"Butlers Blackbird" was painted in oils after seeing a sculpture by the Butler studio at this years ArtSource expo in the RDS Dublin. I have been a fan of Eoin Butlers work for a long time and own several of his copper Robin pieces but hadn't seen the blackbird before. The piece made such an impression on me amidst the chaos of a huge exhibition space that I was inspired to paint it in the following weeks and then commission one to gift to my husband! So this painting is a homage to that day, a calm moment meeting a little bird and a case of art admiring art (rather than imitating it). I loved in particular how the black surface planes took on the tones of its surrounding area.
"Barkers Road" is a piece painted en plein air on an outing with a group I host (SouthEast Plein Air or SEPA). We meet for coffee and then scatter to paint for the day. On this day we met in the bustling town of Bunclody notable for its millrace through the centre of the town. However I wasn't in the mood for painting around people so drove out about a mile with the intention of heading towards Mount Leinster. I pulled in at a field gate to look around and was immediately struck by this composition with the ribbon of road cutting through the fields and farmhouses.
Painting outdoors from life always has its challenges with changing light and weather conditions so the work has to be made fast with a kind of shorthand. The bright daylight supported my predilection for strong colours. The structures are greatly simplified with an economy of brushwork and blocked in colour that leans almost towards abstraction.