On board the Oscar Wilde with my colleague and buddy Sharon…
Sharon and I are taking part in a project called Bluefish. It’s a joint Irish-Welsh project looking at blue growth and the possible effects of climate change on the marine sector along the coast of the Irish and Celtic Sea.
I was tasked with producing 16 sketches of marine businesses along the coast. The idea was that by combining art and science, a much greater impact would be made upon a person than a dry old paper.
Sharon and I were well prepared…
Here’s my first sketch. We’re on board the Oscar Wilde. I climbed three or four flights of steps until I came to a subject I thought looked nice.
It was very loud, so I put in ear plugs. Very windy too, and my nice new pink hat kept threatening to blow away into the drink.
I warmed up a bit indoors and allowed Sharon take a pic of me looking like – well, you decide.
Off out for another sketch. A customer soaked up the rays on a bench as I drew.
What a trip. A far cry from the old days of travelling to the UK, when I’d stand in a queue for the ferry at 1am, exhausted, nasty cigarette smoke everywhere, in my hair, my clothes, my nostrils, freezing cold… Those were the days before Ryanair came along and changed everything for everyone. How those dinosaur (extinct) airline barons must have hated Michael O’Leary, and the plane he flew in on…
It was perfect, and the perfect start to our trip.
More to come!
