Catawba
Watercolour and pen
I was commissioned in this piece to capture a residence in Catawba, South Carolina in the U.S. I worked with the client to capture the essence of the scene as a straight drawing from a photo is not what I do.
I needed to give a lot of room for that big southern sky and to frame the house with native trees and wildlife. The trees had to look like they were glimpsed through half closed eyes on a bright, sunny afternoon. I couldn't resist including the tree lined long straight road outside. It also took a lovely big landscape layout to give a justified sense of space.
Private Collection
Enniskillen Bridges
Watercolour and pen
I love the dreamy effect I achieved with this piece. The bridges cross what is almost two compositions. The sunrise glows through the trees on the left bringing a lovely use of the palette down through the piece. This is the first time I have painted blue trees to create a opposing feel where the trees had drawn their colour from the water. The other direction in this is the quiet gaze back to Topped Mountain, a place where Fermanagh people have watched the sunrise since time began.
Private Collection
Enniskillen triptych.
Watercolour
For this piece the spec was quite wide, as wide as half the county :). I wrestled with many ways to resolve a composition that could include the requested themes. The solution was a centuries old one to split it up into three. I kept a continuous sky and hidden lines between the views to tie it all together. From the everglades feel of the river from Knockninny, Enniskillen nights out, to the Race Course Lough a complex and lovely simple scene unfolds for me.
Private Collection
Balcas Retirement Gift
Watercolour and pen
Coming in over the Lough from the Lough you pass over the Balcas site. I had never drawn the county before from this angle so there was a lovely challenge to complete. A Catalina brings the viewer into the scene and Devenish is the anchor that ties it all together. The scene ends with Enniskillen in the distance. I am particularly happy with the sky in this one as the vast area to cover made the colours work really hard to keep the spirit of the scene intact. Whitespace at the bottom was used to complement the busy centre to the piece. Nigel loved it as well and that's the main thing.
Private Collection
Enniskillen at night
Watercolour
Although I have painted a lot of skies that include a sunrise to sunset feel, this was the first where the request was for a night time scene. I loved the complementary bounce off between the oranges and yellow and the pinks and blues that really tied this piece together.
Private Collection