Saturday, March 29, 2008



Absolutely awful morning, heavy rain and strong wind, so decided to go to my studio early and do some work.

I am very lucky as my studio is located in the Stephen Pearce Gallery in Shanagarry, Co Cork. There are 8 studios there , all practising different disciplines, painting,sculpture, photography etc. We have a constant flow of people through the place and a permanent exhibition of our work. I don't think there is anywhere quite like it in Ireland, and I would be interested to hear from other artists around the world if they know of any where like this.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Yellowhammers

All of a sudden, as if by magic , Yellowhammers are everywhere. For the last few years they have bred in the bushes behind my house, and yesterday there were a pair singing to each other. In every ploughed field along the cliff walk, were small flocks of this stunning Bunting along with Linnets and Meadow Pipits.

Some might be surprised at the name of my blog "The Art of Phil Davis " , when many of my posts are about birds , but my art started with birds, sketching and trying to paint the birds I saw, so birds are a huge part of my art and my life. It was through painting birds that I moved on to other subjects and eventually to become a proffesional artist.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Peregrine & Wagtails



Walking the cliffs yesterday morning saw this male Peregrine being buzzed by two Pied Wagtails, not sure what they expected to achieve as the falcon was totally oblivious to them.

Real signs of spring coming with wild flowers shooting up everywhere, looking forward to some good weather so I can get out with the paints.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Lesser Celandine & White Tailed Eagles

As promised in my last post, this is my first in the series " Irish Wild Flowers". The main body of flowers is coloured pencil and the background pen and wash.
The big birding news over the last couple of days is the appearance of 4 White Tailed Eagles in my area. These birds are all young birds and from a reintroduction scheme in Killarney in Co Kerry. One bird would have been exciting enough, but to have 4 in the area is amazing. Unfortunately there has been no news of sightings today. I will upload my sketches of them in the next few days.
The other big news, well for me anyway , is that I sold another painting this week-end, which is great for the ego, and the bank balance.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Spring is sprung

Took my usual walk this morning, except went somewhat further along
the cliffs this time, much to the discomfort of my feet. A Northern Wheatear
was the first bird I saw and this was indeed the first I have seen this year, a migrant from South Africa, heading north to its breeding grounds. Along the path towards Ballyandreen I found this beautiful little flower which I am fairly sure is Common Dog Violet, but not being an expert on wild flowers, I am open to correction. I have intended for some time to do a series of paintings of the wild flowers of Ireland, and to this end started a painting last week, using coloured pencil, of Lesser Celandine. I will post an image here when I've finished it, in the vain hope that somebody might actually read my blog and comment on it!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Art Blogs & Art Sales

As a newcomer to blogging I am amazed at how much some people put into it. "Making a Mark" , Katherine Tyrrell's blog is totally amazing and so full of useful information that the mind boggles. How she finds the time to put so much work into this and her other blogs is a mystery to me. I have to say that but for her I would not be blogging, my biggest problem is keeping up with the information she dispenses.....thank you Katherine.
On a different note, sold a painting today, its called "Panama and flip flops".

Friday, March 14, 2008

Morning Walk

Did my usual walk this morning , strong ,cold easterly wind with rain
so not much sign of anything, this Stonechat on a bramble close to the path
and a Peregrine above us for a while. Raven calling in the distance and a few Meadow Pipits and Gulls. Nice to see the Spring coming with all the fields showing a green glaze as the crops start poking through.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Ballycotton to Ballytrasna and back.

Walked the cliff path this morning from Ballycotton to Ballytrasna and back, my usual exercise with Brid, my wife. A pair of Ravens were courting along the edge, so will have to keep an eye out for the nest. Heard a Whimbrel calling, the first of the Spring and on the way back a Peregrine was hanging in the wind, when another called, they are almost certainly breeding as well.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Watercolours

Never considered myself a watercolourist, having never had much success at them. I find them quite frustrating as one has to plan ahead and its very difficult to repair if you mess them up.

However after reading a book on mixed media decided after many years to
try again, this time with a less purist attitude. the painting here is one of my
recent attempts which I am reasonably pleased with. What do you think?


Monday, March 10, 2008

Blogging Beginner

Not very good at this at the moment as I never seem sure what to say, so I will treat this as a diary, something I have never kept, and see where it goes.



Am just heading over to my studio for a class. This morning is the last week of a six week course I have been running for beginners. I also run 3 other courses a week at the moment , another beginner on Wed nights and an improver on Tues and Frid nights. It is amazing how many people are interested in learning to paint.

Will return to this later today.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

My First Post

Hi everybody, I am a newcomer to blogging so I hope you will all bear with me. Over the course of time I would like to use my blog to introduce people to my art.