Another attempt at watercolour, I used an exercise from a watercolour book, which I now can’t find in my incredibly tidy studio. NOT, so I can’t thank the author, when I find the book I will repost with her name.
I added a few touches of my own and I am reasonably happy with it, but I can see where I can make plenty of improvements.
A small bit after the event, but a Happy New Year to everyone and I hope all your dreams come true, or at least some of them!
“SAM” Acrylic on paper.
This is not the first painting of 2013 but nearly…I finished it over Christmas. This is Sam, a really friendly horse belonging to a friend of mine, unfortunately he is getting old and has problems with one of his back legs, so he has been retired to West Cork.
Just found this painting buried in my old studio, it was painted by me 23 years ago,I had only been painting a couple of years. It was hanging in a local pub for years, but when the pub was sold it was gutted and the painting ended up in the skip…obviously it didn’t appeal to either the former or latter owners. A friend saw it and rescued it and returned it to me, it has been buried ever since. It’s a bit smoke damaged and scuffed but I cleaned it and another friend fell in love with it so I gave it to her.
So be warned….your sins will come back to haunt you….lol.
Painted this in 2007, but was never really happy with it, being fairly new at the time to coloured pencils I found it difficult, or maybe I didn’t have the patience, to build up the colour to the extent needed. I hope I have made a better hand of it now!
When, years ago, I first started painting, it was birds that were my main interest and I spent hours in the field trying to sketch through a telescope and then making finished paintings at home. I never felt that I managed to transfer the life from the sketches to the paintings, so gradually did less and less birds.
I think I’ll give it another try, for a long time I have wanted to do a series of common Irish birds, so maybe nows the time.
It’s that time again. I have produced these images as Christmas cards, They are 7”x5” and are in packs of 10, with two of each card in the pack.The cost is 95c for single cards or €7.50 per pack of 10. Wholesale prices are available. Of course they can be bought singly or in any multiples of each card.
To purchase email me at phildavis@iol.ie
“Acrylic on paper”
Have just finished this painting of one of our village pubs. Painted from a photo I took recently, unusually there were no cars blocking the view.
This is a collection of my black ink images that I am producing as prints.
Next week- end I am showing them at the Ballymaloe Christmas Fair in the Grain Store , Ballymaloe, along with a selection of my other prints, greeting and Christmas cards.
Don’t forget to call in if you are in the area.
I can’t believe it’s a month since I have posted on my blog. The time just seems to disappear! This is my latest pen and wash, “Barrack Hill” which is in Ballycotton, where I live. At the lastmoment I decided to put the old water pump in green and I think it works as it tends to pull you through the picture.What do you think?
“Rose of Sharon 2” Acrylic on canvas.
I sold this painting today from the easel, I had intended to do a bit more to it but the customer wants it as is, just with the mouse finished.
So much going on in the last few weeks that I have neglected my blog. I had my students exhibition at the start of August, then exhibited my own paintings at the Kilkenny Art Festival, and as from yesterday, have an exhibition of my work, at the Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare, Co Kerry. If anybody is in the area please take a look.
On the way back from Kenmare I called in to Deborah O’Keefe at the Back Lane Gallery Artist Collective, near Scotts Hotel in Killarney. This is a great place to see art from many different artists, including some of my own, and of course Deborahs. A must see if visiting Killarney.
Of course,if you are in the vicinity of the Shanagarry Design Centre,
don’t forget to call in to my studio and say hello.
I am exhibiting at the Kilkenny Art Festival with a fellow artist Catherine Pereira Rodgers at “The High Street Mall” Kilkenny. If you are in the area or plan to visit the Festival please call in and introduce yourself.
I have just finished this painting, acrylic on canvas. I was suffering from artist’s block so my wife said she would set up a composition and I used her idea with a few of my own. Not sure why I put the Robin in but I think he looks ok there, what do you think? I enjoyed doing it so I think I might ask her to suggest some more ideas.
I will be at the Kilkenny Art Festival in August and would be delighted to see anybody that’s visiting. I am sharing a shop premises with another artist, Catherine Pereira Rodgers, and will be in the High Street Mall in the centre of Kilkenny.
A view of Ballycotton as you enter the village, pen & ink on Bristol board. The ink seems to dry very quickly on this paper, which sometimes results in hard edges where values meet, …..or maybe I have to learn how to use it!
I have been working towards the Kilkenny Art’s Festival, during which I will be exhibiting with a fellow Artist Catherine Rodgers. I’m trying to decide whether these giant cabbages should have a giant caterpillar or giant cabbage butterfly or to just leave them as is. Any suggestions?
I will also be exhibiting in the Kinsale Art Festival, in Engel and Volkers, Estate Agents, 71 Main St, Kinsale, from the 7th July.
This is Cloyne Cathedral, a church badly in need of maintenance. A local group has been formed to raise funds for it’s restoration and I promised a painting them to auction. I felt a pen and ink would be appropriate for an old building like this. What do you think?
This is the finished version of my last post. As you can see it is framed and mounted and is now hanging on the wall of a pub called “The Inn by the harbour” which is located on the hill just above the house on the top right. Hopefully it will lead to a few sales !
As I said in my last post , I really liked the feel of the ink, so I intend doing a series of images of Ballycotton,both past and present, in black ink.
I have used this reference, of Ballycotton Pier long ago, for paintings before, but I have just discovered the joy of using ink, with a pen and brush and I thought this would be an ideal subject to try it out on. So far I have not been disappointed, it is such fun to use and the results are amazing, I think I have just found my new best friend! As you can see by the original, some of the detail has to be guessed at a bit, the cottage behind the fishermen is still there, as are the houses behind the lifeboat station, which has subsequently been rebuilt.I am glad to say, for the sake of the fishermen, the boats now in the harbour are a major improvement.
I am working towards an exhibition in the very near future, but still can’t help myself from leaving the main work and experimenting.
I tried these peppers first with pastels (above) and then with Promarker markers, which I bought ages ago but haven’t really tried. I had trouble with them bleeding on paper and didn’t realise you could get special paper for markers, until I saw it online and got some. Any way , here is my effort, which I hope I can improve on…anyone out there using markers, I would welcome some tips.
I made a disaster of the green one, I found they all improved a bit when I outlined them with a black liner pen, the shadow is another disaster but is all a learning curve.
Thought some of you might find this interesting. Was messing with Picassa and found out you could create a collage from your photos,,, so here are some of my latest works. Makes a great screensaver!
