Bog – Oughterard

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on May 25, 2012

25 May

I took some photographs of this Bog just outside Oughterard on a recent trip to Galway. This section is well managed with tidy stacks of turf drying out on the higher ground above the cut bog.

I love the colours here – that rich brown against the bright greens and pale blues of the sky. I especially like the reflections in the water. I will enjoy using these as colour and composition starting points for some new work.

While I was there, I noticed some bog cotton in the marshy wet ground. This time it is the many headed variety ( I took some pictures of the single headed bog cotton outside Clifden recently ). I couldn’t get very close as I didn’t have my wellies with me (!) but I managed to take this picture below.

Bog Cotton

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on May 18, 2012

18 May

I noticed a few strands of bog cotton while taking pictures out on the Bog Road. It usually appears later, around June so these were just a few sparse stands. Later it can be seen in gorgeous delicate swathes between the bog heathers.

This is the single headed variety of bog cotton which likes damp ground but not ground which is completely water logged. There is a many headed form which grows in pools of water and draws up water through it’s stem. This variety uses its leaves which are long and rolled in to needles, to conserve water.

I love it’s hairy delicateness and the way it swishes in the breeze. It holds a promise of Summer which is welcome as May has been unusually cold and wet so far..

My Work Space – A Tour in Photos

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on May 16, 2012

16 May

I will be welcoming RTE’s ‘Nationwide’ team in to my home and studio this week which is a fantastic opportunity – I’ll post the screening date on my facebook page as soon as I know about it. With this in mind, I thought I might do a photo tour of my work space for those of you who read this blog..
I converted our guest room in to a work room for myself about four years ago. I had been using the kitchen table before this and clearing up after each session which was often more trouble than it was worth! Creating a space where I can come and go as time allows was the best decision I have made in recent years.
It is a small room as you can see – there was just enough room for a double bed and two bedside lockers in it’s old life. However, it is perfectly suited to my needs at the moment and I feel very lucky to have it.

This is my painting desk (above). It gets great light in the morning, as the window to the left is East facing and this happens to suit my morning work schedule when my daughters are at school. I’ve pinned up some old work, photographs, postcards and things I’ve collected overhead. I change these images around from time to time and add bits and pieces as I find them. Here’s a close up of the board below.

These are my materials – inks, paints, charcoal and my palette which is a flat plastic container with a lid. I am very unfussy about my brushes and I sometimes think the really worn ones make the most interesting marks.

I use this desk (below) which is to the right of my painting desk, for sewing. I keep the materials separate and swivel my chair around if I am using my sewing machine. I do a bit of dress making for pleasure and I also do some machine embroidery from time to time. Perhaps some day I will figure out a way of combining the painting and the sewing..

This last photograph is a storage cupboard that I have covered with more collected imagery and old work.

Wild fuchsia and Nature’s Colours

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on May 3, 2012

03 May

I took some more photographs of the wild fuchsia flower on a recent walk near my home in Clifden. This pale pink variety is not as commonly found as the bright red strain that adorns most hedgerows here. I love it’s delicate colours – barely pink and pale purple against the vivid greens of the leaves and hedgerow, the colours of early Summer.

I find it interesting how certain unexpected combinations of colour and tone work so well in Nature. I can imagine this mixture in a fabric print or perhaps some knitwear. Now I’m wondering if I can use it in a painting – it might be worth a try in this case.

Connemara Sheep

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on April 27, 2012

27 Apr

I took these pictures of Connemara sheep recently. This is a typical sight here – the sheep often feed and rest near the roadside because the tarmac surface is warm. They wander freely and graze on what they can find among the bog grasses. This one ( below) has just noticed me.

This ram is giving me the eye because there are lambs around..

How rugged and handsome these weather worn creatures seem in relation to their East coast cousins who appear plump and coiffed by comparison. Another ram decides to ignore me ( below).

Then I spot a ewe with her lamb. They move quickly when they become aware of my presence so I take as many pictures as I can. It’s breezy and I’m finding it hard to keep the camera still so some of my shots are just out of focus. I keep all the images however as they will be useful as reference pictures.

The lamb stays close to it’s mother as they retreat across the heath together. These images remind me of Henry Moore’s beautiful sheep drawings which I will share in another post.

Connemara Colour

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on April 24, 2012

24 Apr

I took some photographs on a recent walk along the ‘Bog Road’ between Clifden and Roundstone. This is a protected area so the landscape is preserved and the mountain, bog and lake views can be enjoyed unhindered by dwellings. Along the way I found some lovely old twisted Hawthorns and unexpectedly, a colourful grouping of Willow. Here’s a picture of the Hawthorn – I love the knarled branches and the way it has formed itself in the direction of the prevailing wind.

Here’s a close up of the leaves and twigs which have a lovely layer of lichen. This combination of green and grey seems like a perfect partnership in colour to me..

Here’s the Willow with its colourful and delicate Spring display of catkins (below).

The next couple of photos are close ups of these bright yellow downy flowers.

They almost have the appearance of tiny sea urchins in water as they move in the breeze.

The Coral Strand

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on April 20, 2012

20 Apr

I have mentioned the Coral Strand recently as it has been a source for some of my work. It is a most unusual beach as its name implies and I feel that it deserves a special mention here.
It is located a couple of miles south of Clifden and is accessible from the main road that connects the town to the coastal village of Ballyconneely. The strand looks like any other in this area as you approach it and as shown in this photo below.

However, when you step on to the beach expecting to feel the silky sensation of sand between your toes, the prickly Coral is immediately obvious!

This ‘Coral’ as it is known locally, is in fact a type of red calcium carbonate forming seaweed called ‘Maerl’. Mannin bay where the beach is found, is largely composed of the skeletons of Maerl that live on the sea bed and thrive in the unusually shallow, sheltered waters of the bay.

Each piece of Coral is distinctive like a very small clean bone and it mingles with tiny shells and plants in this unique and protected area.

Spring flowers in Connemara

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on April 11, 2012

11 Apr

I took some photographs in the old graveyard in Clifden last week and among them several close ups of the wild flowers on the woodland floor. I included a photograph of the bluebells in a recent post but these were just the most visible plants. On closer inspection, I found a medley of colour and just at my feet!
This first picture is of the wild fuchsia, a plant that is truly synonymous with Connemara and far superior in my opinion, than its cultivated equivalent. I searched for an open flower and found only buds, but how beautifully they hang like ruby earrings. This amazing plant is the longest flowering of all and is found in hedgerows all over Connemara from early Spring right through Summer until the early Autumn.

The next photo is of the Celandine, the Lesser Celandine to be precise. This is a personal favourite, more delicate and humble to me than the buttercup or the primrose.

And one more picture of the bluebell, just to complete this trio of primary colour.

Lastly I have a picture of a dandelion clock, still perfectly intact and below that, a delicate white flower that I was unable to identify – help me out if you can!

Good Friday Photographs

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on April 6, 2012

06 Apr

I didn’t have a blog to post this morning but then I decided to go for an early morning walk in the old graveyard in Clifden and take my camera with me. It is less accessible now and not entirely visible from the road. How delighted I was then to discover such a treasure of wild flowers and plants. The delicate blue and pink blossoms of the bluebells make a carpet of colour on the moss and ivy covered ground.

This old graveyard is no longer in use and many of the tombstones are almost lost. There is only one wall left remaining of the old church, a memory of what stood there before.

I took this shot because the new church building is visible in the background and I love the shape of this weathered old tombstone.

Here’s a close up of some of the flowers. These beautiful bell shaped blossoms grow in abundance here, especially in wooded areas and river banks.

Gorse and Hawthorn

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on April 4, 2012

04 Apr

The wild Gorse is one of the most commonly found plants here in Connemara. We are fortunate enough to have a wall of it in our own back garden. The first few blossoms usually appear in February but they arrived soon after Christmas this year, presumably due to the mild weather. These yellow flowers are always a welcome sight after a long colourless Winter. At the moment the gorse is in full bloom everywhere and it is a sight to behold.
Here is a photo I took of a gorse lined road in Ardbear, just outside Clifden.

The gorse stems are thorny and evergreen but the flowers smell like coconut, sweet and summery.
Here’s another picture, a little closer up.

And just a mention for the Hawthorn – I stopped the car on the way back in to town to photograph this lovely old tree. I love its knarly branches and moss covered trunk.