Avacado Halves

Avacado Halves - oil/panel - 5"x5" - sold

Just arrived home yesterday after a weeks painting trip in Conneamara.

Myself and life long friend Jack Dinan were invited to join 'The Back Lane Painters' for a weeks plein air painting in the beautiful sea side village of Roundstone. The back lane painters all studied under a well known Irish artist and teacher called Henry Healy. The group have been returning to paint in this artist Mecca which is Roundstone for over 30 years now.

It was a brilliant experience for myself and Jack to see 'The Back Laners' at work - so full of energy and enthusiasm.
The Back Lane Painters are: Dr. Tom Scott, Sean Tiernan, John Dinan, Tony AR McCarty and Des Hickey who sadly pasted away a year or so ago.

At the weeks end the Works made featured in an exhibition entitled 'Back lane painters and Friends' - as part of the Roundstone Arts week. The show was opened by Ms. Mary Banotti and attracted a really large crowd. My work included five still life pieces and four plein air landscapes made made during the week in Roundstone harbour, the Inagh valley and looking towards the Maam Turks mountain range.

Thanks very much lads for an enjoyable and creative week.
Looking forward to meeting up again soon.

Hope to get the works made up on my website and blog soon.
Will keep you all updated.

- Richard

Avocado

 

Avocado - oil/panel - 5"x5" - sold

Lemon and Mug

Lemon and Mug - oil/panel - sold

During the month of May I had the opportunity to make contact with Kevin McSherry - an Artist and free lance illustrator. You might know his work from pieces created for the Irish Times newspaper.
Kevin kindly invited me out (along with a growing class of Ginny-pig budding artists) to paint with him at his home in Terenure over a six week period. Being largely self taught I jumped at the opportunity to meet with Kevin to paint. The classes were a brilliant experience for me - conducted in a relaxed, good natured and fun atmosphere.
Kevin's teaching style, experience and knowledge really impressed me and I have learnt a lot just being around him.

Above, ' Lemon and Mug' is the last piece I had a chance to create out in Kevin's studio.

If your out there Kevin - Thanks a million for all your encouragement and support.
Here is a link to Kevin's Classes website called Art classes Ireland.
Check out his fantastic illustrations here at Mc Sherry.ie

An Apple, A Pear

An Apple, A Pear - oil/panels - 5"x5" - sold

Still Life with Strawberries

Still Life with Strawberries 0il/panel - 5"x5" - sold

My main concern with this piece after finding a good composition, was creating a strong set of values. Values are so important- they refer to how light and how dark something is - and when you get them right you have less chance in allowing yourself to get caught up in finicky detail.

Hope you all like this piece. - Richard

Chocolate Cup Cake with Candle

Created this piece especially to celebrate my 'Painting Blog's first Birthday!' Since the painting projects conception this time last year I have painted and posted over 160 images on this blog while at the same time kept working on and developing my larger Works.

Thanks so very much to all subscribers, supporters, well wishers and collectors. Your continuing support and encouragement has been a real source of inspiration for me. - Richard

Cup Cake with Cadburys Flake

sold

This post marks my 4th completed 'Cup Cake' painting to date. They are a really interesting and challenging subject - containing at least 3 or 4 different textures to capture and unify. With this piece I wanted to keep a kind of overall 'soft' atmostphere.

Just remembered that my Work is featuring in an exhibition entitled ' A Taste of Dublin - Delicious Paintings,' which is presented by the Leinster & Sandford Galleries, at the Iveagh Gardens D2. the show opened yesterday 11th June and runs until this Sunday 14th June 2009.

Contact:
Leinster Gallery, 27 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Ph: +353 (0)1 6790834 Email: art@leinstergallery.com

Red Onions

sold

Using the same technique or process to create a piece just doesn't work for me. Each painting I create is approached differently. Sometimes during painting I'll think to myself - 'Oh this is how to do it' - 'this is how to build up the image', 'this is the process I should employ', 'this is working for me', - but within a day or two I have totally changed my approach in my picture making process.

For me its always the subject or object of reference and my mood that dictates how the piece is to be painted. Working this way is very freeing for me because it means I don't become rigidly attached to a particular method and get to experiment and invent new methods over and over again.

Hope you like this piece above.

Cup Cake with Love Hearts

Cup Cake with Love Hearts - oil/panel- 5"x5" - sold

Cup Cake with Lime 5x5in

sold

This is the second of 5 or 6 cup cake paintings I hope to create over the next week or so.
About a week ago, I was strolling through the weekend market along the pier in Howth village when I came across this amazing stand full of ornate cup cakes.
I got talking to Paula, the owner of 'Buns.ie', which is Ireland's First's Cup-Cake Bakery and having explained that I was a painter and crazy to make paintings her 'fabulous cup cakes' she very graciously gave me a box of them paint.
True to my word I managed to resist devouring the entire box of cakes and sent Paula the image of the first painting made. She was delighted.
Hope you like this one too Paula.

Just returned home the day before yesterday after a fabulous weekend in Co. Kerry and Co. Clare. My third solo exhibition is up and running at 'The Gallery' in the Sheen Falls lodge estate in Kenmare.
Am very happy with how the show looks - its been really hard work but worth it when you see it all hanging in the Gallery space.
The Show entitled 'Home - a triangluar history', will be open to the public and hotel guests until June 30th.

Stayed in Kenmare for one night and then drove up to Tarbert in north Co. Kerry to catch a ferry across the Shannon estuary into County Clare.
Just last week I was accepted into the Burren Art College in County Clare for a two month studio residency which will start in early July. - I cant wait!
The college is amazing - its built around an old round tower which looks onto the Burren landscape. You can just walk out the back of the college straight onto the lunar landscape of the Burren. Got to see a couple of possible studios and have managed to get a beautiful cottage to stay in just down the road from the college.
Open invite to all to come to visit.

Did manage to get a couple of outdoor landscape painting made on the trip.
Will post them in succession along with others landscape paintings made on recent trips to Co. Mayo in the next month or so.

Cut Peach

Cut Peach -oil/panel - 5"x5" - sold