Enniskillen, from the Sligo Road.
Watercolour
Coming into 2020 I wanted to try something new. Maybe it was the heady start to a new year, but one Friday night I sat and from memory did a drawing of my hometown. Masking, pouring, tilting and watching colours do their own thing on the page felt vibrant and scary and the results gives the town a jubilant feel. This style excites me and in the following images I take it a bit further.
Dublin
Pen and ink
I love drawing buildings in perspective, especially in a way that creates a believable scene where one doesn't exist. This is true of this piece as I imagine myself flying over the City. The challenge in a piece like this for me is making the bits in between work and not letting reality take over too much.
Ulster Final
Acrylic on canvas
One of the most amazing atmospheres I have ever witnessed. Fermanagh got to the Ulster final for the first time in many years.
As I stood at the bottom of Fermanagh Street and looked up I was taken aback at the spectacle.
This was remarkably difficult to compose. In my minds eye Fermanagh Street drifts up to the sky. When you see photographs of it the landscape is relatively flat. From this position the church on the Diamond is barely visible. Many sketches later I got it to work. I then nervously filled it with people including family portraits. I also took a while to work out how to make a crowd scene work in the foreground and the central character with the yellow shirt tied it together. There is also a cameo from Arlene Foster who attended the game to much appreciation from the crowd.
Original privately owned.
Dublin
Pen and ink
This was my first drawing of Dublin from this viewpoint. I work up in this area and this is how I see the city in my minds eye. There is a spirit and freeness to this piece that is more measured in the piece above. The challenge in a piece like this for me is making the bits in between work and not letting reality take over too much. I used a product design rule about drawing a thick line where two planes meet and you cannot see both and it works well in this piece.
Privately owned
Enniskillen
Oil on canvas
Forthill Park is one of my favourite places. I still remember when it was reopened in the 80s and I got to go up for the first time. It was like flying. In painting this I set up a composition from above the monument. I love perspective and this was a great challenge as I only had photos from below to base it on. The view is largely as seen, but there is a lot of imagination added in. I was trying really hard to make it look believable and that the Lough and the Island looked real. I struggled with the sky for over a year. One way I tried to get a changable autumn day with rain coming from the west and it worked!
Original privately owned.
Dublin
Pen and ink
I did this work for one of the first Twitter Art Exhibits. I took a big risk as the splash was done days after the rest of the piece. Thankfully it worked.
Privately owned.
Derry
Acrylic and ink
I This painting is proof that I can drink and paint. It was the days after a Wedding in Derry and this was the view from the hotel room. I left the others in the pub, went and bought some paints and disappeared for a while to paint this. I love when various stonework and lines combine in a crazy way and the Guildhall is great for this.
Privately owned.