Sunset on the Wild Atlantic way

Last summer - 2014 - I had the opportunity to drive from Cork to Donegal when the weather was good, warm sunny days with pleasant breezes. A lot of my journey took me along the Wwild Atlantic Way and it was fantastic to have the opporunity to see the beauty of the Irish countryside and the breathtaking scenery in so many parts of Ireland's western coastline. While I have been aware of the beauty of Ireland's landscape for many years and have found it a great source of inspiration for my paintings I had never appreciated how many places had such rugged beauty. It was a real awakening for me to see the amazing light on the fields and hills in every county along Ireland's coastline. I was enchanted by the force and strength of the rocks and cliffs along the Atlantic coastline. The mesmerising sound of the waves crashing against the cliff faces or lapping the sand on so many beautiful hidden beaches in Cork, Kerry, Clare and further up along the coast. I was on hoidays and travelled at my leisure along my route stopping in many small villages to savout the slow steady pace of life.

Many times on my way I stopped to just look and soak up the beauty of a shaft of sunlight on a green field or the ripple of the wind through a field of golden corn ripening in the late summer sunshine. Many evenings as I paused in unflagged beauty spots to watch the setting sun I was amazed the beauty of the light on the shimmering sea water and the soft light on the rolling hills, rugged mountains and craggy cliffs that give Ireland such a magically natural beauty. I have painted a scene to capture this wild beauty.

                                       

 In the summertime heather grows profusely and there is an amazing clarity and softness to the lilacs,purples and whites that cover hills and mountains along the west coast. In many places you will see where turf has been cut and the rich dark browns of the peat create the perfect contrast for the soft purples. Irish hills are covereud by a sctutch grass that has an intriguing greenish yellow hue. This grass can grow up to 1 foot in length and as it dries in the strong winds and soft breezes of the west coast it beomes a soft brown or golden colour, especially in the yellow and orange light of the setting sun. I have included all these colours in the small painting of the Wild Atlantic Way. The painting measures 12 x 10 inches (30 x 25 cm) but I am very pleased with how I have captured the light and the beautiful colours of the Irish coastline in the setting sun. The sea reflects the purple hue of the heather covered hills which richly contrasts with the rich yellow/orange tones of the setting sun. There is deep blue colour in the sea water in the foreground of the painting to give a sense of its depth and hidden power. The hills in the left foreground have the rich browns and dark greens of peatlands near the coast. Even though the sun is setting there is still a soft blue to the sky to show the softness of light at this northerly latitude and that while the sun is setting it brings a slow and beautiful transformation to the Irish coastline. It is a scene that people would identify with many parts of Ireland's beautiful western coastline. I look forward to further travels on the Wild Atlantic way in many summers to come.

Back to my youth growing up on a farm in Kerry

Recently I was at an art auction and I saw a painting of some cows that really appealed to me.It was very atmospheric and captured the sense of animals together in a very natural way. It immediately reminded me of the cows and calves on the farm at home in Kerry. There were particular cows that had great personality and you had a sense of how protective they were of their young calves. I decided that I would do a painting that would capture that sense of cows nurturing calves. I wanted to show the solidity of the cow looking out over the landscape and how calm and at ease she was in her natural environment. Beside her I have put her young calf. I have painted him by his mother's side so that I convey the sense of security that the young calf feels beside his mother.
                                                             
The cow is looking straight ahead while the calf is looking out to the side. I wanted to give a sense of confidence and ease in the cow's demeanour while showing a nervousness in the calf. He is young and unsure of himself in this strange new world. The cow is an off-white -Charolais-.with tinges of brown while the calf is strongly brown - Limousin breed- to create an attractive contrast in their colours. The scene is set on a sunny summer's evening with a lovely soft light falling on the animals which gives a great opportunity to show rich areas of light and shadow.
My father was a dairy farmer and he built a fine herd of Friesian cows to supply milk to Kerry Co-Op. He was always interested in breeding animals and from to time experimented with beef cattle and also had sheep to see how they would contribute to the farm income. At one stage an uncle of mine persuaded him to get some Charolais cows and to cross breed them with a Limousin bull. The result is what you see depicted in the painting. My father's main interest and income was from dairy cows so while he was interested enough to try out other cattle on my uncle's prompting he did not persist with the Charolais and Limousin breeds. As children we were greatly taken with these big colourful animals. They were a welcome change from the constant black and white of the Friesian cows.

The farm  near Listowel is not beside the sea but I took the artistic licence to put the sea as a background beacuse the cloours of the sky and the water would set off the animals very well.