Drawing the Carers: Portraits of Hospital Life
PREMIUM. A commission to draw hospital staff from life in University College Hospital was rewarding but challenging – for me and my sitters, who were not used to sitting still.
The Burren in Watercolour: The Chocolate Factory (Part 1)
PREMIUM. The world-famous Burren is an ethereal place with a dreamy quality. It’s a very nice surprise to find a chocolate factory right in its heart, amid the hills of jagged limestone.
Sketching Optimists in Spring Sunshine: Sailing Week in Baltimore, West Cork
PREMIUM. There are worse ways to spend a week than sketching Optimists in early spring sunshine in Baltimore, West Cork. As usual, the young sailors greatly impressed.
Discovering a Treasure: The Fishery Watchtower, Galway
PREMIUM. The Fishery Watchtower in the heart of Galway City is an intriguing little museum full of original architectural features and lots of information about Galway’s fishing past.
Tulca Festival of Visual Art 2015: Sketching Contemporary Art
Tulca Arts Festival takes place in Galway every November. I went in as a cynic but it took just one piece to make me think again.
Cruinniú na mBád: Galway Hookers in Kinvara – Grace and Beauty in Blackberry and Oxblood
PREMIUM. Galway Hookers, traditional boats of Ireland’s West Coast, were once a vital part of Galway’s trade and economy. Their beauty and glory are celebrated every year in Kinvara.
Music for Everyone with St Agnes Orchestra Crumlin
PREMIUM. St Agnes School Violin and Orchestra Project, Crumlin, makes learning a stringed instrument available to everyone, regardless of means. They played in Kinvara on American Independence Day.
Yeats’ Tower, Thoor Ballylee, Re-Opens Amid 150th Birthday Celebrations
PREMIUM. Thoor Ballylee in Co. Galway is known as Yeats’ Tower, because it once belonged to the great Irish poet. It has re-opened to the public after six years.
Optimist Sailing in Kinsale, Co. Cork: My Kids Are Alone On The Ocean!
PREMIUM. Kinsale is a beautiful town in Cork. The Munster Optimist Championships were held in May and I was proud to see my children take to the ocean as competent sailors.
Painting in Jamaica: A Tropical Odyssey with Fiona Godfrey
PREMIUM. Fiona Godfrey has painted the tropical landscape of Jamaica for 25 years. Life as a painter on a Caribbean island isn’t always easy, however. Godfrey’s magical paintings speak for themselves.