SUMMER AT LAST

The view from the Bayview Hotel, Ballycotton, where myself and 7 others of the Old Road Painters group had our Summer night out. What more could you wish for , a view like this and superb food and wine. It was wonderful to dine “en plein eire”.

Here’s another one taken from one of my sketchbooks, this time a wading bird called a Bar Tailed Godwit.

Sketched this Blackbird a couple of winters ago, then put in the colour later.

Its raining again

Who sang that song, Supertramp wasn’t it? I think they must have been living in Ireland at the time. What would we moan about if we didn’t have weather. Anyway have been sitting at the window again watching the birds on the feeders

There seems to be an heirarchy amongst the house sparrows , they line up on neighbouring branches and take their turn at the feeders. Among the males this seems to depend on seniority, depending on the size of the black bib under the chin, this fellow is a real junior.

The blackbirds however have a free for all and constantly push each other off the apples.

I find birds very hard to capture from life, they are constantly moving so when I manage to get a half decent sketch I then work it up from photos that I have taken of the same bird, I know several bird artists that seem to have photographic memory and are able to get the image down immediately , but I am not one of them.

There seems to be so much activity on EDM at the moment, that it is very hard to keep up with all the images being posted. I have received so much support in the short time I have been posting that I feel it encumbent on me to support others in the same way , so I am trying to look at as many peoples work as possible and commenting when I can.

Here’s a couple of pics of my incredibly tidy studio, with some of my students at work.

This is a very obvious way of pushing the fact that I hold several classes a week , if any body is interested.

My contacts are in my profile.