This May I went back to Ireland. We started in Westport for the first stretch and drove south through Connemara to get to Doolin. Our route took us through Leenane on Killary Harbour, Kylemore and Maam Cross, past the cottage from The Quiet Man, still standing off the road near Maam.
I painted a series of work from past trips to Ireland back in the early 2000s. That work included pubs, pipers, Dingle, Kerry, and Doolin. Most of those earlier pieces were watercolors on paper, painted small, the way travel work usually happens. This time I came home and decided to work bigger, creating four new paintings so far.
Connemara Sunstorm (30 x 15) is the west the way it actually looks from the road between Westport and Maam Cross.
Kylemore (30 x 15)
Everyone photographs the Abbey from across the lake. We walked the whole property, and this is from down at the water.
Achill Evening (20 x 12)
came out of a day trip to Achill Island, out at the far western edge of County Mayo. We saw Keem Bay and walked the deserted village on the slope of Slievemore.
Colors of Cork (12 x 12) is the small square of the group.
Some of this work got started on the trip. In Doolin the house we rented had been an inn, and the old bar was still in it with a window facing the cliffs. That is where I set up in the AranView Country House. Also, a big thank you to Peter Mooney Tours for providing us with excellent transport and touring for our trip.
All four paintings are in the studio now. You can see the whole Ireland collection, older work and new, at my Artwork Archive Ireland gallery. If you want to see one in person or talk about a piece, get in touch.
