My new look website is operational

I have re-launched my website.  It was in need of updating, and had been in situ for 10 years in it's current format.  I have my suspicions that the amount of java that was in the template I had been using was detrimental to the ease of use with smartphones too, but I can't complain it served me well for the decade at a cost of about $60 when I bought the license to use it.  

I decided to keep the new (improved, I hope) site simple.  It is just a basic html and css setup with little to download other than the images to facilitate smart phone accessibility.  Hopefully it will bring a level of sales similar to the old site when  I was actually updating it.  I'd messed up my shopping cart for about the last two years without realising it by changing my email address and forgetting to update the paypal shopping cart- even though the new email is on the same account the paypal cart was only operating - or not operating as the case was- on the now defunct email.
Thankfully a buyer contacted me to let me know there was a problem, hence the rush to update without fully testing.  I still need to finish off my alt tags and keywords etc. but the site is fully operational (as far as I know until someone actually buys from it again ;)) I added a link to here on the site to add to the functionality.

Back from Monet's world, and into my own...

 Here are some of the promised Photographs from Giverny.  The gardens are beautiful, if a little crowded for any real atmosphere.
I did a couple of watercolour sketches while I was there, just for the sake of doing it as much as anything else.
We wandered through the house (surprisingly spacious) and studio (not as big as I expected) also and explored Monet's collection of Japanese prints which are on display on the walls where hed left them.

We visited the Orangerie the following day to see the Waterlilly paintings in situ (as well as the other art on view downstairs) .A pleasing experience enhanced by the visit to the gardens. 

the watergarden

 

the main avenue

the river Ru

the sketching artist

view to the Japanese bridge

 the lily pond from beside the bridge

 

I'm busy fishing for the next two weeks, but I'm going to try to get started on some work.   Monet's waterlillies have encouraged me to go large again.  looking around at the expansive canvases reminded me why I love to paint big canvases.  I think the recent smaller work may have stifled my creativity somewhat, but it's OK.  I'm cured.

Finn Eces' salmon revisited.

I have used this theme before in my work, relatively recently in both paint (both in 2008) and a lino-cut print

still available. This newest creation is more abstracted. It is a painting following on from my two recent works, with use of thick impasto planes. I have used the prehistoric symbol for water across the top, (as in my award winning "Danube" Ex-Libris, and the most recent trout painting) and the background plane is built up within spirals and chevrons, all decorative elements of prehistoric artifacts. This built up layer is then carved with slashes in the paint naming the piece (for the true scholars out there, I know the ogham should read in the opposite direction.) Bradán Feasa, the Salmon of Knowledge. The Salmon itself originally was blocked in using similar colours to the background, silver/blue/green. I changed my mind however after considering the image for a while. As an angler I know that salmon turn dark red and brown after a period in the river. This salmon had eaten nine hazel-nuts from the tree of knowledge, therefor it would be autumn and the salmon would be dark red. I have left my thumb-print in the paint on the fishes gill-plate in reference to Fionn Mac Cumhaill's burn thumb. The colour of the fish can also be representative of the cooking process so a thumbprint would not be out of place in the narative.

Further work on my two fish paintings

Well, I reworked the water in this one a little. I think I may leave it now.

The second work has been reworked extensively, without the silver foil though. I am quite happy with this one as it is, and I have even signed off on it. Always a sign that I know I have done enough.

I am going off to lough Sheelin tomorrow, hopefully I'll catch another trout to use for further pieces along the lines of this one. That's my excuse anyway. ;)

Rambling, rather than working...

I am still very busy with non-art work, but with one week to go to my studio sale (sat 16th @ Village framing in Rathfarnham) I need to get everything ready for moving. I want to pull a few more prints too, just so I have a few lower priced items available. Don't forget offers are accepted for any work up on my website this week... The studio sale is intended to raise some funds towards my International fishing duties as much as to empty some excess work from my studio. Representing the country proves quite expensive due to a serious lack of support from the national sporting bodies as anglers don't have official coaching staff, with a recognised coaching qualification... ... how do you manage to do that! At our level the main areas to coach such as casting techniques and reading water are automatic. A lot of our (well mine anyway) success is due to the un-explainable, much less the un-teachable, a sort of sixth sense, a combination of thinking like a fish and observation, and an ability to spot small almost imperceptible movement below the water and in the wave patterns. Not so much the fish I catch, but seeing how many I am getting to look at my flies but not catching that tells me I need to alter something. Again the something to alter is usually instinct, or if not, then a process of elimination, starting with what I think is the most likely problem. No coach can do the thinking for me.
Rant over.... I have an American Artist and his wife coming to visit later in the month, we will be taking part in Art in the open, in Wexford at the end of the month. This will be a chance for me to do some plein air work, (or should I say push me to do some) before my trip to Starry Night in New Mexico next spring.
..... I do seem to do a lot of travelling for an impoverished artist... ...imagine how much I'd do if I won the Lotto..

A work in progress, lino-cut proof print

I have cut and proofed my trout design lino cut print. Perseverance pays off, I am almost happy with this now. It needs a little tidying up and some hard edges softened but not all as I want the energy and movement of some of the edges left.

I will now experiment by scratching the paper to see where and what I remove from the block before cutting. At this stage it is like an old woodwork teacher used to say at school.. measure twice and cut once, you can't put it back.

The image is about seven inches by four, the block was originally 8 by 5.

Cashel Bay, Connemara, Re-worked:

I reworked the painting from
April 2nd's post.

I replaced the lobster pots with nets. These are depicted with some orange and onion netting, glued down and painted on and over.
I also reworked some other areas of the painting, particularly the foreground area which I warmed up to increase the depth of the landscape.

The 3D effect of the scrap netting is interesting in itself. I managed to set the bright colours back with judicous use of paint. while still allowing the colour to come through, while the painterly effect on the plastic bouys still allows them to sit in the foreground while appearing to be three dimensional alongside the netting.

A plein air Study

I did a little study of a Hill-farm near the upper Liffey in Wicklow today.

There is a small touch of spring appearing in the air... with the couple of days of (relatively) fine weather I decided to do a little outdoor work. The painting was completed within an hour, it is not that warm yet, so speed was essential before frost-bite set in.. LOL.
I like the perspective in the piece though.

Starting work again at last....

I have been into the studio and made a start on another painting. I did not manage to get a lot of work done, but I feel better for starting. Although I am back on more steroids I still have a bit of a wheeze and remnants of the cough. My energy levels are quite high, but my fitness levels aren't, so I start something and realize halfway through I can't carry on.
I have planned out and laid the base coats on the painting, and left them to dry out. At the moment the background layer is just a strong dark deep red, which will more or less dissapear as the work progresses. My next step is to start adding details into the base painting of the sea-bream so I can be fairly set in the colouring and style of this aspect before I work on the peacock feathers and the background. I will take a photo of this first stage before I start, and another at the end of my next session. I am not sure if I will post them as works-in-progress though, I may post the full series with the finished piece in one post, or I may not post them at all. I think it will depend on how the work progresses, and how happy I am with the way it has gone.
Working on and through ideas, does not always allow the process to be visible, as they can become very confused and cluttered and even worse unresolved. I see the proposed painting in my mind, and at first it seems to gel and work, but when it becomes a physical object that can be analysed and studied it often shows weaknesses not apparent in the planning -- a bit like a dream not reflecting the reality.

I am hoping to start the work using previous studies and images rather than the actual still-life subject (another sea-bream) due to the short bursts I will be working in. With so little fitness short spells of work are going to be called for and I will end up using a lot of fish during work on one piece if I don't. I will save the fish in the freezer until I start working with the peacock feathers. I will need to see the way one of the feathers lays across the fish, as I intend to have one doing that in the painting -- but this is subject to change.

Inspiration comes in many ways...

This morning I have been looking at some of my pieces based on the sea bream. There are four of them hanging above the fireplace) Now I have finished my webdesign course I am back in painting mode, I have a number of peacock tail feathers in a tall bottle on the mantle beside the artworks and I have noticed the strange co-incidence of the colouring of the peacock herls and this particular work, now beside each other in the photograph below.

I am very interested in taking this further. I may just have to create some works with both the fish and the feathers. I was looking forward to getting back to painting. Now I am even more excited by the prospect.

It is amazing how inspiration comes knocking at opportune times, or maybe it is just that an artist needs to be ready to work to see what is in front of their nose. I have been looking at these two things within ten feet of each other for the last three months.

That's all for now, I'm off to research a few references of Peacock Bass, another fish from south america..... I wonder if there are any in the natural history museum or the aquarium at Bray?

If not, there are plenty of Sea Bream left in my freezer..

Healthy sales in the pre-christmas market. My new work has been well recieved.

The group exhibition has been going well, half of my pieces sold within 24 hours of the opening and I hope a few more will go before the exhibition is over.
I leave a few more works into another group show tomorrow. If it goes as well as the other I will be very happy. My new work has been received very well, with lots of interest in a quiet market. Sales in general have been down, but my works have sold very well, with further buyers who have shown interest in some of my pieces still to come back to make their purchases according to the show curator.
It has been a pleasant surprise, as there was always the doubt, in that dead fish were not an ideal subject matter to garner sales in a hard market. On the other hand, the old motto still stands true, Quality sells! And the fact is I was happier with this work than I have been for a few years, I feel I am back from firstly my lay-off due to ill health and then further strife with the studio in Marlay Park.

Leaving the studio was the best move I could have made, since then it has improved and lightened considerably. Looking back the latter works from the Marlay studio were all very dark and depressing. Since I moved into the new studio by the pond my work first brightened, and then became free-er and less contrived, I have now come back to more structured work again, but I have managed to keep the life and energy within it.

I am looking forward to 2010, and the promise of a very successful year, both in output of work and sales.

It has been a while since I last posted here on my blog. Mainly because I haven't really had much to say about my work. I am still working away, not really getting to grips with anything. I am at a cul-de-sac with my ExLibris ideas. My painting is not coming along as I wish either, mainly because my mind is more on the printwork than on the painting.

I spent the morning retrieving small goldfish fry from my pond and putting them in nursery tanks.... anything to avoid work. Now I am here typing a post on my blog. I have already cleaned and scraped the build-up of paint on my palette, reloaded it with fresh paint, added oil etc, it is ready to go.........

....but I am not.

My studio is in danger of getting a thorough spring clean at this stage........[shock-horror]

I think I may take the rest of the day off. I am likely to do little or nothing anyway. It is hot, heavy and thundery with regular heavy showers which doesn't help either. I will leave you with a photo of the latest finished work from the Maltese series. Oil on canvas, 90cm by 70 cm.

Excitement in the fish pond.

Laying eggs in the weed

I have been working away for the last few days. However I have been sidetracked today though, my Goldfish in the pond have been spawning all day. They have laid a large amount of eggs amongst the weed and blanket weed around the edges.The eggs are about 1.5 mm in diameter, and hopefully in a week or so a fair proportion of them should hatch out.

Fish eggs.

I will have to try and net them out of the pond though. Gold fish are not adverse to eating little fish. I will try to remove a lot of them into a smaller tank, upstream of the main pond, and leave them there until they get a bit bigger.

None of the fry survived last year, I had three left at the beginning of winter but they have not appeared this year, so I assume they died in the cold weather. Either eaten or from lack of microscopic food. The fish spawned very late last year because of the cold summer (about September) so the fry were very small to overwinter.

The painting has been a little slow..

I am working on two commissions and they are proving a little difficult, mainly because I want to get back to my fish paintings. However the two commissions are needed fairly soon, so needs must.

I am waiting to hear back from the venue for my Maltese show, but I suppose they are busy with other things, but I would like to know if they want some more larger works than I have suggested. I'd like to firm up the date also, so I can book flights etc. for the opening.

In the meantime I'm going back out to enjoy this weekends sunshine, this is proving to be a scorcher, 24-25 degrees C. A big change from 10 or 11 last week.!!

This is a video of the fish charging around, the cock fish chasing the hens to start them spawning. Those at the edge resting are all spawned out.

May is around the corner...

The end of another month.  It has flown by again.  I have been quite busy in the studio overall and work has progressed well.  I will be away for half of May between my trip to Spain and my upcoming ten day fishing break. This will mean I won't get much chance to complete any more paintings as I'll need to look after other aspects of business before after and between trips. Consequently I probably won't post here much next month either.  You will know why though....

In the meantime I'll leave you with another painting,  oil on canvas, 19 by  22 cm.

Sea-Bass.

Computers down, paintings up...

I am not on my own computers at the moment so I am still unable to upload pictures. My studio desktop is not communicating with the wireless base station for some un-explained reason. My laptop's power chord is kaput, and I'm waiting for a replacement to arrive. Therefore I'm borrowing C's laptop to post. Work is progressing, I am still working on fish themed work, but I am also working on other pieces for sales/commissions. Business has picked up a little recently, which is just as well since I have a few bills coming due, van insurance, week-away-with-the-lads-fishing, a need for New brushes, some canvas, paint.....ah well! easy come easier to go as they say.....what they forget to mention is money has a habit of being more Hard to come by, easy to go.

I had a nice surprise yesterday when I learned three small works had sold. They were in a venue that while I hadn't forgotten about, were not expected to start selling for a month or two.
They now want more works, and since they are all of a standard size have said they will organise the framing of the pieces.

Another pleasant little chore for me. Consequently, this will be another short post....things to do, people to see..and painting to be done.

Work on the Malta series.

The work has gone quite well today. I have photographed four of the pieces (badly, LOL) but there is a reflection on them from the lights, as I had long lost daylight by the time I was thinking about photographing them.

The first is of a castle called the Redtower, and it is actually that pink in colour.

The second is a view of a typical Maltese hill with patchwork fields in the foreground.


The third is based on sketches of a terrace hillside, seen from below.

The last of the four is a view of a bay on the North coast of Gozo. The headland has a distinctly shaped hill which creates a dramatic statement.

All are still works in progress, but I am happy with the way they are progressing.

Christmas is coming, sales are soaring, mark II

I haven't been working (painting) in the studio since my last post. I have been busy with other things, like tidying up for a studio visit by a client. Getting my van serviced and certified (road worthiness) which has to be done annually. Then other odds and jobs took up quite a bit of time, a fishing competition last weekend.

With everything going on I am just not able to get down to painting. Although sales of work are going well, surprisingly considering the economy. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that at the moment investment in art is one of the safest options. Buying sensibly means that your investment should not lose value, as art is not as volatile as stocks and shares. The newspapers and journals have been full of articles saying as much for the last few weeks. Mainly driven by the major art auction houses I suppose, but it has had a good effect on my sales.

I may get some painting done next week, but it is getting close to the silly season, and I may find myself otherwise occupied.

Home again,

I am just back home from Malta. We spent a week in the sun, complete with camera, sketchbook, pencils, etc. I also visited an artist friend over there too, and it was a very enjoyable trip.
I have come back with lots of reference material for some paintings, and the offer of a one man show next year. At this time I already have two offers of exhibitions abroad next year, the one in Malta and in Athens, Greece, that was offered just before I left for Malta.
I will probably not start work until next week though, as I am tired at the moment. I also need to get organised for a couple of visitors to my studio. Judge an Art competition tomorrow, and a few other jobs that are overdue. In short I'm going to be busy this week, I have a party on the 12th, a lunch engagement on thursday, and my usual night out with the boys......

......as I've said many times.....it's a hard life, but somebody's got to do it...

muddy yellows.....

I have finally finished (sort of) my latest work. It is an atmospheric rendering of a Venitian canal scene. I will endeavour to upload a photo later.

Before I do that I have to send two works by courier tomorrow, deliver another six for an exhibition tomorrow evening, on thursday evening I have to be at an art sale I am taking part in, and I have another opening on Friday for another group show in which I am included (the six works I'm delivering tomorrow evening).

With all this going on I also need to arrange a studio viewing for a patron and arrange delivery or collection for two other works that need framing for Christmas.
I am told by one of my Galleries that there is a deposit paid on another work also, to be collected before Christmas.

With all the talk of World recession, it's very nice to be so busy. It just goes to prove, quality art will always sell, and in turbid times it is a realistic investment opportunity. I have however refrained from increasing my prices this year. Mainly because I feel in the current economic climate holding values is almost as good as increasing them. Although I absolutely refused to reduce them earlier on when some Galleries thought the economic downturn warranted lower prices. I believe I owe it to my collectors to protect their investments. Sadly I noticed recently some artists resorting to "half price sales" at an art fair, to the detriment of all the participants.
I am glad I was not taking part in the fair, for I feel all the participants, including high end galleries were tarred with the same brush, ie. Bargain basement art-works.

I am going to climb down off my soap-box now, and get back to work, I have been scrutinising the latest masterpiece, knowing there was a little something I wasn't happy with and I have just seen it. I need to adjust the tone slightly on the yellow, it is looking a little dirty/muddy, I overworked it during the mixing I think.

Autumn is arriving...

It's the end of the month already. The lack of posts on my blog gives testament to the fact I have been busy painting. The work has gone quite well too.
I will try to get more posting done over the next few months, but in reality I have not had a lot of interesting news recently. Lets face it, who wants to hear that I have worked this week, last week, next week....etc. I need angst or something interesting to write about.
....Now I could start on about the weather again.......autumn has arrived and the leaves are starting to turn already, it will be soon time to start painting still-life for the winter.