The link beside each piece brings you to my Etsy shop where you can buy a print that is posted out.
If you would like to purchase a framed (€75) or mounted piece (€50) mail me on barrymcadamart@gmail.com
Enniskillen Castle
Watercolour
It was tricky moving from townscapes to a one feature building format. I had to get the castle to work or the rest would make sense.
Unlike the other watercolours on this page, the castle started with the building, then the sky and then the water. I like the airy feel to the piece and the way the water flows off the page.
Fermanagh, from Crom to Sea
Watercolour
For years I wanted to do a painting of the county that captured the length and breadth of it as I see it in my head. I imagine it like a big patchwork quilt draped from Topped to Cuilcaigh with the majestic Erne flowing throughout from a meander to the broad lough. It took weeks of sketching to make it work. Exaggerating where necessary to make send of the layout. I'm delighted with the outcome and if you look closely you might even see your house :)
Fermanagh.
Chairs Commission for the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Civic Collection.
Watercolour
I had the honour to work on a commission for the Chair of Fermanagh & Omagh District Council, Councillor Siobhán Currie. Each year an artist is selected to complete a piece and this year it was me, hooray!
I painted a view of Fermanagh from under waters of the Erne at Crom that goes on a jouney all the way to the sea. It is a celebration of the natural diversity and the places we all know along the majestic Erne.
I was asked by Siobhán to recognise the fact that we live in the time of a pandemic and I thought long and hard about how to represent that. I included 16 different animals and birds, each one a recognition of a life lost to covid in the council area. I hope in a small way their spirit lives on in this piece.
There is also a recognition of Frank Ormsby the Ireland Professor of Poetry, so I will leave it up to you avid poetry fans to find it.
This is a piece bigger than I've ever painted and knowing that it is part of the council collection and will be displayed in future is another wee dream come true.
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.
Enniskillen, from Riverside.
Watercolour
I cannot find it anymore, but the first time I remember drawing a building from real life was St. Macartins Cathedral from my granddad's window in Riverside. He was sitting eating an orange beside me.
I love where old images of Enniskillen exaggerate the hills and distances and I had some fun trying the same here.
Enniskillen, from Forthill.
Watercolour
I loved the way the sky turned out in this one and the more refined water pattern. For many the Townhall dominates the skyline and this really interested me when drawing up this piece.
I have included the War Memorial in this one as for me it frames the town when I approach from Belmore Street before I cross the bridges. Again I had some fun with the hills rolling down to the Erne.
Enniskillen and beyond.
Watercolour
Two Loughs, two islands and one sky. Even thinking about this made my head hurt. Took a risk and personally feel it payed off.
When I was young taking the Kestrel to Devenish Island almost felt like going to the other end of the world. Kingfishers and Grebes leading the way. Being out on the Lough still feels like another world. I think I am going to paint a lot more island hopping.
Deer Safari at Crom
Watercolour and pen
After a long hiatus from watercolour as I concentrated on portraits in pen and ink and acrylic this painting brought me back.
This is a portrait of my family at my favourite escape. The masking of the outside was a mistake but it gave a great opportunity to use ink and white space. This effect inspired the watercolour techniques above.
Crom Boathouse
Watercolour
I love paintings in circles. When painting the Boathouse at Crom I was trying to find a way to paint it without the looming presence of the Castle in the background. Alas a circle stopped me from 'just adding it in'. That is for another day.
Water, trees and sky in autumn swirl around in my head, I can feel the wind and hear the leaves. How to bring this to life was my challenge. Breaking the circle and creating a lovely swirl really brought the painting to another place when I was working on it.
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
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
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 Bridges
Watercolour
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
