Orla's Art

Company of Absence III

2012-02-14T00:28:00.000-08:00

Part III of the triptych Company of Absence. A composite.

Nude leaning on a stool

2012-02-07T01:55:00.000-08:00

Another one courtesy of Limerick Printmakers, chalk pastels on coloured paper. I look at this now and think the lower leg is wonky. Oh well. I think this was a 30-minute pose.

A landscape: Ballyneale, 2011

2012-02-01T02:21:00.000-08:00

I'm absolutely delighted to be getting so much traffic. Thank you everyone. Please remember that if you are interested in buying any of the pieces you see here, you can always e-mail me.

The little oil on canvas I painted out of doors last year, early in spring before the leaves grew on the trees. I used palette knives instead of brushes, like the Ballyneale painting I did in 2002, and you can see the 'impasto' effect on it here. Then I had it put into a simple white box frame and it looks gorgeous.

Nude study in soft pastels on red paper.

2012-01-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Not one of my better ones, I think, the arm looks a bit funny, but I think this was a twenty-minute pose and it's on a large sheet of paper. I would have liked a bit more time to work on it.

If you have time to read this ....

2012-01-27T04:37:00.000-08:00

then you have time to check out my Orla Clancy, Artist Facebook page.

Please Like this page and Share it, thank you!!!!

Three watercolour drawings from San Gimignano, Tuscany

2012-01-23T01:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not normally a fan of very touristy hotspots, but this gorgeous mediaeval town near Siena was well worth visiting. Like many old towns in Italy, it's perched on a hilltop and full of tiny winding streets. A particularly memorable place was this café right at the main gate into the town, run by two of the toughest old ladies ever. You had to walk past them to get to the toilet, and they would not let you use their toilet without buying something first, so no matter how busy they were, they would still bellow out 'tea, coffee, cappucino, cola' to any unfortunates attempting to scamper past for relief. There was no escape. If you were naive enough to stop and try to explain (twitching all the while) how DESPERATELY you needed to go, they had no mercy, everyone wishing to use their facilities had to buy something. They were ferocious.

You had to pay for your tea, coffee, cake and toilet, but the floor show was free. And so worth the twenty minutes taken to drink the coffee and enjoy the cake.

Study of standing nude in chalk pastel on orange paper

2012-01-17T03:37:00.000-08:00

Title says it all, really. This was a short study, I think 10 minutes at most. With thanks to Limerick Printmakers.

Netherlands versus Brazil

2012-01-10T01:31:00.000-08:00

I love sports events. People are so focused on the event, they don't see me! Below, Netherlands versus Brazil, 2010, numbers I, II, III of XIII drawings.

Close of the Blueberry Gallery in Limerick

2012-01-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

Maurice and Co. took an executive decision to close the gallery, and to relocate his other business to Castletroy, Limerick. He may be in a position to do exhibitions again in future, he told me.

Sadly, this means that I now only have ONE gallery with my work in it, in Draíocht, Main Street, Adare, County Limerick. Ah well.

However, am not really that bothered because you lot are looking at this page, with the postings on here.

I have two landscapes I hadn't photographed, they will be added soon.

And who knows, Maurice may well decide to do the mad thing and open another gallery in future ... here's hoping.

Snacking in Schiphol

2012-01-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

A watercolour sketch started in Schiphol airport, Amsterdam. Random people sitting.

Unfinished chalk pastel drawing on coloured paper, 2011

2011-12-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Limerick Printmakers.

Facebook

2011-12-14T14:56:00.001-08:00

Forgot to mention that my Facebook page now has over 100 likes now too.

Even more from the Sketchbook project

2011-12-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

Three watercolour drawings from Siena

2011-12-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

Texting on the Campo, Siena from 2008

Enjoying the sun on the Campo, Siena, from 2008

Father and Baby, full figure, Campo in Siena, from 2008

Not sure if I still have the actual drawings, but these scans do look nice.

Prague Sunday Afternoon

2011-11-29T00:44:00.000-08:00

One from 2005: Prague Sunday Afternoon, oil on canvas, 90 x 60 cm.

Early Start ... Tralee to Dublin

2011-11-21T02:08:00.000-08:00

Never a good idea to fall asleep in the presence of an artist! But I got a lot of detail because this woman was comatose. Her scarf was very colourful. I'm not surprised she was asleep, I think the train left Tralee at around 7 am. This drawing is also in my www.flickr.com page.

Café Java, Catherine Street, Limerick

2011-11-08T03:46:00.000-08:00

Café Java, Catherine Street, Limerick, watercolour drawing

Café Java, Catherine Street, the stairs, watercolour drawing

I cannot believe I forgot about these. I did these drawings in the last weeks Café Java was open, before it was demolished to make way for a new building. Java was a Limerick institution! Open late for food, or coffee, it was fun and quirky and one of a kind. Still missed several years on ....

Also in celebration of seven and a half thousand unique visitors to this blog!!!

Absolutely delighted at this award!!!

2011-10-25T01:06:00.000-07:00

The guys at www.IloveLimerick.ie have won an award, I heard it on the radio this morning:

To quote the Limerick's Live 95 news on the radio station's website:

"LIMERICK WEBSITE SCOOPS NATIONAL AWARD

25 October 2011

I Love Limerick- dot- com has won a national award for highlighting multicultural life in Limerick.

The website run by Richard Lynch scooped the online media award at the 2011 Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards in Dublin overnight.

The awards, which are in their 8th year recognise and celebrate individuals, groups and companies who promote diversity, cross-cultural understanding and co-operation."

These are the guys who did my film in Kilmallock.

I am so pleased for them, they have worked so hard. I am absolutely thrilled on their behalf.

To see why this award is justified and likely to be the first of many, visit www.Ilovelimerick.ie.

A few more from the Sketchbook Project ...

2011-09-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

Sketchbook project, number 37, oil pastel drawing.

Sketchbook project, number 32, line tracing over a photograph.

Sketchbook project, number 40, watercolour sketch. The chimney of the old forge

I no longer have any of these pieces, the Sketchbook was required to be sent to the USA and I won't be getting it back. But that's okay! I already have LOTS of artwork here in my house.

Company of Absence II from a poem by Michael Coady

2011-09-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

Company of Absence II from a poem by Michael Coady, middle section of a triptych.

To celebrate 7000 unique visitors to this blog, 51 followers and 119 different countries.

I'd also like to direct you to my Facebook page and to my Flickr page.

Thanks guys!

Oil paintings from life-drawing studies: Nudes

2011-09-09T04:43:00.000-07:00

Study of Reclining Twisting Nude, Oil on Canvas, 70x50cm, 2011

Study of Standing Nude, Oil on Canvas, 70x50cm, 2011

Both of these pieces are on display in the upstairs bar in 31 Thomas Street, Limerick city, Ireland, for the Duration of the Limerick Gay Pride week.

Pencil Drawing: Asleep ...

2011-07-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

Full title: Asleep in the room with the 14th century ceiling, Florence.

Someone once said that you should never fall asleep in the presence of artists, as chances are they will draw you.

Heh heh heh ....

Nude study in charcoal and conté crayon on blue paper.

2011-07-02T04:42:00.000-07:00

I've only just realised that it's time to take more photos of paintings to be posting more up here. So I will have to get that new camera now. Soon.

Thanks again to Limerick Printmakers for providing the models. And I am very much looking forward to seeing the new place!

My exhibition in Kilmallock - the film!

2011-06-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/ilovelimerick#p/u/4/1vIPvfPq_mo

Serious thanks to Richard, Gary and Sean for the time and work they put into the editing. I love you guys.

And today they just launched their brand new website. It looks great. If for any reason the link doesn't work, the website is www.ilovelimerick.ie.

Book Review: The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano

2011-06-29T03:01:00.000-07:00

According to the blurb on the back cover: "A prime number is a solitary thing: it can only be divided by itself, or by one; it never truly fits with another."

The story is about two people, Mattia and Alice, each with a personal tragedy. Alice's difficult relationship with her father drove her to a skiing accident as a child, causing her to be crippled, and later she develops anorexia. As a boy, Mattia left his mentally disabled twin sister in a local park by a river to go to a classmate's party, when he returned an hour later, she was gone and her body was never found.

They get to know each other as teenagers, and immediately identify something they can relate to in the other, and develop a deep bond. As adults Mattia takes a post as a professor of Mathematics in another country, while Alice marries a doctor and tries to pass off her eating disorder and the physical damage it does to her as normal, as she works as a photographer's assistant.

By chance, Alice sees a woman who reminds her so much of Mattia, that she is convinced that the woman is his sister. She tells him to return home immediately, and he does, and it seems that all that they have felt growing up will finally have an outlet.

A fantastic read, and beautifully translated from the original Italian La Solitudine Dei Numeria Primi by Shaun Whiteside.

More from the 2011 Sketchbook Project ...

2011-06-21T01:14:00.000-07:00

Apparently the organisers of this are taking the sketchbooks 'Out West'.

Here are are few more images from my Sketchbook which I submitted last January.

Strange poses - female nude

2011-06-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Limerick Printmakers Live-drawing sessions - and this was a 20-minute pose, I think. Good thing the models are very strong, because this must have been a bit uncomfortable to hold for any length of time.

I'm not sure how successful I was in getting the foreshortening on the body, but it was a good study and a good test - in different ways for everyone involved!

"That's fine in practice, but will it work in theory?"

2011-05-20T02:28:00.000-07:00

A great sentence, expressed the late Dr Garret FitzGerald, former Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland, who died yesterday morning during the first visit to the Republic of Ireland of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.

Next week we welcome another state visitor, President Obama of the United States and his wife.

It's an expensive month for the Irish state, but well worth the expense in terms of goodwill. The last time a British monarch officially visited the Republic of Ireland (Prince Charles' visit during the 1990s was not an official state visit) was immediately before the treaty that divided the island into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - so this visit this week is a major event.

During a state visit the Queen gave a speech that resonated with many. The Queen's Speech

Twenty years ago, such a visit would have been unthinkable, but Dr FitzGerald felt it was important to make peace with our nearest neighbour, and put steps in motion and brought about the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

I am very glad that he lived to see that his practice has indeed worked out in theory, even if it needed some time to come about about.

RIP Dr Garret FitzGerald. May he go well.

Decade, Friars Gate Theatre and Arts Centre, Killmallock, County Limerick

2011-05-04T02:16:00.000-07:00

Well, the paintings are there, all hung, Maurice is off composing a brilliant speech about my art and artistic sensibilities, the price list and bio is being printed off, and people are texting me to ask me when it's on.

All very exciting.

The paintings I have decided to hang are:

Ballyneale 2002

The Wrenboys
Knockfierna Rambling House
Two in a Crowd
Dún na Gréine: Italian and French
Family Constitutional

Plus a four other new ones that I haven't got a decent picture of yet, including a delightful oil pastel drawing of Knockfierna that I had completely forgotten about. I ended up hanging only two of the four landscapes I painted for the occasion, one still needs work, and the other one looks great but the bloody canvas went wonky on me, so I'll have to get it into a box frame. But they can go to my other galleries ... :-)

And to find out more about the venue, here's the website: www.friarsgate.ie

Feeling better ... And a drawing.

2011-04-18T01:36:00.000-07:00

Have decided on what I want for my exhibition in Kilmallock which starts in 3 weeks, only trouble is the amount of painting I still have to do for it, ho hum .... But as the weather is so good, and the light so nice, I should get a lot done every day.

This particular sketch is a five-minute number, and the way the model had twisted her body was very interesting in terms of chiarascuro - light and shade. I would have loved it if this could have been a longer pose, but alas ...

The joys of being sick ....

2011-04-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

It's so fricking annoying when you get a seriously bad cold/borderline 'flu in good weather. You can't do anything - I wanted to work in my garden and on paintings for the next solo exhibition in May, but I just couldn't, I was too knackered from coughing so much that I couldn't sleep. But thankfully I'm feeling well enough to do some text work, and hopefully I'll feel up to doing some painting tomorrow, and maybe some weeding too.

That's the trouble with good weather - everything grows like mad, and you have to really keep up with the weeds or the bloody things will take over.

So nothing interesting to report today. What image? Let's see ....

This is an oil pastel drawing from 10 years ago, it's called Ballyquin Farmyard, and is hanging in my mother's house. The actual piece looks much nicer, I don't think it's possible to capture the vivid colours in oil pastel drawings very well.

The actual farmyard is near the town of Newcastle West, County Limerick.

Forest Floor in spring

2011-04-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

Only one word for it - celandines, celandines, celandines!

Glorious spring flowers of the forest like little bits of sun lighting up the dark. Fab.

I love them.

And I particularly like the way they take over bits of my garden and remind me that it was once part of a forested area too.

First really exciting painting of 2011

2011-03-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I start out with an idea, and it works out very different to how I plan it - or, as is usually the case, the opposite of 'plan' it, whatever that is - and it transforms into something surprising and unexpected and rather beautiful.

This is the first large oil painting I've started and finished in 2011, and it worked out something like that:

It's called All Time, Everywhere, Anyone, and measures 100 cm by 100 cm. Funny how figurative and abstract can manage to straddle a fence, isn't it?

Crowdfunding - being a patron of the arts

2011-03-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

I love this idea. It's also described as 'micro-philanthropy'.

Basically arts councils and governments don't have the means to fund art projects at the moment, but people do want to support artists, writers, musicians, actors, etc., so this idea of 'crowdfunding' was born.

I first came across it on the Irish 'Business to Arts' website, and subsequently on Facebook also, and now I'm thinking that it would be a marvellous way to both support friends in their endeavours and to get support for endeavours of my own.

The website is www.fundit.ie

I like the way that you give what you can - you're not asked to produce millions, you can give just €10 if that's all you've got. And there is often a reward system in place too.

So if you can, do. If you can't right now, that's okay too. Everyone is short these days. But when you can, please do. Be a patron of the arts.

Don't forget that such donations can also be tax-deductible.

News of what's going on with my Sketchbook from the ArtHouse crowd in New York.

2011-03-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

2011 Sketchbook Project Tour

First stop: Austin!

March 12, 2011 / 12:00-6:00pm
Austin Museum of Art
823 Congress Ave
Austin, TX

March 13th, 2011 / 12:00-6:00pm
29th St Ballroom at Spider House
2906 Fruth St
Austin, TX

More dates here!

Hello Sketchbook crew!

The 2011 Sketchbook Project Tour kicks off this week! Thanks again to all of you for contributing such inspiring work – we can't wait to take it on the road.

Our first stop is Austin, TX. We'll be at the Austin Museum of Art on Saturday, March 12 and the 29th St Ballroom at Spider House on Sunday, March 13 from noon until 6pm each day. See you there!

For updated tour dates and to follow our diary from the road, check out the new 2011 Sketchbook Project page.

If you have any questions for us, please be patient as we'll be traveling for the next couple of weeks. The best way to get help with any issue is via our support board.

We're also busy cooking up all kinds of new ideas for 2012 – please take a moment to fill out our survey for members of the Art House community and help us to create next year's experience! We're using your feedback to build our new website, which will launch in late spring with a host of exciting new features.

Also, please note that we're still hard at work designing the virtual library and digitizing thousands of sketchbooks! We're bringing every book to every tour stop and digitizing each time we return to Brooklyn. We'll be uploading hi-res scans of every page and launching the complete digital archive later on this spring.

Finally, our thanks again to everyone who participated. We'll see you on tour!

All best,
Art House Co-op

Daghdha Dance Company, Limerick

2011-03-01T05:46:00.000-08:00

This morning I learned that, due to no funding whatsoever, the Daghdha Dance Company in Limerick will be forced to cease. This is a great pity. It is an institution that has brought great life and colour to the city, and which has influenced a huge number of artists in the area generally.

And not just dancers and choreographers - a fair number of performance artists, writers, painters, printmakers, singers, and people from so many other unexpected disciplines all came and experienced Daghdha events and performances. Their Mamuska Nights evoked many diverse reactions, and inspired many to think in different directions. Daghdha added a vital shot of something that stirred everything up, showed up new possibilities and interpretations, and made us look again.

We thought they were mad. But they made us laugh, wonder, and more importantly, made us think. I think it very likely that the institution will be reborn in some form, and I look forward to this new incarnation of the Daghdha Dance Company, wherever it is. It would be good if it was in Limerick, but the various people involved will have to go where the work takes them. Let's hope that it brings them back to Limerick from time to time.

And I would love to know what is going to happen with the Space?

Added 7 March: If you want to help save the organisation, sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/daghdha/petition-sign.html

Wow!!!

2011-02-17T02:56:00.000-08:00

Absolutely thrilled to report that I have had nearly 5000 unique visitors to my blog, and have 31 followers. This is a huge jump since the start of this year!

If you have shared the link with friends, thank you so much. And please keep on sharing ....

I'm painting up some lovely sketches I did on watercolour paper in Paris last September, and will put a few of those up in celebration. Can't help thinking of them as 21st-Century Impressionism!!!! Especially in consideration of Renoir and Degas.

I've also heard back from the Art Library in New York, the sketchbook has been received and will be going on tour in the US - yay! I wonder if there is such a project in Ireland, if not, what a pity - maybe there should be. Hm.

And have the most brilliant idea for a painting .... and a nice largeish canvas to do it on.

Orla is a happy camper today, despite not having sold any art for months.

More oil paintings

2011-02-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

Alone in a Crowd, 90x60cm, 2005

Getting Change at the Bar, 90x60cm, 2005

Returned Speculation, 90x60cm, 2005

I'd forgotten about these. Amazing what you find when you go tidying!

These are composites taken from sketches done in pubs in County Limerick during 2004/2005. I'm not so wild about them now, but it's good to see where I've moved on.

In support of MART art

2011-01-24T02:12:00.000-08:00

To support MART art, which is an organisation based in the city of Galway:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mart/marts-invite-or-reject-irish-exhibition-and-docume

Please click to support. Thanks, friends.

More sketches .....

2011-01-17T01:54:00.000-08:00

Oil pastel sketch, from the Sketchbook Project, which I posted off last Friday.

Pencil and watercolour

A tracing, using a fine-tipped pen. A way of redoing the line! This one is my favourite.

Celebration!

2011-01-13T01:48:00.000-08:00

26 followers and 107 different countries, and over 4000 individual visitors. Hugs to you all!

I have some new works I can insert here, from the Sketchbook Project I'm doing with that crowd out of New York. It's been good, and quite instructive, but I am looking forward to going back to big.

Pencil drawing, pastel drawing and watercolour, respectively. I don't have a large area to work in, which makes it hard, scaling down is not that easy - but as I said, it's been instructive. Plus I'm rethinking the line.

The Man with Two Bellies - watercolour sketch.

2011-01-06T02:43:00.000-08:00

Thrilled to now have 24 followers, welcome to you newbies!

And of course a very Happy and Prosperous 2011 to you all, particularly the prosperous part ....

Right now I'm working on a Sketchbook Project, and will be uploading some examples of that over the next few days.

And now for an image to post .... let's see .....

The fun of the live sketch - I could not throw this away simply because it wasn't 'perfect', but I did think it was kind of fun at the same time. I think it's another way of explore time and images, that's all - and it's not like this hasn't been done in the past. I seem to remember a Renaissance painting of a Goddess with more fingers than the average Goddess, and for some reason spiders and weaving come to mind .....

Real snow ..... in County Limerick.

2010-12-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

No footprints in the snow other than those of animals and birds, it was too early for humans .... Very pretty, but very inconvenient in a country that doesn't have a lot of experience in dealing with extremes of weather.

And it's getting colder. Brr.

A nude which some might find offensive ...

2010-12-07T01:31:00.000-08:00

... but which I found to be a wonderful challenge to draw. Black and white charcoal and coloured paper.

I'm a little annoyed at Google, the other day I mailed them to ask them to remove an ad from my page, because I do not wish to support it - I think that the food advertised is not food but a slow-acting poison, and I refuse to eat something that does not rot down like real organic nutrition.

I wish to stop MacDonalds being advertised on my Blogspot page.

Addition: Heh heh heh - it worked! Only now just Public Service Ads are being shown.

Am perfectly happy to support other artists, art supply shops, businesses in Ireland (but not fast food or manufacturers of sweets), galleries, museums, etc., Google.

And if anyone is interested, this drawing I still have in my own collection.

A small celebration .... and a pencil study of hands.

2010-11-25T05:38:00.000-08:00

... one hundred different countries have visited this blog!

Over three thousand visitors since I started it, and there are referrals from Facebook and Flickr.com (Thanks Facebook and Flickr.com).

To celebrate, I'll add something .... let me see .....

A pencil study of hands. The middle hand is ... well, yeah, I know it looks a bit rude, but I was just focused on drawing the thing, not really thinking about anything else. Makes for a mad dynamic in the picture, I think. And it's a good drawing too - and I never erase a good drawing. Thanks to Limerick Printermakers for organising the life-drawing sessions and getting such great models.

And the show WILL go on ....

2010-11-24T01:42:00.000-08:00

Irish people are reeling at the thought of having to take an IMF handout, and cuts in pay and all that, which is understandable, and then there are the Drama Queens both in and out of government who are working themselves into all kinds of unnecessary frenzies ....

This too shall pass, people. And life will go on.

Generally I neither ask for nor receive funding from government sources, so I'm still going to be doing what I always do, which is fund my own art. The only thing that is likely to change is that I will find even fewer gallery set-ups available, but this doesn't mean there won't be places to show my work. If there's one thing artists have more than pretty much any other profession, it's resourcefulness. They find ways, or make ways, to get their work out there and into the public eye. All they - we - want is a little moral support from art lovers, and the occasional financial incentive in the form of a sale wouldn't go amiss either.

Spraoi VIII

And so in defiance of the melodramatic rantings coming out of the radio, and as a homage to the people who live in Ireland who have worked hard and who also party hard, this painting is Spraoi VIII, because it's people like that who will continue to work and do what they do and through them and their vision and work ethic that this economic turmoil will eventually settle down again.

I am sick of the gloom and doom, and the rantings that feature words like 'never' and 'destitute' and 'leaving', and I am sick of the mud-slinging going on among the politicians especially. But at the same time, I feel a bit sorry for them, as maintaining that kind of high-end melodrama must be exhausting. Nevertheless I am well aware that these performances are in preparation for the next election, which is looking increasingly imminent. And that shall pass ....

I welcome a change, even though it brings with it uncertainty. Even in uncertainty there's hope, as changes bring new opportunities.

The party may be over, but this doesn't mean that all parties are over, forever and ever. Far from it. And I wish that those Drama Queens on the radio would remember that.

Spraoi XII

2010-11-18T02:37:00.000-08:00

I think I might do another one of two of this series. I so enjoy making these paintings.

Back to the Source! Opening postponed to 10 December 2010

2010-11-11T02:47:00.000-08:00

I'm delighted to say that I've been asked back to show paintings in The Source Arts Centre in Thurles, County Tipperary. They specifically asked for this painting:

but I had to ask the lady who owns it, who is a friend of mine, if I could borrow it, and bless her, not only did she let me borrow it, she said I could sell it if I liked. If it doesn't sell she'll get it back, but if it does, she gets to pick another painting from the ones I still have.

It's mixed media with acrylic, collage, and a bit of a pait of jeans on there - I was experimenting - but the drawings are all from Dún na Gréine, in that I drew them there as I was watching lots of people watch a Harry Potter film, and the title of the piece is, of course, Accio Firebolt, and Harry Potter fans will know exactly what it refers to.

I love the Harry Potter series, and am REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to the next film, which is coming out very soon. In fact, I might write a blog about it. Hm.

A blog a friend asked me to share ....

2010-10-29T06:17:00.000-07:00

Escapism, Pedal Through Google Streetview On A Stationary Bike « Lette’s Raving Rantings

lettesblog.wordpress.com

Enjoy!

Some watercolour sketches to go to Kilcock Gallery in County Kildare

2010-10-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

Kilcock Art Gallery in the town of Kilcock in County Kildare are having an exhibition in the six weeks prior to Christmas entitled BIG VISION - Small Works, and they have invited many artists to submit work for it, myself included. The exhibition will be officially opened on Saturday 13 November.

So I am sending four pieces:

Preening in het Feithuis, 2009

Het Nieuws Lezen (Reading the news) 2009

Blue Stripey Shirt, 2009

By the big windows in 't Feithuis, 2009

These sketches were all done in a lovely cafe called het Feithuis or 't Feithuis, in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands, where they serve the best coffee in the city - and that's saying a lot for a country in which coffee is king.

Each piece is beautifully framed (by the framing service at the Blueberry Gallery in Limerick city) and including the frame they all measure 30x25cm.

The website for the Kilcock Gallery is www.kilcockartgallery.com

The RDS and New Irish Art

2010-10-19T02:11:00.000-07:00

I recently changed paintings in Draíocht in Adare, County Limerick, and have been asked to consider sending some paintings to the Arts and Crafts Fair in the RDS - the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge, Dublin. Needless to say, this would be GREAT. It's the kind of set-up that very few artists can afford to do on their own, given that stands are nearly two grand for the three days, so all the artists/craftspeople are asked to do is contribute to the cost of the stand, and the Draíocht staff will be there to man it - because they want to promote their business also. But they can't do it without us - and this is a great win-win kind of thing.

Draíocht is on the Main Street in Adare, County Limerick. They are currently working on a website.

I also want to mention the New Irish Art website, which seems to have grown expontentially. I'm impressed with what they've done and continued to do despite economic hardship. In addition to showing work for free, they also compile downloadable individual PDF catalogues, which I think is just brilliant. I don't have one with them yet, but I need to take a couple of hours with Digital Dolf and get some high-quality images of my paintings for this and two other projects. Plus I like it that New Irish Art sends me a monthly bulletin of what they're doing, and the new things they have on stream. They have just celebrated their ten-year anniversary.

The website: http://newirishart.com

Watercolour sketch: Woman sleeping on the Groningen-Schiphol train

2010-10-14T02:28:00.000-07:00

It just goes to show that you can sketch anything, anywhere, if you have the tools with you - I had my 8B pencil, my little sketchbook, and my blade to sharpen the pencil. The colours were added later.

Reclining twisting female nude in charcoal and conté crayon on orange paper

2010-10-08T02:12:00.000-07:00

Again, done in Limerick Printmakers Lifedrawing sessions. This was a fast one, I think it was 15 to 20 minutes, I didn't have much time but I would have loved to have been able to spend another 30 minutes on it. This piece is also up on my www.flickr.com page (ID: orla99913)

Another sale: Red Cows has sold!

2010-10-06T01:13:00.000-07:00

Delighted to announce that the painting Red Cows, which was in the Joan Clancy Gallery in County Waterford, has also sold. For anyone who might be interested, Five Brown Trout is still available.

And now have 20 followers. Welcome newbies! Could I also suggest you visit DigitalDolf's blogspot page, he's been putting up some new photographs there and they are marvellous. One of his photos was recently praised by Shannon Development on Facebook. Nice!

Life drawing at Limerick Printmakers

2010-10-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

I started back at life-drawing this evening, I do it at Limerick Printmakers. The human body is fascinating.

Busy but saying hello, and the Blueberry Gallery, Limerick

2010-09-26T03:39:00.000-07:00

I've been very remiss about posting here lately, I've been a bit busy with text work, the work that pays for painting.

But I now have 18 friends on my blog, which is very nice. Nice to have had you for the past while, and welcome to the most recent friends.

I'm also pleased to say that I was commissioned last April to do a small painting for a lady who lives here locally and with whom I do business (she supplies my home heating oil), and it's nearly ready to deliver, I will be picking it up from the framer's on Monday.

The same framer is actually part of the Blueberry Gallery in Limerick city, they did work for me earlier on this summer and I was really impressed with the quality of the work - good framing can make a good painting look fantastic, while bad framing does nothing at all for it. I'm also delighted with the two people who run it, Maurice and Ailish, they are both charming people and don't seem to let life or economics get to them too much. Maurice actually took it upon himself to propose several of his artists, including myself, for the Irish Percent for Art Scheme in one of the Limerick universities, and anyone who has ever done this for themselves knows how stressful this kind of thing is for ONE artist, and Maurice did it for SIX artists that I know of. So I course I really hope that his efforts pay off for him and the gallery, I have my fingers crossed for that. And naturally it would be lovely if one of my pieces were chosen also.

The Blueberry Gallery is on the Ennis Road opposite the Clarion Suites hotel, and very easy to find as it is well sign-posted, so if you are in the mood for a good banter and talking about art and life in general, stop by for 10 minutes. I am sure you'll stay longer.

Cows and fish, two more oils on canvas

2010-08-25T03:09:00.000-07:00

Five Trout by Orla Clancy, oil on canvas, 30x45cm, 2010
Can also be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/26811601@N03/4950925608/

Red Cows by Orla Clancy, oil on canvas, 30x45cm, 2010
Can also be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/26811601@N03/4950925676/

These two paintings were included in the exhibition the Joan Clancy Gallery this summer, and Joan will hold onto them until the last week in September, as she asked to keep them until after Culture Night.

Why cows and fish? Well, my father loved cows and farms and the land and everything like that, and he was the first to import exotic breeds of cattle from France, Germany and Switzerland to Ireland, with a view to exporting their progeny to the United States. Growing up, we helped look after the animals, what with moving them to fresh fields, checking the fencing and water, watching them to see if any were coming into season, that kind of thing.

And the fish: there is a small river that flows through the farm, and he loved to go down there of a summer evening and catch fish. It was far enough away from the house for some peace and tranquility, but close enough for my mother to be able to call him, in those pre-mobile phone days. While the fish tended to be small, he did catch some that were big enough to clean and eat, so Mum would fry them in butter and they were very tasty with a little salt and pepper over them.

I've made a sale!!!!

2010-08-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Entitled Bookshelf, 30x45 cm, oil on canvas and mixed media. Sold through the Joan Clancy Gallery in Ring, County Waterford, Ireland. Thanks Joan!

It's a personal painting, and a kind of tribute to my Dad. He used to read to us, and instilled a love of literature in all of us. Above are some of the books he'd read to us every night before he'd go out for his pint, and his beloved crossword puzzles, and some of the plays and poetry he loved, and subjects he also enjoyed, like the Irish countryside and photography as art in the brilliant publication The Family of Man, and some of the writers he introduced me to growing up.

Can also be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26811601@N03/4950925418/

Another of the Spraoi series

2010-08-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

This is Spraoi X - that is, number 10. So far I have done 12 of them.

I've been interviewed!

2010-08-10T06:28:00.001-07:00

Here is the link:

http://www.whopple.com/artist-interview-with-orla-clancy.html

Enjoy!

Spraoi series, offer of a solo exhibition in Kilmallock in May 2011

2010-05-29T04:06:00.000-07:00

So far I've done 10 or 11 of the Spraoi series, which I am pleased about. Here is another of that series:

Actually, it's the very first one of the series. And it looks much better for real. Time to get more pictures taken, I think. It's also available to view on Flickr.com: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26811601@N03/4699332011/

Plus Caoimhe Reidy of Friar's Gate Theatre and Arts Centre, Kilmallock, Count Limerick, has offered me a solo show for May of next year. This gives me 11 months to prepare work. I think I will make a whole new body of work for that, keep the Spraoi for a potential show in another part of Ireland. But it's great news, the offer of a solo show. It's been a while since I had a concrete offer of one of those. Some gallerists are .... slippery, it has to be said. Hard to pin down.

Art Gallery and Craft shop in Adare

2010-05-29T03:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm in another place in Adare, the (in)famous tourist village in County Limerick. This time in what looks like a good place, with people who know what they're doing: Draíocht on the main street.

I like that name, it's the Irish word for 'magic'. Only last week I was thinking I needed a little more magic in my life, which goes to show that we should all be careful what we wish for.

Haha.

Anyway, here are the three paintings on display in there:

Sitting Among Boys

Diorama - Mirror Maze

Sailing to Ischia I

They'll hold onto them for a few months and we'll see how that goes. It's convenient that I live in the vicinity, it means I can go meet potential buyers. The people running the place have discovered that that can really help clinch a deal.

Here's hoping.

A book I really enjoyed .... We Are All Made Of Glue by Marina Lewycka

2010-05-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

I love to read, and I first discovered this writer through her first novel A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, which was one of the most off-the-wall books I had read in a very long time, and many to be both entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time, so of course I've read the subsequent publication Two Caravans (also entitled Strawberry Fields in some parts of the world, for some reason), and when I saw a third novel from the same writer, naturally I shelled out the retail price of €9.75 in a bookshop in Ireland, and I was I down to my last tenner I decided I really had to look into a way of supporting this addiction to books, so Amazon.co.uk seems to have offered a solution.

Anyway, about We Are All Made Of Glue is just more of what I have come to expect from Marina Lewycka, who apparently was born in Kiel and grew up in England. The story starts with Georgie Sinclair's husband leaving her, then goes on to describe a chance meeting with a seemingly vagabond old woman who calls herself Mrs Naomi Shapiro and who lives in a dilapidated house that's also home to several cats, both house-trained and otherwise. Georgie is an editor for a trade magazine that publishes articles on adhesives (glue) and has an odd friendship with her boss, it's like she can't put her finger on why it's odd. Complicating Georgie's life even further is the fact that her teenage son seems to find God in an alarming, old-testament type, Born Again Christian sort of way.

Georgie accepts an invitation to dine with Mrs Shapiro at her house, and sees the extent of the dilapidation of the house and how the cats have almost destroyed it, yet Mrs Shapiro, despite living in such conditions, sets great importance to a lady looking elegant, and even digs out a suitable dress for dinner from among her black rubbish bags of items scavenged from rubbish bins and skips over the years.

However, the story becomes very complicated with Mrs Shapiro has an accident and needs to go into hospital, and names Georgie as her next-of-kin. Georgie takes the opportunity to snoop into Mrs Shapiro's desks and discovers letters and photographs that get her wondering about Mrs Shapiro's past. Because of Mrs Shapiro's age, social workers start to take an interest in her case, some with less than honourable intentions, and some property agents start sniffing around also, looking to fleece the old lady, it would seem. In the meantime, Georgie gets Mr Ali, who turns out to be a sort of handyman, to do some repairs on the property, and asks him to move his young nephews in there to both mind it and to do some work on it while Mrs Shapiro is in hospital.

In her digging into Mrs Shapiro's past, Georgie learns that there is a husband and a son, and learns also that Mrs Shapiro is a German Jew who moved to England as a result of the Second World War. To complicate matters further, she learns that Mr Ali and his nephews are Palestinian, and it seems that things could get tense. Ultimately an Israeli man claiming to be Mrs Shapiro's son turns up, and it turns out the Mrs Shapiro is not what she seems, and despite the differences among the various people involved, the story concludes very amicably. Even Georgie's husband comes back to her, and her son loses interest in Born Again Christianity. I'm not going to tell you how all this comes about, I'm just going to suggest getting the book and reading it yourself and seeing how these complicated relationships sort themselves out. Enjoy. I did, and I'm putting on my bookshelf to read again in about a year's time, like I do with all my books that become good friends.

On Drawing - charcoal, pen, biro, pencil, ink, pens and pastels ....

2010-05-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

For the type of art I produce, drawing is really important. Basic making of marks with pencil, charcoal, ink and other media is an engaging activity, as well as beneficial to hand-to-eye coordination. Drawing is still considered an important discipline in academic art training, and through the objective of making it as realistic as possible, the use of the camera lucida and the camera obscura, in combination with drawing, gradually developed into the modern camera, which in a way allowed drawing itself to become 'free'. Twisty lines, heavy or soft, can form a shapt to suggest a mood, evoke a place, time, memory - all you need is a little imagination.

When out sketching, my line is expressive. My hand moves fast to capture the poses. Often I get two poses at a time, a subject puts down their arm, turns slightly, I end up with a figure with two heads and three arms, or sometimes two bellies.

The surface I use is important. I love using watercolour paper with bite. The subtle but definite texture of the paper creates a wonderful tension with soft pencil and ink. When I use pencils, I use a 6B or an 8B, and with pencil I also have the option to paint the drawing with watercolour paint later. And the B pencils can be used in so many ways also, you can barely stroke the surface with the tip and get the softest, finest line, or you can lean on it and get thick, dense, heavy marks - and with practice, everything in between.

Funny story about the purple ink - I wanted some cartridged to fit a very good quality Parker pen I was given, but purple ink is hard to come by, but I happened to be in Silke's of Catherine Street, Limerick city, and they had a box of the things and going to send them back to the wholesale but I asked if I could buy them instead, so I got the whole box for just €20 - gift! I had tried it on watercolour paper and loved the effect, and how you can cross-hatch and everything with it. And I just love the colour purple anyway ....

Charcoal is fun, I like using it on coloured paper, especially black and white charcoal. I tend to use this for a slightly different drawing situation: studio life drawing. Charcoal is easier to use to create form when working contrasting colours, there's less need to work extremely fast, and there's more time to focus on the subject and graduations of light on the model's skin. I apply charcoal using the tip of one end, but you do get an interesting line if you use the long side of the charcoal, and you can drag it across the surface to create shading and form. It's a fabulous way of building up a drawing.

I have mentioned using ink on watercolour for line drawings when out sketching random people, but I have also used it with a Chinese rush and homemade bamboo pen. You can thin the ink with water, and use ink pigment solutions of various strengths for lighter or darker lines or areas, which is especially useful for landscape sketching. However, my main reason for liking this medium is because you get a line that seems to explore its own existence, as well as form a component of a drawing.

Biro, fine tip or roller ball pens make for interesting lines also. Because I find that you have to work that little more to make 'real' lines and shapes with a biro or fine tip pen, and create double, triple, quadruple lines to create a shape, you get something with great movement and energy. Yes, they can look bitty and messy, but that's verging into the area of personal taste - as an artist, I like that kind of exploration of and with the line, but I do realise that not everyone gets this.

[And I have to say that the original looks a lot better than this reproduction.]

Black roller ball pens make a strong statement, the lines are very definite and I find I draw differently with these, I look more and have to be much more decisive as to where and how I'm going to leave my mark. I absolutely LOVE the combination of this kind of mark on cream watercolour with bite, but of course it cannot used be watercolour paints, more's the pity. Well, I suppose I could afterwards, but the spontaneity of the line created in the inital drawing would be very, very difficult to recreate.

And last but not least: pastels. The great thing about pastels is that they are the 'grey area', if you'll pardon the expression used in this context, between drawing and painting. You can draw with them, and then you can build up the form and detail so that you end up with something that looks like a painting. Apparently Da Vinci was the first artist to use them, and they were popular during the 1700s also. And of course, if you are ever in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, you must go visit the pastel works on display there - they are absolutely stunning, vivid, alive, positively writhing across the 2-D surface. No reproduction I have ever seen has done them justice, these are works by true Masters of the medium, like Degas, Mary Cassatt, Renoir, Berthe Morisot, and others. I love oil pastels on coloured paper, very handy if you like working out of doors.

"Drawing is the root of everything" - Vincent van Gogh.

Spraoi

2010-04-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

I signed in and saw I had 15 followers, hurray! Welcome, welcome .....

So I'm going to put up an example of my latest series, based on the street party that is the Waterford Spraoi festival that takes place every August Bank Holiday in Ireland. I love the colour, the movement, the sheer life of this festival.

Spraoi III. Oil on canvas.
Can also be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26811601@N03/4699332573/

So far I have done 7 of these, and I have a gallery in Limerick city that wants to hang them, so I have to do lots more before May 12, for the offical opening of the Blueberry Gallery on the Ennis Road in Limerick.

Brigham Galleries online auction!

2010-04-19T08:11:00.001-07:00

This is my first foray into this world, just thought I'd try one and see how I got on.

This painting

entitled Sitting Among Boys is currently Lot Item 1177 in the auction at www.TheBrighamGalleries.com. I checked it by entering my name in the Search box.

I had a look at some of the other work, and I was well impressed with a lot of it.

Seated male nude in charcoal

2010-04-16T00:58:00.000-07:00

Seated male nude in charcoal, from the late 1990s.

I can't remember when exactly I drew this, but it was one of the few drawings of the male nude that I still had and liked - when we moved from the Netherlands, I had to do some serious culling and get rid of lots of material.

Right now I'm making a little film file of all my nudes and my thoughts on nudity and painting nudes. The most recent model I've been using, a young woman from Sweden who is a trained dancer, has said that as part of posing for artists, she is discovering a new reality to her body and has found that to be interesting, and from something she said I think it has helped bring her into a new direction with her own dance studies - that would be nice!

Most of the models I've worked with have been female, but I would like to work with a male model again - men and women have different centres of gravity, different musculature, different proportions, aside from the obvious male/female differences, that is.

Watercolour drawing: Young Turks in the Istanbul Teahouse

2010-03-18T05:48:00.000-07:00

Drawn in the Teahouse near the Grand Bazaar, the place that Esen brought us to.

Now framed up beautifully.

Schmap.com are using a painting of mine!

2010-03-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

Haha, Czech it out!

www.schmap.com/prague/activities_malstrana/p=166010/i=166010_6.jpg

My painting is being used here! Cool or what?

Please excuse the pun in the first line.

Acrylic on paper: Young Man with Mohawk

2010-03-05T04:58:00.000-08:00

Pity I didn't have time to do this chap's piercings, he had loads, all over his ears, nostrils and a couple on his eyebrows. This was a quick 10 or 15-minute study, from what I remember, done during a life-drawing/portraiture session in the Walstraat, Groningen, the Netherlands.

http://mysteriousletters.blogspot.com/

2010-03-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

http://mysteriousletters.blogspot.com/

This was featured on the Irish Times this March, and I think it's probably the wackiest thing I've ever come across, and I love it. I wish it were possible to write to those people, but alas .... maybe they will run search and find this blog posting, and possibly send me a note, I'd love that.

Three drawings from Groningen

2010-02-23T13:16:00.001-08:00

This is actually a very small drawing with watercolour added, done in the city of Groningen when we went back to visit last year, in a delightful café there called Het Feithuis, where they serve the best coffee in the Netherlands. And I mean coffee. Real coffee. Really.

Again, in het Feithuis ... I wasn't close enough to listen into the conversation - not that I would ever actually do that, tisk tisk - but I so enjoyed watching the body language between these two men, as one seemed not to be sure ....

And this one is called Het Nieuws Lezen, and simply means 'reading the news'. I should mention that this particular café has very comfortable armchairs so you can really enjoy your coffee and read your paper or book in comfort.

Updates ....

2010-02-22T01:14:00.001-08:00

This painting entitled Sisters Dún na Gréine is included in an exhibition to raise funds for earthquake survivors in Haiti. The exhibition is on in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland, upstairs in the Narrow Space Gallery in Mitchell street, the town's only pedestrian street. The entire exhibition looks fantastic, and I was itching because there were a few paintings in there that I loved and would have been delighted to bring home. However, like every other freelancer and artist out there, I'm broker than broke.

But! ... I am delighted to share that the Mad Art Gallery on Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin, contacted me after I sent them some jpgs, and asked to meet me, and would I bring Rummaging with me, so I brought it and 5 other paintings, think that MAYBE I'd be able to sweet-talk them into taking a couple more. To my surpise and delight she took ALL SIX!! for a group show the gallery are holding in March. The gallery had a group show recently and sold several works, kudos to them. It's artist-run, and I don't think I would be too interested in going for any other kind of small gallery anymore.

But the ones she took are:
Cliffs of Moher: Sitting Among Boys
Cliffs of Moher: Spanish Picture
Mirror Maze: Diorama
Sailing to Ischia I
Sailing to Ischia II
Cliffs of Moher: Rummaging.

So I'm thrilled!

And one last thing, before I forget: I've started a new series of paintings based on the Spraoi festival in Waterford city, Ireland. It is a brilliant festival, my intent is to celebrate the exhuberance I witnessed there.

Hand on hip, pencil study.

2010-02-16T17:47:00.000-08:00

I remain interested in the human body, and in my most recent life-drawing sessions, tried to concentrate on the hands. Arms, legs, torso I can do, but hands are still something of a challenge, what with their intricate bone structure, muscles, and the thought that our hands are such an expressive extension of our minds.

I'm also mindful that I'm using my hands to draw hands, and find I'm looking at my own hands just as much as the models. And it's not just the fingers, there's also the range of motion possible in the wrist and elbow and shoulder - this always affects the curve of a line, and there is the very reason why very few people can draw a straight line, myself included. (As an aside, I wonder if the 'I can't draw a straight line' actually means 'I don't really know anything about the development of art', because art developed as we did, and is so much a part of us that it is difficult to define at the best of times.) Years ago as a teenager I played the piano, not very well because I was not very interested in it, but playing the piano makes you so aware of your hands, and I'm reminded of it every time I draw or look at images of hands.

Spanish Point Rockpools

2010-02-11T01:07:00.000-08:00

Acrylic on paper, painted on location in 2001.

A little story about Spanish Point: it's near the tiny town of Miltown Malbay, in County Clare, which comes alive every summer with the Willie Clancy Summer School. Willie Clancy was a famous uileann piper from Miltown Malbay, and the summer school has workshops for almost every instrument used in Irish trad music, as well as set dancing and step dancing workshops. And the afternoons and evening have brilliant music sessions in every pub, sometimes 3 sessions to a pub, it's the busiest week of the year in Miltown Malbay, and we used to call it 'Willie Week'.

We stayed in this lovely old house in Spanish Point, near where I sat down to paint the picture included in this blog posting, that was owned by a slightly whacky couple from Limerick city, the woman and her sister ran the B&B during the summer months, and they are still the two funniest people I have ever met. But then Spanish Point has more than its fair share of eccentrics.

There was the story of the car that went out in the tide one year, when a few young Yahoos from the city decided to bring someone's Dad's very expensive German car out onto the sands at the big wide beach at Spanish Point during low tide. Naturally the car got stuck in the soft sand, and nothing but a tractor and a chain would get it out. Only - they didn't get a tractor on time, they underestimated the speed of the incoming tide, and abandoned the car, thinking that they would get it when the tide went back out again. So a few hours later they went back to the beach, and the very expensive car was gone, dragged out to sea by the Atlantic currents. It's probably mush at the bottom now. Keeping company with what's left of the Titanic ... not much of an exaggeration when you think of the force of those currents.

And then there are the extraordinary foxes that live in the area. Foxes are so smart, and live right beside us but often we don't notice them. My other half went outside to our car one morning to get something out of it, and forgot to close the car door when he came back inside - as it was a clear, sunny morning, we thought it would be fine to leave the door open to air out the car anyway. But then this fox materialised out of the undergrowth beside the house, and slunk into the front of the house, in the shadow of the car, and around and climbed right into the car and sniffed around. Now I'm not against foxes per se, but I have been close to them physically and they are inclined to be a bit smelly - I didn't want this one getting comfortable in the car, and I certainly didn't want him pooing in it, as it was a rented car. So my other half ran out and the fox jumped out of the car and ran away.

Another brilliant story of the foxes of Spanish Point: Foxes are foragers as well as hunters and consumers of small animals, and Spanish Point in July and August is like a great big picnic to a fox, what with the campsite and the leftover food humans leave lying around in dustbins and what have you. One man staying in the campsite arrived back to his tent late at night a bit worse for wear from the drink, and just pulled out his false teeth and stuffed them into the pocket of his jeans, then pulled off his jeans and left them outside the tent, with his wallet and cards and cash and everything in it. When he woke up the next morning, the trousers with teeth and wallet were gone, so naturally he assumed human involvement, and called the police. Only the trousers, complete with false teeth and wallet, turned up on the lawn of the house we were staying at, run by the two mad sisters. One of the ladies found it, picked it up and brought it inside, found the wallet, and then put her hand in the other pocket and found the teeth. So she called the police and reported what had happened. It turned out that none of the money was missing from the wallet, nothing at all was taken, but the trousers were a little - ahem - ripe from being worn day and night for several days, and teeth marks in the trousers indicated vulpine involvement - the trousers had been taken by a fox, presumably because the ripeness of the trousers in question was irresistible. Between the false teeth and the smelly trousers, the poor man who owned them was so embarrassed that he cut short his visit to Spanish Point, and left that very day.

This painting was framed up in November 2011, more than 10 years after I painted it, and is currently in the Blueberry Gallery, Ennis Road, Limerick city.

10 Minutes

2010-01-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

This is one I did in 2005, based on a trip to the beautiful city of Prague ... come to think of it, a lot of my paintings have Prague in them some way or another, it's like a fairytale city that lingers in the mind long after you've been there .... but however. At one exhibition a man started talking to me in a foreign language, turned out he was Czech and living in Ireland and was kind of hoping he could have a chat in his own language .... been there, couldn't help him, unfortunately!

Schoolyard near Devrek, Zonguldak, Turkey

2010-01-12T00:36:00.000-08:00

Devrek is a small town not far from the Black Sea coast area, in an area full of forested hills around which wind fast mountain streams. Many of the people there are farmers, the land is very good, and as a result the local food is also very good.

They don't get many visitors from foreign parts to Devrek, so we kind of stuck out, but the locals were incredibly friendly and hospitable, so much so that I would love to go back there sometime. We stayed with a friend who taught English at a local school, and she arranged for us to visit the school for a day, and that was such a nice experience. Most of the children were extraordinarily friendly and polite, and the parents made sure we had a marvellous lunch, because they sent in dishes you might get in a 5-star restaurant for us to sample, including the most incredible locally made baklava.

All the boys wanted to know which football team we supported. Football is big in Turkey. All the girls wanted to know if we had children. Children are also big in Turkey, as in considered important. And they all were curious about where else we had been to.

And another place I've work on show ....

2010-01-04T03:25:00.000-08:00

www.ArtWanted.com/OrlaClancy

You have to cut and paste the link, unfortunately.

Red top in Siena

2010-01-04T01:36:00.000-08:00

One of 20 or so that were sent to the US for a charity.

Reading at the airport

2010-01-04T01:33:00.000-08:00

I have drawing materials with me everywhere I go, and airports are also good places.

Oil painting on canvas: Aventine Wedding

2009-12-29T13:15:00.000-08:00

Naturally Rome is very popular for weddings, and in the week we were there we saw wedding parties every day. This couple were up in the park on the Aventine Hill getting their photos done. I love the visual dynamic of the third person in the painting, and the things it suggests.

This painting was in the Salon de Chiarraí in Tralee, County Kerry, along with two others, and in the Blueberry Gallery in Limerick city. Thanks to all at the Samhlaíocht Gallery and Maurice Clarke at the Blueberry!

It's now back home .....

In Petrin Park

2009-12-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot this one, which I made in 2005 after a visit to Prague.

I would sell this. Will hear all offers. It's 90x60 centimetres and an oil on canvas.

It's very odd, though, what people see in paintings. My mother saw this, and the first thing she said was 'that woman in the picture, she looks EXACTLY like your father's mother'. Now I never knew my grandmother, she died when I was very young, so I thought this was an interesting coincidence.

Of the Prague series of paintings I've made, I think this one is probably my personal favourite.

All-Ireland Final

2009-12-04T01:43:00.000-08:00

I think it was a hurling final between Kilkenny and Limerick, but I can't remember. I just remember that the city council put up giant screens on O'Connell Street in Limerick, for local fans that couldn't go to the match. And the vibe in the street was great too. I got lots and lively drawings that day.

This picture is also on my Flickr.com page, and has been invited into various groups. Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26811601@N03/

It's a watercolour on paper, about A3 size. I would sell this to any interested party, make me an offer.

San Gimignano, 16 June 2008

2009-12-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

This is gone to the US to help raise funds for a charity. More info on that when I know more.

Photo: Sunset from Doolin

2009-11-17T04:50:00.000-08:00

A rare day without rain on the west coast of Ireland!

Photo: Clints and Grykes on the beach at Spanish Point.

2009-11-17T04:46:00.000-08:00

Shopping Centre in Lisbon

2009-11-03T09:48:00.000-08:00

'Scratched' sketch - acrylic paint and metallic finish on board with figures 'scratched' out. A kind of experiment, I suppose.

Edit: This one has been accepted in a group exhibition in the Samhlaíocht Gallery, Tralee, County Kerry, along with two paintings: Cliffs of Moher: Rummaging and Aventine Wedding.

Hall of Mirrors, Caloptric Chamber, Mirror Maze in Petrin Park

2009-10-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

My latest oil painting - the distorting mirrors made a lot of people laugh.

It comes with a frame, so it looks very well indeed. With the frame, it's about 4 foot wide. I would sell it, so make me an offer.

Addition: Very happy to have been invited to submit this for a company the does online maps for tourists. Via Flickr.com.

San Gimignanese

2009-10-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

This gentleman, a native of the town of San Gimigniano in Tuscany, Italy, very obligingly sat and let me draw him, so I got a fairly detailed drawing in about 10 minutes or so. Then he helped me spell 'San Gimignanese'. I painted it much later.

It's a very touristy town, and in Italian touristy towns, anyone who runs an eaterie of any kind does not allow people to wander in and use the toilet - they insist that you buy something. We were aware of this, and went to a particular place that was run by what we in Ireland would refer to as two 'man oul wans' - older ladies who were rather ferocious in their insistence that customers only could avail of the facilities. I ordered two coffees and two pieces of the local delicacy 'panforte', a very heavy fruit and nut cake that is practically a food group all on its own, then sat down to watch big strong tourists being worked on by those two canny battleaxes. "If you want to use the toilet, you have to buy a tea or a coffee or something" was their cry. However, the floor show was free!

Map-reading in Siena

2009-10-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

I think I might have already mentioned the mediaeval city of Siena in Italy and its wonderful shell-shaped 'campo' in previous postings. Well, if you like sketching people, there are very few places as good as this for the job. The curve of the ground - which I believe is artificial, thus actually built this way - allows for people to lie and rest in the sun, and while they are just chillin', I can sketch them. It's brilliant.

Yes, some notice and comment. Most people don't mind. I make a point of explaining myself to parents though - wouldn't want them to worry.

This has gone to the US with several other water colours to help raise funds for a charity. More about that later.

81 different countries ..... and Girls in Blue

2009-09-18T02:28:00.000-07:00

Uruguay was the most recent new country to visit this blog, and the Uruguay flag has a lot of blue in it, so I thought I'd upload this image, entitled Girls in Blue. One of my degree show pieces, it was sold to an American lady who lives in Ireland, and is I believe in County Wicklow at the moment.

La Tortura

2009-08-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

You can't really see it here, but the text on the figure in front is a translation of the Spanish text of a song by the incredibly talented Columbian singer, songwriter, musician and all-round rock chick Shakira, whose work I admire a lot. It's oil paint with a hint of gold metallic finish and some brocade also.

90x30cm, oil on canvas and other media.

Family Constitutional

2009-08-20T06:52:00.000-07:00

A solicitor I know here in Ireland said that she would refer to the people in this painting as a 'constitutional family - it's painted from memory, a family that live on the same road go out walking every evening, for the constitution, by which I mean for their health and well-being. But I like how she had a slightly different take on it!

Carrigkerry Flag Floor, County Limerick

2009-08-11T04:41:00.000-07:00

Forgot about this one.

The whole world is looking at my art!

2009-08-05T04:16:00.000-07:00

I've just checked, 77 different countries have visited this blog so far!

AND ... I've got followers!

Thank you, thank you ......

Still in my own collection .... Company of Absence II

2009-08-05T04:07:00.001-07:00

In Company of Absence II

This is the 'middle' bit of the triptych, the first bit I posted here some time ago. The title is from the poem by Michael Coady, and I found it very moving for personal reasons. In addition to being a triptych, the painting is also a composite, figures in a kind of bland landscape, on the horizon are tiny tiny figures on horseback, which you don't see in the reproduction.

In fact, this is not a great reproduction. I am thinking of restretching the canvases, which is a big job .... so I'm not keen on doing it.

Giant Green Head

2009-07-03T01:05:00.000-07:00

I'd forgotten about this one. It was chosen for a group exhibition in the Hunt Museum, Limerick, in 2003, and is a depiction of a sculptured head that was part of the Hunt Museum's own collection, and was sold to an Irish collector a few months later. I always refer to it as my Giant Green Head, but its official name is Study of a Sculptured Head.

Texting on the Cliffs of Moher

2009-07-01T02:20:00.000-07:00

I can't remember the title I had for this painting. I did it for a special exhibition in memory of a really lovely person, Philip Hennebry.

In June 2006, Philip had just finished the art teacher training course at Limerick School of Art and Design, and attended the class party before they all parted ways to go on with their lives. He had had a lot to drink, and after the party left to go to his girlfriend's to crash. Only he never got there - on the way, he had to walk down a canal path, and as he was very drunk, it was believed that he fell into the water and couldn't get out, and drowned. Everyone who knew him was devastated.

Philip was one of these rare people with the gift of kindness, and was friendly to everyone. He didn't have time for bitching and gossip, and certainly wasn't interested in scoring points at anyone else's expense. He also had the most marvellous sense of humour and was a gifted artist. At his funeral his brother said that Philip would have made a marvellous teacher - I think Philip WAS a marvellous teacher, he taught by example. His former classmates organised an exhibition in his memory in February 2008, and started a MySpace group called the Green Dot.

Taken far too young when full of promise, but will not be forgotten.

Watercolour: Father and Baby

2009-06-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

Seated outside restaurant, Istanbul

2009-06-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

Seated outside restaurant, Istanbul - a watercolour and pencil drawing.