A second darker and more ominous cluster of images from the trailing dirt road in a nestled and secluded spot in Ireland. More ominous indeed, as a recent shower saturated the flora and darkened the landscape in a midnight blue, the sun rays only slightly visible when peaking through certain patches and glittering selected treetops and overgrowth.
A recent trip back home saw me exploring new landscapes, one being a road covered in quick sand like mud, my usual companion prince – our golden lab now pretty much fully blind and with arthritis creeping in decided to abandon me and wobble back home, I can’t blame him, as this particular area of shrub where these photos were taken is pretty hazardous. Even with my lanky legs up to the knee in my wellies the shite was still pretty close to spilling in over the top. I’m glad I continued as the greenery of this solemn place creating untouched tunnels of overgrowth.
Some photographs from a different serene trek in my home stomping ground, this time Dereen Hill, Knockatee – another wide open space filled with memories and fairy trees. New additions to this land by the locals include a wishing chair snuggled amongst the plant-life and the brightly painted fairy doors nestled into the many nooks of tree roots.
The final collection of photography from a visit to Roosters Rest this past March. It is always a joy exploring places like this throughout the seasons to notice how the palette continues to change.
A third collection of lush landscapes captured in the depths of the flora and fauna of the Irish countryside.
A second set of photography taken in Roosters Rest woods when the golden hour sun beamed the sitka spruces and lined the horizon in mellow yellows.
Now that the evenings are creeping in I reminisce about times spent in Ireland during the Winter. I know that pictures of sunsets is one of the things that are overabundant on the internet but something magical happened on this particular evening on one of my usual routes trudging through the boglands of rural Ireland. I am no meteorologist but the gloomy clouds crept in out of nowhere during this trip while away in the distance the golden hour gleam lit up where I was standing in a brilliant red, Yes the photos have been edited to bring out the red but done so in a way to highlight how it felt in the moment, while further away the ghostly spherical arc of a rainbow could be seen. I felt like I was in the epicentre of a storm – it was one of those moments where I basked in what was going on around me and before I could take any more photos from different angles it was gone in an instant.
I have been really enjoying painting with Gouache, it is a creative practice that energises me, puts me in the zone and fuels me. I think it’s because with every pigmented brush stroke I switch off for a while and end up feeling more grounded and productive to keep on trucking with other projects in the works. I think I needed a little bit of something different, a bit of oomph, a bit of something to physically get my hands and desk dirty and this has been the key, that along with the transcending coos of Goldfrapp is a proper match. The last painting in this bunch being a quick painting study of Castle Hackett Hill where I spent a day back in Ireland high on the mountain overlooking the haunted Castle Hackett mansion veering below, more on that soon.
Gentle Giant 