Purple Head

purple head self portrait

30x40cm. Oil on canvas. Self-Portrait.

Teacher Jim

Had to really wrestle with this one. repainted it 3 times and still not happy. The source photo is too bad Im afraid.
Teacher Jim. 30x30cm. Oil on canvas.

This was Jim’s face when he found you using black paint.

Queenie

QueenieOil sketch on canvas paper. 15x25cm. 2 hrs.

Loved Ones

Commission. 30x30cm. Oil on canvas.

I declined this commission for several weeks due to the source photo being quite poor in information but I decided to take it on in the end. Pretty happy with the result all things considered.

Fruit of the Forest

amanita muscariaQuick Sketch of one of natures most beautiful mushrooms the Amanita Muscaria.

Heres a concise book on everything you need to know about it.

http://ambrosiasociety.org/files/herbofimmortality.pdf

Contrary to popular belief it is not poisonous, well, maybe it is, but its psychoactive. Careful cooking can render it edible and many cultures such as the Japanese pickle these as a delicacy. They are out in the woods at this time of year close by penny bun mushrooms. As with all mushrooms, leave well enough alone unless youre a seasoned expert.

2

Bullock Harbour Dalkey – Plein Air

bullock harbour

Just up the road from Bullock Harbour in Dalkey County Dublin.

Oil on board.

40x30cm.

Right, so the story is I get there and do my preliminary thumbnail sketches, drive down the road for a cappuccino, come back and set up my easel etc and draw my sketch on the board then lay out my paints….wait…..wheres my white paint? Noooooo! So I high-tail it home and paint it in the studio from a camera phone photo. At what point does it cease to be ‘en plein air’? If <50% of the time was in the studio perhaps?