I'm interested in so many things, and constantly trying out different techniques.

This picture shows the second layer of the third
version. Lots of masking fluid used. Nice soft
colours. 

I'm currently on my third version, and going back to using masking fluid and working very wet in wet, actually spraying water on the page to make the paint move and mingle. It will probably end up too soft.

Now it's at the stage where I'm waiting for paint to dry. A lot of that goes on in watercolour painting.  If it doesn't work out, I will have to move on. But I have a stubborn streak, so I haven't given up yet!
You can't win them all! But you can try!

The Icon Factory

"Thank you to The Icon Factory for letting us sketch around their workshop and street on Sunday afternoon.

Temple Bar can be a busy spot on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but the Icon Factory is tucked away between Fleet Street and the Liffey and provided the perfect location for sketching. It's well worth a visit - they are an artist cooperative who are literally reclaiming the streets; they have beautiful art on display, and the Icon Walk will take you through a who-is-who of Irish Icons.
A special thanks to Aga and Iwona for making us feel welcome. And to Amolika, who kindly agreed to be sketched!

You will find photos of Dublin Sketchers in action on the Icon Factory Facebook page! "

Well, since I wrote the little blurb on the Dublin Sketchers's blog, I thought it was ethical for me to use the same text here! Well, we live in an age where people assume that what's online is free to use for whatever they want. I know some art teachers who have found their art used without acknowledgement to advertise somebody else's workshop! Crazy stuff, isn't it! But I wrote the piece, so it's mine to use and re-use if I want!! I'm just being lazy, actually. I could write a different little piece telling you all about the brilliant afternoon I and Dublin Sketchers had at the Icon Factory instead.

How would it go? Do I write differently here? Let me try:

Temple Bar is a horrible part of Dublin - full of drunk tourists and locals, and a few lost Americans looking for the traditional music! The price of a pint goes up as the evening wears on. It was supposed to be the art centre of Dublin. It's just full of mega-pubs and restaurants, even the Hard Rock Café. Nothing cultural. Nothing Irish. It could have been so wonderful. And the non-commercial alleys are full of litter, and probably used syringes if you look closely. But an artist cooperative called The Icon Factory decided to reclaim the streets. They have painted wonderful portraits of Irish Icons over the drab walls of the back-streets. You can take the Icon Walk and you will see James Joyce, Sinead O'Connor, lots of writers, singers and sports personalities. And the Icon Factory is a beautiful little space where you can buy reproductions of some of the art, in cards or mugs or art prints. They even have a workshop next door where you can see the artists in action. Last week, Dublin Sketchers descended on the area like locusts (well, maybe not locusts - we came in peace and we left the area as we had found it after all). We settled all around the footpaths and started sketching. It was a beautiful afternoon and my opinion of Temple Bar has changed. The power of Art!

And here is what I did. All sketched on location. Colours added later (middle version shows the colours I added in the pub we met in after our sketching time; I finished the watercolour work at home)

Rugby Word Cup Women's in Dublin

I'm watching rugby on the telly. That has to be a first. It's the Women's Rugby World Cup, it's set in Dublin, and it's Ireland vs Japan, so of course I'm interested. And yes, I'm rooting for Japan! 頑張ってください!!

The first phase of the matches is set in UCD, just down the road from us, so it was really easy to get to. So I spent the afternoon in the Fan Zone (it was the England-Italy match), sat on the ground and started sketching! Several children looked on, and a few grown-ups too, including some young French women, who were surprised when I turned back and thanked them for their kind comments.

When I was done, I went over to the Japanese supporters I had captured, and showed them my sketch. They were so pleased they insisted on taking pictures with me and my sketchbook! Unfortunately, I forgot to take my phone out to get a photo too.

After that, I walked over towards the all-weather pitches, met with my husband and my dog and we walked around the back, then watched the Japanese team warming up and wished them good luck!

So far so good. 27 minutes into the game and it's 0-7 for Japan! In my humble opinion, the Irish team thought it would be easier to beat the Japanese, and they're finding it tougher than they expected.

May the best team win.

The Eatyard

Another Sunday, another sketching location. And rain again. This is August in Ireland. But I bumped into a friend just as the rain was starting and we took shelter together, and chatted for a while under the trees by the canal. Then we scouted for a good location where we could stay dry. And we found the Eat Yard, just beside the Bernard Shaw pub in Portobello. I wasn't particularly hungry, but I got chips from the Box Burger. My fellow sketcher got a sweet potato burger. And we set to work.

This is not something I was aware of until Sunday, but food truck culture has hit Dublin. Now cars are not my strong suit. We've established that already. But this one wasn't going nowhere. So I started with the overall shape (more or less) first, then I went back in for detail, jumping from one area to the next every time I struggled with a particular point. And no, I'm not sure I'll ever manage to fit the bottom of my subjects onto the page. You'd think at this point I'd remember to start at the bottom, or draw higher on the page. Or start with a quick pencil outline. One day maybe. But then I wouldn't be me. And where would be the fun in that?

I haven't yet developed the ability to sketch things and people at the same time. But there were loads of young people hanging around the yard, fathers with young children (one little boy stole an eraser, and when it fell to the ground, it looked exactly like the gravel under our feet - he looked fairly cross when he was asked to pick it up and hand it back!), young couples, first dates. There was a young man and a young woman in very intense conversation. Although I wasn't listening to what they were actually saying, it sounded like a first date. And the young man was working hard at impressing the young woman! I wish them well for the future!

The man behind the counter at Burn Baby Burn was so impressed with my sketch that he took photos of it to include on their instagram page! But unfortunately, I can't find it anywhere - there are just too many people using burn baby burn as a hashtag!

Still, it was a very pleasant afternoon, despite the rain!

The old and the new

Remember this photo from our Bloomsday sketchout? It was taken in front of a house on Hardwicke Street (just one street behind the Olivier Cornet Gallery)

Well, I was on Hardwicke street recently, meeting Jason Sheridan from the Hardwicke Street Community Garden, and he sent me this photo:

One of the things I love about urban sketching is that it brings you to parts of the city you would not visit in your day-to-day life. This is Dublin inner city, with its poverty, unemployment, social issues, its drug problems. Not a place I would normally go to. And yet, Hardwicke Street's residents made me feel very welcome indeed when I visited. And I got to know them a little better, chatting with old and young. All that because of a sketch from Bloomsday! I am a firm believer that sketching can bring people together. 

And I did find out about Margaret Sheridan, Margaret Maguire and Amanda Bowes. Sadly, all three were killed in 1980 when a joy-rider lost control of the car he was driving at speed on the street. Margaret Sheridan was Jason's grand-mother, Amanda was his 8-year-old cousin, and Margaret Maguire was a friend of Mrs Sheridan. 

May they rest in peace.

Wolfe Tone Square

Another Sunday, another Dublin Sketchers location! Wolfe Tone Square. One of these places you normally pass through without stopping.
We have been blessed with the weather, and Wolfe Tone Square was busy with families, children, tourists, pigeons, seagulls, and a group of Eastern European men (Romanians?) engaged in very animated conversation. And sketchers of course.

I wasn't the only one to be drawn to the dome over Penneys on Mary Street, the old Todd Burn's Department Store, but my sketch was probably the most colourful! (OK, not quite as colourful as this, but Picasa seems to struggle with orange - the sketch is actually a little more pink than this)

And while I'm at it, I couldn't help this Picasa Invert Colours trick. I must try this in real life next time! A great excuse to use yummy colours!

And now I know why the bar that was facing me (to the right of the sketch) is called The Church!

Since I had some time left, I did a second sketch, trying to capture the group of men talking, a couple of sketchers, the palm trees and the beautiful big tree in the background.

Mud Island Community Garden

A little gem of a location for Dublin Sketchers a few weeks ago: Mud Island Community Garden, just off North Strand Road, Dublin 3. Lots of vegetables and flowers and a caravan. And also a lovely lean-to with benches and a table - ideal for Sketchers tea and chat.

The artist at work

I love discovering hidden corners of Dublin. Particularly when, in this case, it brings me back to parts of the city I used to be familiar with. When I first came to Dublin in 1982, I stayed with a family in Raheny for 3 weeks. And I took the 29A bus into town most days - this was pre-Dart, remember! I had forgotten all about that area, but it was like I was back at the top of that bus, smoking Major cigarettes, and falling in love with the city for the first time. I still do, love it.

Courgettes and Nasturtiums

Yes, I know, my caravan is too short, but look at the lovely colours and shapes!

Powerscourt on my birthday

Do you know anyone who gets up at 6am on their birthday and goes out to paint at 7 am? I am so lucky I have a friend who was happy to do the same!

We met at Powerscourt just before 7 on that beautiful sunny morning and set to work straight away. Painting is serious business! Particularly so in Ireland when the good weather is never guaranteed to last.

By 10 am, we both had two paintings done, and we went to the coffee shop for a celebration slice of banana cake and a cup of tea. I was home by 11, ready to open my presents!

Powerscourt house and gardens is a wonderful location, apparently voted Nr 3 Best Garden in the World by the National Geographic! - gorgeous mountains in the distance, lots of trees, meadows, and if you go into the gardens themselves, you could spend the rest of your life painting there: fountains, statues, Japanese garden, walled garden, pet cemetery, beautiful views over the moutains, tourists, ... It's got it all. On this occasion, we stayed outside the main garden - we didn't want to have to pay to get in. I could have painted the Sugar Loaf view in the distance - it is picture-perfect after all. But, maybe I was intimidated by it, I chose instead to paint this set of conifers in the east.

The first painting, as done on location. I was very happy with it at the time, but when I got home, I felt that there were too many busy bright shapes competing for attention.

So I reworked it - lifting quite a bit of paint and applying simpler washes to push shapes further back. I also greyed out the little house in the distance, as it was competing for attention with my centre of interest, the big conifers on the left.

Second painting of the day. I turned around and tried to paint one of the beautiful trees in the middle distance. It didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped. I applied the same treatment, but the patient didn't respond too well. What I needed to do in this case was start again, giving the leaves more fluid strokes and thinking more about the colours for the bark. Plus I should have worked wet-in-wet for my sky. Another day's work. I'll just have to go back!

Before

After rework at home