Nothing to do with cricket, I’m afraid – though I must confess, I’m nearly always stumped. I’ve been intrigued by the beautiful and super-real paintings of Comhghall Casey. I have met him once or twice, at the life-drawing session in the United Arts Club but I didn’t manage to talk to him about how he achieves the level of finnesse in his paintings. I did learn from another source that he paints from life but works by squaring up his canvas into a grid -and works on a square at a time. He then unifies them all but I don’t know whether that comes at the end or as he goes along. Fascinating.

I started this painting with Comhghall in mind -though I didn’t attempt to grid up -it was more the general feel, temperature and composition that interested me. Something in particular from this article by James Hanley caught my attention; it was that Comhghall relies solely on the natural light that his north-facing studio gives him. This kind of lighting makes for a kind of mid-toned and cool effect. From what I’ve seen of his work, there’s plenty of blending too, so brushwork isn’t very evident. I stuck with my usual alla prima approach.

The little wooden duck is one of my children’s toys that has lain neglected around the side of my studio where I keep all the kindling and firewood. It started off brightly painted, with a string attached for pulling it along, though several years languishing in the muck and wet of my garden have scoured the paint from it.  Makes it more interesting to paint.

I took the painting to a level of finish that I seldom go to, blending and reworking until I came near a photoreal quality -then I stepped back …and decided that I’d re-emphasise the brushwork and add subtle notes and hues to the back and foregrounds! What did I learn from this experiment? An increased respect for this medium that allows for infinite variations of technique; that I have rather less patience than Comhghall and that there’s a part of me that demands conspicuous brushwork in my own work.

You can see Comhghall’s tremendous portrait work in the Davy Portrait Awards Exhibitions at the Naughton Gallery, Queen’s University, Belfast and in Farmleigh House, Phoenix park in February and April respectively.

If you’ve followed my blog over the last few years, you’ll have noticed that I spend a lot of time trawling through charity shops for trinkets and baubles to paint. [This would also explain the threadbare flared trousers, the 'Who Shot JR?' tee-shirt and platform shoes]. When the charity shops come up short, I gird my loins, visit T.K. Maxx and fight my way though hordes of bargain-hunters to get at the homeware. It can get very ugly, but occasionally I emerge with an object that’s paint-worthy. There were only two of these wine glasses and I bagged them both. The bowl, I’ve painted before -we picked it up on a family holiday to the south of France last year.

So what are you wearing?

Oils on a 10″ x 8″ gessoed panel.

The Blue Wineglass
Price: €250 framed

I’m a devil for raspberry jam. Especially when it’s homemade by Róisín O’Farrell. I got this jar of crimson ambrosia in return for some artist materials and I reckon I got a good deal. At the same instant, I discovered what a nanosecond is. A nanosecond is how long it takes a jar of homemade raspberry jam to disappear when introduced into the McSherry family  home. I’m bewildered at how I managed to paint this picture -I’m sure the jar was full when I started.

Oils on a 10″ x 8″ gessoed panel.

Róisín’s Raspberry Jam
Price: €250 framed

Now that’s just gratuitous. And there isn’t even an image to go with this.
I’ll get my coat…

Apparently, now is the time for college graduates to start jostling one another for precious internships; and the Washington Post published an article about this very subject. What kind of a coincidence is that?!

Anyway, I was commissioned to come up with an appropriate illustration, so I sent in three ideas of which this was the favoured one. I’m not going to explain what the other two ideas were as frankly, they didn’t get the job and they’re now out on the street searching for a job flipping hamburgers in a dangerous part of town. That’s what you get for coming in second place around here.  I provided them with a good reference, got them in to see the right person. I even helped with their personal presentation; tidying them up with a touch of pencil here -a rub of an eraser there. All I’m saying is; I did my best. What more could I have done?

But I digress. This smartly-dressed and presentable young illustration is now the pearl that adorns the text and good luck to it. May the world be your oyster.

Acrylic on Arches HP paper.

A little late for pumpkins -or so the fully institutionalised would see it. I think you can enjoy pumpkins at any time…and these ones have been immortalised! I got these from the crèche of my littlest daughter long after Halloween [or Holloween as it's pronounced on TV3] had passed into a memory of cutely-scary costumes and Superquinn bags full of sweets.  And do you know what? As I write they’re still sitting in my studio, undiminished. The bag of sweets survived about two days of a feeding-frenzy of little girls. It’s a very impressive sight and one which David Attenborough should document. Perhaps I didn’t need to immortalise them at all. There isn’t enough flesh in these small gourds to make a pie or soup, so I think I’ll let them be and watch them as they decay.

Speaking of feeding; I do appreciate feedback. How am I doing, here? Feeeed meeee!

Oils on a 10″x8″ gessoed board. Free shipping worldwide.

Water Jug & Pumpkins: Price: €250 unframed

I’ve had Portraits in Oils the Van Wyk Way in my possession for several years now and have spent many hours poring over its contents. Van Wyk’s technique is masterly and she was at her best when quickly capturing a likeness. This is a comprehensive manual covering much of what you may need to know about her style of portraiture. Composition; drawing; palette; colour-mixing right through to such fine points as painting hair and eyeglasses. The book is rich with colour illustrations to aid understanding and the instruction is clear and well-written. As with all books that purport to teach such a practical pastime as painting, with all its infinite variables, it can be difficult for the beginner painter to understand directions. One must also have spent a fair amount of time already practising the craft. Such books can never replace time spent with a tutor, especially for those new to painting. That said, this is a wonderfully complete companion for the portraitist to take down and study at any stage of development -beginner and advanced.

There’s an almost schoolmarm personal style that comes across in the book, “…Never, never, never use strip-off paper palettes…The penalty for any student bringing one to class is banishment forever.” I have to say, it would be a little off-putting for me if I was in her class. She strongly asserts that there is a right way and a wrong way to paint and therein lies my only quibble with this tutor. Beginner painters do need clear guidance but such rigid approach can lead down the cul-de-sac of academic painting where classical technique becomes the only goal. If experimentation with materials and technique and subject is what you’re looking for, you won’t find it here. That said, it’s a minor personal niggle and many new to painting portraits will appreciate the strong direction.

As an aside, right through the book are a number of self-portraits she made through her life. She really was a striking-looking woman. Sadly, according to an editor’s note in my edition, she passed away sometime before 2001. The book is still in print and is currently available on Amazon.