Studio Classes start Thursday & Sketches from Ireland (Fellowship of the Ring, of Kerry!)

While it's on my mind, I'm going to mention that my studio classes for "Sketchbook Journaling" are starting up this Thursday.  Here's the link to the scoop if you'd like to join us. It's close to full, but you might want to be on the waiting list- as I think there will be an opening in mid-October.  Also- you can click on the images to enlarge them! 

Now, back to Ireland- We started our first day with a quick demo and focusing especially on the thing that really 'cracks the nut' on success with watercolor - the pigment to water ratios!

The best way to quantify and explain that? Relate it to something we are very familiar with - FOOD! Tea (so weak that it can't get itself out of the pot!), coffee (a little more pigment), Milk (more pigment yet), cream (heavier still, you might not be able to see through it), and butter (almost straight out of the tube). Once you understand this, that's a big part of the learning curve.  Getting a bit of practice time in so everyone is familiar with their new supplies:

We have lots of opportunities to take in the local beauty. We had a carriage ride waiting for us in Knightstown, with Joe (of Valentia Ice Cream) and his horse Max. Can you imagine a guy that would be any more popular than that? (horses, home-made ice-cream, beautiful scenery, oh my).  

We rode past the pretty church on the way to Knightstown (many years ago, I painted a wedding commission of this place - good memories!).

Here's the view coming into the pier area of Knightstown, where you can ride the ferry over to the mainland.

Down the main street of Knightstown, this colorful coffee shop happens to be a great place for lunch...

I was really happy to see that there was still a lot of wildflowers in bloom, recent storms hadn't taken them out! There were montbresia and fuchsias filling the hedgerows, and wild blackberry brambles still putting out berries! 

This was along the road back to Valentia Ice Cream; to the left of us - cows in the pasture.  Below us, the Valentia Light house shines in the sunlight of a beautiful Valentia day!

We followed up our delightful ride with ice-cream! I got to chat with Joe's wife after she scooped up ice-cream for us. They are just closed for the season...but we are special guests that day.  They have expanded and added a whole new room, and patio-deck, as well as a play space for the kids! What a treat getting to visit with them again!

From here it's time to head back to Barbara's cottage for lunch! Yes, we worked up a nice appetite photographing the town, and all it's views. The ice cream was a bit of an appetizer!

The men are contemplating lunch, and the afternoon activities to come! After lunch, we cross the bridge to Portmagee and head south to Ballenskelligs Beach to visit the ruins, (and sit for a sketch if so desired!). 

Ever since Luke Skywalker made it out to Skellig Michael, everyone has been discovering what we've known all along....Skelligs Chocolate is FAB!!! 

Need we say anything more about that?! Now that we are fortified with a mug of hot chocolate, we proceed on our way, to Waterville, and Hogshead beach for a bit of beach-combing and views, and sunset!

The path to the beach is so lush!

and some can't resist getting their feet wet!

These stones are the colors that inspired my decorating choices in my home.

Looking back up the hill - another pretty view!

It's not difficult to imagine that fairies would live in such a lush and tender landscape!

The big view back up the hill!

The sun sets on our first day! 

We head off to dinner, and are already worlds away from the 'selves we left behind in the states'.   Is natural beauty important? Yes! Can it change our lives? Yes!  Does it continue to amaze and enthrall us? yes, yes, yes! Our humanity has us hard-wired to appreciate beauty in our daily lives!

May The Sun Shine Warm Upon Your Face, or Monet's Great Idea

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

For more information, or to purchase, click here.

It dawned on me that one of Monet's great practical ideas was to paint familiar places, over and over again. Every thing is seen in a new light. The season, or weather may be different, as well as time of day. Over the years, our cumulative experience of being at that place enables us to see things that we didn't notice before, and our skill set has developed further as well.  This house on Valentia Island, Ireland - with it's thatched roof, has been painted many times, by many artists.  Each time I've painted it, the familiar brings comfort, yet there is always something new about it to me. And I find that's a wonderful spot to be in. So to any one who feels like "I've already painted that place"....don't be so quick to want to leave...what are you missing today?...time for another look!   

Cadbury's in Ice Cream? Are you kidding?!?!

Honestly, I deserve some kind of a medal for resisting this....Cadbury's in ice cream. Or perhaps a straight jacket....am I crazy? I passed up Cadbury's in ice cream on the beach, on a sunny day in Ireland? I must be certifiable. Or desperately jet lagged! So we all are, but we are kept awake by the excitement to come.  Tom Mastaglio, our host's husband gathered us from the airport in Shannon, this morning for the long trek back to Valentia Island.  

 

Ah, so much to do, so little time! Surfing...I could've gone surfing, in summer, on a SUNNY day in Ireland? But we did get our feet wet. We just couldn't resist an invigorating dip (of our feet) in that brisk water in Dingle Bay, along the 

Wild Atlantic Way.

Well, too much fresh air and sunshine works up a mighty thirst for travelers. So between coffee, tea, and perhaps Guiness, we were revived.  Did I mention it tastes better over there (here in Ireland)? It's true, not kidding on this one. Once you've had it at the source, all the rest (that gets shipped to us in the States) tastes a bit like 'tree-bark-water'.

 

 So much to see along the way, but we finally arrived at our 'home away from home', our B&B - SheaLane B&B on Valentia Island.

I discovered there's a new baby in the "neigh"bor-hood!

I love getting to share this place with new friends, as we enjoy the view at Coarha Beg, with the skelligs and little islands in the background. 

This place holds more than a bit of magic for me. I've been enchanted by this part of Ireland.  After dinner, Barbara shares some wonderful stories....

 

and we are all held in its wonder and delight!

  Goodness, I've bent your ear for far too long tonight. We got some serious issues to tackle tomorrow..... like painting, and giants, beaches, ruins, and hey...there's a bit of the world's best chocolate involved, too. I need my rest to keep up!

 

Come to Ireland With Me!! (and how NOT to get busted in security!)

Ruins at Ballinskelligs, 8"x10" oil on linen mounted on archival panel - for more information or to purchase, click here.

Ah, where to begin? I'll try to continue to fill you in with all the stories of this adventure- On my arrival to Shannon Airport on Sept. 1st, I was meeting up with three other ladies from CT, one whom I know (Jill) and two others that I hadn't met yet.  We had arranged to hire a van to take the four of us the three hour drive from Shannon to Valentia Island.  We stopped in Adare, which is halfway to our destination, for a bite to eat.  By our arrival to Valentia for our "meet and greet"  I had several new artist friends, three more attendees came in from Virginia!  It was my sixth time to return to Barbara Mastaglio's artist retreat there on Valentia Island. It's a wonderful place and she is a great one to introduce you to that area of County Kerry, Ireland! (so much so that now I'm starting to feel like a local!).

Monday morning we painted out in Knightstown, I did get a blog post in that day (scroll down for previous posts),  though I still wonder where I got the energy as each day was filled to the max! Most of us painted at the pier - as it's on a "corner" spit of land with so many great views - boats, the mainland in the distance, a quaint village, a fanciful clock tower, it's a painters paradise! After choosing to paint their local coast guard boat in its bright orange and blue, I had some time to photograph some additional interesting places in the village. I think I have some great photo references!

Before heading over to the light house and Dohilla for more painting in the afternoon, we stopped for lunch at Barbara's retreat.  Food with a view, can it get any better? Okay- it was- food with a view in the company of fellow artist friends!! Super! Here's Maureen waiting for us to join her for lunch on the patio! The Atlantic Ocean to the west of us, Dingle Bay to the north of us, Portmagee channel and village south of us, and horses grazing to the east of us!

 

So, without further ado- I can't wait to tell you- I'm offering a workshop at this wonderful place next summer! You can get the quick info at this link for "Art on the Ring of Kerry".  You'll want to claim your spot pronto as there is limited room!  It's a wonderful opportunity to feel like a local (take it from one who has returned to this magical place many times), I'd hate for you to miss out on this! 

I'll be teaching palette knife technique, but will help those who prefer brushes as well- mainly on how to deal with the 'predicaments' of plein air painting - getting your initial concept into a composition, how to get the 'vastness of all that Irish green' into a small format (ie. 8x10), how to simplify what you are seeing in order to make those decisions quicker (so that you can finish that painting in about 2 hours). The Irish landscape presents challenges every day- learning those concepts here will prepare you for ANYTHING!

Here I am with my favorite painting hat, lunch sack and camera bag (knowing full-well I could have lightened that load), and my fellow painter friend Jill on Skellig Michael.  It's an ancient monastic site 10 miles off shore (and a UNESCO World Heritage site)....and seven hundred steps atop a huge pointy rock in the North Atlantic!! (what were those guys thinking?). I'll continue that part of the story in tomorrow's post! Until then, Ireland's calling you....come for a visit and paint with me next summer! 

oh yeah...you've read this far & might be wondering, "Okay, so where's the part about being busted in airport security"?  Well, SOMEONE in our group of painters changed around all their brilliant packing in order to make sure the Skelligs Chocolate was put in the carry-on along with the wet paintings (my two high priority items)....somehow my brush carrier fit in there as well.   My checked bag was getting quite overloaded after purchasing a couple books and woollen items. So, I was quite surprised when they pulled me aside and asked to open my carry-on bag..."sure, but you can't have my chocolate" I responded. They DID ask what was in the grey box (wet paintings), then they pulled out my fabric roll of brushes, which included palette knives for painting.  "And what are these???" the older security guard asked of me.

  "Painting knives, palette knives for painting" I just blurted out. 

"I'll have to ask my supervisor about these, they look dangerous".

Ugh, I can't believe it, attach the word knife to anything and I'm sure it's considered a weapon, even though the whole tip is flexible.  Perhaps if I had called them PAINT SPREADERS instead, I'd still have them.  Time to head back to the art supply store, I'm out roughly $40 in supplies for 3 'paint spreaders' and a pair of pliers (for removing sticky paint tube lids).  The pliers made it into Ireland, but not going back out.  I can't imagine what they thought I'd do with that (maybe pull out someones teeth with it??).  Well, you can rest assured you are safe on Aer Lingus from the likes of me! 

If I hadn't been distracted by CHOCOLATE I would have had the common sense to put the whole brush carrier in my checked luggage, and I wouldn't be needing a trip to the art supply store! I'll remember that next summer!   

St. Finian's Bay - SOLD! and your invitation to Ireland!

8"x10" oil on linen mounted on archival panel

St. Finian's Bay is one of my favorite places to paint.  First of all, it usually involves a trip to the Skellig Chocolate factory, just across the street, close by.  Secondly, it has a wonderful beach where really tough, brAve hearty souls go to swim and surf! I've been there on cloudy days, misty days, and sunny days (and of course days that have every weather event involved...and it's always beautiful!  This one sold at our "Wet Painting Sale" on Valentia Island, to a repeat collector who lives on the island. 

It was a WONDERFUL week! Barbara Mastaglio, our host for planning our week through Valentia Island Art Retreats knows this region so well, keeps us painting at some really great locations! 

Mary and Jim Lane, who own and run Shealane B&B do a superb job of keeping us well fed and rested, and keep us headed in the right direction with any question we might have.  This was my sixth time over to visit and paint, Mary and Jim have become like family.  And Barbara I would claim for a sister at any time.

We do hope you'll join us next summer - I'll be offering a workshop there. You'll gain great tips on improving your decision making skills in the great outdoors, make faster and stronger starts to your painting, so you'll have that roadmap to a great finish.  Learn to strengthen your composition for a truly compelling painting, and "finding your voice" in your painting career.

I've just finished downloading all my photos from the adventure- and I'll share them here on the blog. You'll also hear it from me, what I got snagged in security for! (and it wasn't a pile of rocks)!   

  

Cliffside Sunbathing in Irish Wool (sold) - returning to Ireland!

This painting is already sold, but you might find some other available Ireland paintings here.

So, I'll be packin' up my bags shortly. Pulled the big suitcase out of the basement this morning. I'm trying to decide upon whether to take panels to paint on, or cut pieces of canvas.  I've got a nice roll of oil primed linen, and a friend of mine recommended taking cut pieces of linen taped to foam core board or gator-board to paint on.   It makes for a much lighter load with them unmounted. What he does with the wet pieces on his way home is to stack them, with a piece of corrugated cardboard with a window hole cut out of it, in between each piece...so that each painting is not touching another. When all the pieces are stacked and separated it's still pretty light...but - I'm thinking this still takes up a lot of space in your suitcase AND would cause me to take up more time cutting card-board, just to get ready.   Plus, just looking at layers of cardboard (in my shipping closet) that adds up to a pretty thick stack.  I think my methods I've been using for the last decade have served me quite well.  

I keep the paintings relatively small, 8x10 linen covered panels are my favorite.  I also like to bring 6x8s and 9x12s and sometimes 12x12s.  Over the years I've collected a slew of panel boxes. Various makers make some great sturdy boxes.  The lightest ones are made by Raymarart.com.  Check them out here!

I've been going through my supply of paints. I bag them up in zip-lock bags by color. I have two batches, one group that I will use up first, and if I run out of any color, I carry a back-up supply in a separate zip-lock bag. I try to pack those baggies in between a soft, cushy sweat -shirt so that the tubes won't get mashed or damaged. I pack them in the suitcase that goes with the checked luggage.  I'm taking more than I used to on this trip. I've been using a bigger variety of transparent colors than I used to as an under painting, so that takes up a bit more space. But I'm excited about what I'll be painting this trip, as the last time I went over was 2009. 

My carry-on luggage piece is actually my painting back-pack. Once I arrive at my B&B, I'll re-organize my equipment from suitcase to back-pack, so that each day I'll have my gear handy.  It's usually the "getting -there" that is a hassle (ie- packing). Once you arrive at your destination, the fun finally begins! 

I've got myself a card-reader for my ipad, so I'm hoping to blog via my iPad and not lug my laptop over there! Gosh, I've learned a lot already, just planning for this trip. Now lets see if I can put it to good use! 

I've got a special request already for some sheep paintings! My previous trips over to Ireland have been mid-summer, June and July when the lambs are still fairly tiny. I have no idea what they'll look like in September. They're so cute when they're tiny- yet they can spring up in the air as though they had springs in their little legs! It's been hard not to try to sneak one on board to come home with me. I guess it would be hard to pass one off as a service animal..."Yes, sir, that's my 'seeing-eye-sheep', quite the trooper"! I'm sure I'd get busted in security for that! 

I do hope you'll follow along on the adventure! These views are some of my favorite on the planet! Make sure you don't miss a thing by filling in your email address in the box at the top right hand column that says: GET MY LATEST PAINTINGS EMAILED TO YOU DAILY!  Each new blog post and painting will show up in your inbox each morning!