PAINTING

In painting I studied colour ,we were to do this by doing paintings of the colour sculpture but because it wasn't possible to do insitu I decided to look at different colour palettes and then mixed and matched colour bars. This really helped me see colour in a different way and appreciartists whose work explores colour .I participated in the life painting classes using different materials ,formatting and different consistency of paint.I feel I loosened up and became more proficient at portraying the human body in various postures aswell as improving tonal usage and starting to introduce colour.In my selfportraits I experimented with materials and techniques. I realise this is an ongoing exploration and I'm enjoying the challenge.Finally I learnt to improve my quick sketches of people going about their everyday business. The most important lesson I learnt this year is to be less judgemental about my work and take any positives from it and learn then move on,do multiples don't get perfectionistic ,loosen up and enjoy

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I went to Sarah Odwyers exhibition "PentiMenti" in Limerick city Gallery today.Firstly her video conversation was fascinating in that in her process she starts from figurative sketches or old paintings she often finds what she calls Crystal seeds from previous paintings, something slightly out of kilter that becomes the creative seed for the next series.I found this an interesting idea,that out of something we may initially think of as a failure or not quite right something positive growsshe also said she liked the precariousness of the happy accident or when you just go for it and be brave the" black ice moments".she likes that people see bits of bodies in her works they discover things.her colour usage is exquisite and she's very brave in her execution.Her ceramics also has beautiful colours.

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I visited " STAC at 30" exhibition in the South Tipperary arts centre in Clonmel today.Patricia Hurl's self portrait2020 I found interesting in the materials used ,charcoal and pastel and the resultant effects but also the hat and arithmetic that is scratched into the background so telling her story within her selfportrait. Austin Mc Quinn's "Richard Bide-the-Bent" and "Alice" 2008 Lambda print on dibond caught my attention because of the effect the bright patterned backgrounds have on the pieces and the movement the patterns cause.I then headed to The Linn gallery in Clonmel to see the exhibition " changing natures".The three artists involved had created quite different but aesthetically beautiful artworks.

Examples included Louise Wilde's "Emergence"( made of walnut) which reminded me of a heart and a brass musical instrument .Katie Byrne's floral pieces were quite lovely " light within" seen above is Giclee print on Hahnemuhle archival photo.Then there was Annie Hoggs creation " phenomenology" I loved the effect she got doing carbon watercolours from found objects in nature from plants to bones and then she also had scientific glass vessels filled with rainwater.Very different pieces using varied techniques and materials but which made for a really enjoyable and fascinating exhibition.

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Today,Thursday I decided to do another charcoal and acrylic self portrait but this time to document each stage.I think I'll just keep practicing and the more I practice hopefully the more willing I am to experiment and become looser and less precious.This is my aim this summer to become less judgementaland more positive ,become looser, freer, have fun and develop my own style.

The preparatory paintings have some similarities to Le Broquet's heads.I may try and experiment with this style and see where it takes my portrait.

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On Tuesday I set up my wall display of artwork.I took a half hour in the smoking area to do afew quick sketches.I think I'm improving with my tonal blocking in and it's alot quicker but also fresher and looser than contour sketching.I really enjoy this activity and find it very relaxing.I also paid a visit to Ormiston house.The exhibition there was about protests and a festival that was anti nuclear.The exhibition showed some posters from the era a tent with a TV inside with video footage two massive blown up photos of two people up close about to kiss the visual pattern of their close up faces was nice .There were two screens side by side narrating I different font a day at the festival .Artistically it didn't grab me.

I so admire the skill of Kathe Kollwitz's sketches .The feelings she can portray in the sketch above is incredible.

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On Monday,in the morning I did a colour version of my palette knife painting .Initially it was abit of a disaster but I was able to pull it back into something I was pleased enough with.Previous to this I wouldn't have had the confidence to do that as my inner chatter is less negative .In the afternoon I did a selfportrait using layers of watery washes.Even though there is still alot of room for improvement there are plenty of areas that work and I like some of my brush marks which are becoming looser.

Marlene's simple palette and tonal shapes create a very effective portrait in "Naomi"1995.Alice Neill's technique and palette really convey Warhol's vulnerability. Paula Rega's " Dog woman" is full of emotion ,the energy,anger frustration is palpable.Hopefuly someday I will be able to express emotion in my paintings.

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On Saturday morning I went to Cahir farmers market as I thought it would be a good place to sketch people in action.The challenge was people in near constant motion and others cutting across my view.As much as possible,I placed the figures in context.It was a very relaxing and enjoyable way to spend a morning. On the downside,I was in a hurry and grabbed the nearest sketchbook which I knew was poor quality but you can really see it in the photos.This,I felt was a very worthwhile exercise with loafs of room for improvement and next time I'll bring quality paper.

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On Thursday morning I did a quick thumbnail painting prior to starting the main tonal painting.As per usual I blocked in the main tones and sealed the page.After letting tge first layer dry I painted my picture in more detail.I think that I have captured the tonal variations and especially the lightest and darkest tones ,better than any of my previous attempts.

In the afternoon I decided to do thev30minute poses in watered down colour and working fast ,also putting in some background details.I enjoyed the freedom and looseness of this technique and will hopefully trial this out next week with my selfportrait.

The colouring and technique is similar to that used in Tracey Emin's painting Patricia March.

These three female artists listed above portray posture and movement effortlessly.Its hard to believe that Yiadom-Boakye's work is completely from her imagination!

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On Monday I really struggled with painting my self portrait ,first it the paint was too thick and messy,I then watered it down and did a quick initial layer ut the second layer didn't work out.I took a teabreak and came back to ot.There is a resemblance,I like the hair and background,even the short and apron but it's all too grey and tge facial features are too harsh and we'll defined.On Tuesday afternoon Sylvia did a clique with me and suggested using a smaller less daunting and less time consuming ,small piece of paper.Also to mix my own black and make greys from this which I know is definitely a better option.And finally to use a palette knife.I enjoyed this exercise and felt it worthwhile in just getting the basics down and dtsying looser ,looking at lights and darks.She also suggested using the round .mirror for a change.For the size of the page and the fact I was using a palette knife I was fairly pleased with the outcome.More importantly I felt it was a beneficial exercise and gave me food for thought about how to approach painting my self portrait going forward.

Interesting to look at Berthe Morisots tonal paintings.I love her free brushstrokes in" reclining woman in grey".

My process above reminds me of Helene Schjerfbeck's portrait,black background 1915

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This post is all selfportraits so I'll only refer to the title if it is something different than selfportrait.Here again there's making marks and erasing.

Braised Smith selfie may 2013 very painterly with good use of complementary colours.

Richard Croft 1987 he has achieved the body positioning and weighting of the body so that we can feel him in that relaxed posture,he's grounded in.I also like his brushstrokes.

Keith Wilson 2002.Hes doing the same shading as I did with my man in the library I was happy with.

Patrick Harris Spring portrait 1989.The brushwork seems so rough and ready but I like it,there is an immediacy and energy it.

This is a super portrait study over one month from 12th Feb_12th Mar 2017 .by Trudi Van derby Elsen .I was particularly drawn to this as I was having difficulty getting exact resemblance in my self portrait but here we see on different days in different moods she can look quite different but I think she's also saying I'm a multifaceted and complex human being as we all are.

Interesting use of complementary colours and lovely paintwork by Cian McLoughlin 2014.

Heightened use of orange on the face but it works and then there's the complementary blue in the background and sclera of the eyes.by Ian Cumberland 2017.

A fascinating Diptytch by Eoghan Mc Grath 2017.Again with the use of complementary yellow and violet ,in both the last picture and this it's really highlighted around the eys ,drawing us to them( also different coloured irises here).The opposite side of the picture is like something Bacon would do.

Stephen Lawlor self 2013 is interesting in that there are bold very angular brushstrokes with no blending but it works.It was really fascinating to see such an array of selfportraits( this is only a small selection of what I saw)and so many different approaches and styles.

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These two pieces by Anne Yeats are amazingly emotive and with minimal markings the first one is"The old man"ink 1943 and then" girl crying" crayon 1944.

Brian Henderson's abstract artwork" isolated 111" 1970 is seen to full effect because of the placing of it 1.the brickwork echoes the boxes within the piece2.opposite the artwork are a set of lockers boxes ( 2nd picture) and afew steps down the corridor is a glass window where you can look down through the rows of metal cabinets where books and documents are secured.The curator explained that this was the reasoning for placing that work where it was and knowing this made me understand the importance of placement and Context,this really enhanced this piece in my eyes.

Another example where Context and the story behind the picture is critical for the understanding and full appreciation. Yvonne explained that the artist ,Moyra Barry's self portrait 1984 of jelly and a roken jelly mould( oil on canvas) makes complete sense when the artist explained at at that time she was very fragile as she was going through a messy marital separation.One day during that time she was making jelly and one of the moulds broke ,this she says is how she felt broken and soft and wobbly inside.Knowing that I appreciate the work so much more.I do love the vibrant colours in this work.Des Lilburn's "In medias Res" is made up of seven separate artworks all based around Ulysses Dublin but modern Dublin is superimposed on it.Im a Dubliner and went to secondary school and college in the city centre so I found it absolutely fascinating with remarkable eye for detail .

All of Samuel Walshes Divine comedy is here we skipped straight to paradise!( video above).

The story behind Brian King's self portrait is fascinating. He had a hereditary eye condition with failing sight and this obviously defined him hugely as he managed to get his dna sequenced and reproduced it here.it is quite effective as an artwork but again the backstory really brings it to a different level

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On Saturday I had the most amazing afternoon being privileged to be amongst a group of six in total to be given a 2.5hr tour of UL's private art collection by the curator Yvonne and her longterm friend and mentor art historian Catherine Marshall. Yvonne unveiled this picture for us( she said it has only ever been exhibited once in Ireland) Catherine herself is in the picture at the far back right as we look at it.She explained that it 's called The school of Hibernia referencing Raphael's school of Athens.It was shot in March 2024 in TCD and there are successful women of all ages and from all areas of life represented in it .The statues are actually made from her old boarding school sheets it's meant to be a dig at the pomposity and superiority of places like TCD who would have a high opinion of themselves and also at hierarchies in general.They hope to do another version in the near future in the national gallery of Ireland.I felt very privileged to hear first hand about all the different wonderful women in the photo from one of those very women.

Mount fugi by Katsushika Hokusai woodblock print 1831,an original!I had to pinch myself.I took so many photos I will only be able to show a small selection but it is by far the best collection of artwork I've ever seen in one place in Ireland with a huge variety of work spanning from the 1700s to the present day.

I always find it fascinating to see early works from an artist and compare them to more mature works.we see a huge progression in LeBroquey's watercolours from " monk praying" 1946 to " study towards an image of Shakespeare "1982.

I love the colour energy and brushwork in Tesqey's landscapes .

Just as I love JB Yeat's handling of paint."clear water"1936

There is wonderful use of colour in all of these very different artworks.Starting with Norah McGuinness " blue pool" 1948,Marine Jellet untitled 1930( a fabulous example of her innovative work).Evie Hone's beautiful stained glass windows Brigid kneading bread"1940

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On Thursday evening I went to see the second year painting exhibition in the hunt museum. There was a great variety of themes and styles.One student had made 3D pieces on a mirrored background .Each student got inspiration from the works in the hunt museum and the new Dean of LSAD talked about contextualisation.Merle Bavius's uisce was well executed.I was very taken with Jagoda Pasda's two portraits.One of an elderly lady whose face is painted from behind a doilly and the second a portrait of a bespeckled woman which is then moved slightly again and again like iterations of her.Alot of thought had gone into them and they were expertly painted.I then headed up to second year sculpture exhibition which was really interesting, the canteen was a maze of inflatables lit with soft coloured lights .You wanted to reach out and touch them ,it truly was quite a calming atmosphere to be in so I feel they got their point across very effectively as they were looking at the lack of neurodiverse havens/spaces within the college.It was quite a sociable evening and there was a nice buzz,it was great to experience it. I look forward to next year's exhibition.

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It is interesting to see the progression of frank Auerbach's charcoal drawing of Gerda Boehm.

Maggie Hmbling's handling of Giovanna 2001 has that mark making and erasing going on similar to Auerbach.Her handling of the older faces in "father Christmas is do sensitively done.In Stephen falling asleep 1995 and Georg salti conducting 1985 she daringly draws a scenario in action I love the idea .The animation in the conductor is fantastic."Percy jumping"1986 is beautifully executed,the pencil work of his coat ,the movement and direction is exquisite.

Caroline walker has done a very simple but very intimate sketch of a new mum looking at her baby.Ronald Ophuis's painting of a Congolese soldier shows his emotions so well the brushwork is rough and free and appears very immediate which I like.Jenny Saville has a very different palette to Freud but they have similarities mingling body forms ,subject matter ,loose brushwork.I really love her colours and brushwork which is beautifully demonstrated in "Odalesque"2012_14 .In her sketch" study of John"2010 the drawing of his clothes is minimally portrayed,letting the eye concentrate on his face,I tried to do the same in my self portraits.

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On Thursday morning we did a tonal painting with alot of foreshortening which was great to practice.I did a quick initial sketch beforehand. With the difficult pose and time constraints I was pleased with the outcome.

In the afternoon we did multiple half hour poses.The arm in my first sketch is wrong ,I was very close to the model so any subtle changes in his posture were very noticeable to me and his arm was obviously uncomfortable so he kept moving it ever so slightly but it was amazing the impact on trying locate muscle tensions shadows etc I corrected each time but eventually had to move away fro. It knowing it was wrong.the next sketch I drew in context.i had little time to do my first painting as I'd already done the seated charcoal in the same half hour so the painting looks rushed .I'm much happier with my last painted pose,I'm especially happy with the weightings of the arms .I love tge free use of paint in Frank Auerbach's "Head of Gerda Boehm"1964 it's so unrestrained and texturak.

I love Yukhnivich's brave,vigorous ,playful brushstrokes,the wonderful sense of movement and interesting exciting and quite beautiful.

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On Tuesday I attempted a self portrait .I spent a long time on the first picture and when one of the eyes and surrounds wasn't quite right Eoghan suggested to make a square hole in a piece of white paper and attach to the mirror so as to quieten the rest of the scene (as shown above) ,thus concentrating on the area of concern.standing back from the finished piece I liked some of the markings and erasure usage but was disappointed with the likeness.The next drawing was executed quickly and shows a better resemblance even though it's not as finished.The last sketch was done using my left hand( me being righthanded).The lesson I learnt was that I'd have been better doing a number of relatively quick studies feeling my way around the facial markings before embarking on a long detailed drawing.

Three self portraits all executed very differently. The first with oil pastel the other two with charcoal.Claudette Johnson 's self study 2022 using the side of the pastel stick,Maggie Hambling using many and varied( in pressure,movement,thickness) charcoal strokes and finally Frank Auerbach's self portrait 1958 which is by far my favourite. He does in extreme what I was attempting to do ,by marking erasing marking erasing over and over the image is moulded sculpted nearly comes forth from the page as if coming out of a mist.I got a glimpse of this process when doing my details head and I'd like to develop it more.I love also the way the wearing down of the paper becomes part of the image making,it is a really powerful piece of work.

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After the presentations I went out to the smoking area to sketch.This,I found an extremely enjoyable and relaxing activity.I especially enjoyed trying to convey the relaxed body language and intimate conversing of the student with his face turned away from me.In the library I was delighted with the effect of a very quick and simple shading of the second man's head,there's so little detail and yet he is completely recognisable. In the last sketch the same man was continually moving his hand across his head so I tried to do a sequence of this .I did the same thing with a girl who kept dipping her head up and down as she wrote in her notebook.I found that I loved doing the face from odd angles as it's so abstracted and so it's all the more wonderful when you sit back from it and it makes sense.

Body language is well expressed in Richard Diebeukorn's sketches of seated women.Michael Borreman appears to be exploring exactly what I was doing in my last sketch page with these two stunning paintings.