Irish Girl Making Butter - oil painting

Oils on canvas (40 x 40 cm)

Painting depicting an Irish servant girl making butter in her rich master's house. (County Antrim).

I had a very old blurry photo to work from and quickly grew fed up from looking at the photo. So, I let my imagination take over and created my own 'scene' using items from my house and a huge amount of artistic license.

I spent some time researching old kitchens of the Victorian era so in went the old cast iron stove, copper pots and utensils and the cupboard in the passage. I made the doorway smaller, added a flagstone floor and one night, as I was painting away, my doggy sat watching me. He was so cute that he ended up in the painting as well!

Oils are so lovely to work with... you can change the entire look with a few strokes of the brush or the rub of a finger. I tried to do this painting in the style of the old Masters.

What I love about the old Masters is how no detail was left out. The clutter of everyday life is so much a part of the fun of painting this scene. I had to use a magnifying glass for certain objects so it is no wonder that I have been working on this painting for over two years.

Lilac Snow - oil painting

Oils on canvas.

This painting was done with just four colours: alizarin crimson, prussian blue, raw umber and white.

The painting of the Marshland (below) also has a limited palette:
alizarin crimson, vermillion, lemon yellow, white and raw umber on black gessoed canvas.

News about the exhibition

Dear friends, you may have noticed my absence over the last days and I do apologise for not being able to keep up with everything here. I have been so busy lately with the exhibition and art courses.

The exhibition opening on Thurs 12 was a great success. Approximately 100 people turned up and it was absolutely wonderful for my students to see all the interest. Their paintings were gorgeous and I am bursting with pride. On the opening night, 8 paintings were sold and up to now, 11 paintings are marked with the little red dot (meaning ‘sold’).

What an incredible boost for all these wonderful new artists!!!

My ‘Dolphin Wave’ painting was raffled and the end amount came to 678 euro – which was handed over to the Kilrush Lifeboat Station. I wish them all the best and thank everyone who participated in the exhibition and raffle.

I am exhausted but very happy and should any of you be in the vicinity of Kilrush, you can see their beautiful paintings in the library up till the 27th February.

At the same time, the art courses are still keeping me busy as well, thus my long absences.

In March, we hope to vist South Africa (the first time in 6 years) and I am looking forward to seeing my family again after such a long time.

Now, if only the days could be longer. Or maybe, I am just getting older and slower because it is becoming harder to fit everyting into one day.

Art is for Everyone Exhibiton

The Art is for Everyone concept was born one evening when I was showing a few friends some of my oil painting techniques that I taught myself over several years. They suggested that I should offer oil painting art courses as they learnt so much in a short time and had lots of fun as well.

At first I only did one day courses but gradually the course evolved into weekend and six week courses where I taught different oil painting techniques, from wet on wet to more classical glazing and monotone techniques.

The courses are now so popular and my students are painting amazing works of art. From animals to portraits, landscapes and seascapes. The majority of them have NEVER painted before!!!!

I never would have thought that I could enjoy teaching so much. The groups have also become a wonderful social network and everyone who joins in become a member of the 'family'.

And so, we will be having our first exhibition of oil paintings in the Kilrush Library from 12 February to 27 February 2009. Well done to all my wonderful students! I am so proud of your accomplishments.

If you are in Kilrush, County Clare, please pop in to the library while the exhibition is on and take a look at their beautiful art.

The opening night will be on the 12th February at 8:00pm (20h00) and everyone is welcome to come along and meet my wonderful group of artists.

One of my paintings, "Dolphin Wave" will be raffled and the drawing will take place on the opening night of the exhibition.

Proceeds from this painting will be donated to the RNLI Kilrush in appreciation for the wonderful work they do, saving lives and always ready and on call.