Blue Pool

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on February 17, 2015

17 Feb

I got back to this piece recently, having started it before Christmas. Here is the painting as I found it below – the main shapes have been loosely defined with blocks of colour, mostly blues and yellows.

I looked up the photograph I had been using for reference – it was taken out along a road near Killary, about this time last year. I love the complimentary colours – the blue of the water and mountains against the orange landscape and I used this in the painting. The pool is the focus and this lovely dark blue that reflects the sky. I decided to leave out the poles.

Next I applied some coloured inks with another layer of acrylic paint to add more depth.

I added more colour around the pool shape in the foreground at this next stage below. It has become a little muddy and there is too much blue in the painting. I leave this layer to dry before continuing.

Here’s the finished piece after a little more work. I’ve defined the grasses with clearer brushstrokes to make them seem more fiery and I’ve changed the colours of the road.

This piece is available to purchase on our gallery website at lavelleartgallery.ie

Lecknavarna

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on February 5, 2014

05 Feb

This is the second painting in a recent series based on the Lecknavarna townland near Killary. Here’s how the painting began – it’s a 12″ x 16″ canvas board.

Blue and red dominate and these are the colours that stood out when I was there. The fiery red is unusual for this time of the year and the effect was accentuated by the low fall of light. The mountains ( the Ben Coonas ) complement with rich tones of blue. I’ve accentuated the depth of hue in this initial sketch and I make a mental note to do some more studies like this soon as there is an immediacy and an energy to the piece at this stage that would work on a smaller scale.

Here’s the next stage. I’ve used some dark ink on the mountains and I’ve added more detail to the road and middle ground.

I work with paint and ink together at this next stage and add some green to the foreground to give it more definintion.

The mountains have become a little too dark and flat so I attempt to lighten them next.

This continues below and at last I feel that the mountains are coming alive. I referred back to the initial sketch to help me achieve this. The paint is still wet when I take this photo.

This is the same stage but the paint has dried and dulled a little. Once again, this will deepen once the piece is varnished.

Return to Painting 2014

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on January 27, 2014

27 Jan

I got back to painting this month once the kids returned to school. Armed with some photos taken near Killary, I chose two largish canvas boards ( 12″ x 16″ ) and one stretched canvas ( 12″ x 14″ ) to get started. I have been working on all three paintings over the last few weeks, bringing each of them along in stages. I took photos at the end of each painting session which proved useful as I was able to use the earlier images in some cases to develop the work at a later stage. I have written about each piece separately due to the number of photos – here’s how the first piece began below. I love this initial phase of getting the fresh paint onto the board, there’s a great freedom and an opportunity to be bold with broad sweeps of colour.

This is the next stage – I’ve used a good deal more paint, working from the top down. I’m happy with the blue mountains and don’t develop these much further.

The middle ground is next, probably the brightest part of this piece. I’m using ink and allowing it to bleed into the paint in places.

Next I start to work on the foreground – it still lacks definition. I want to get across the effect of looking into or through the earth by abstracting this part of the painting so I experiment with some different shapes.

I try a few bold upward sweeps using a large brush and some gold and white – I also use inks ( blues and reds ) through the paint. I decide to leave it at this stage.

The paint is dry in this final photo. The colours have dulled a little but these will be lifted again once the piece has been varnished.

Killary

by Deborah Watkins. Posted on January 21, 2014

21 Jan

I took some photos along the roadside near Killary with a view to using them for some new paintings. I took these because certain elements attracted me – colours, the shape of the mountains in silhouette and the shape of the cut bog. I like this one below because of the warmth of the orange grasses against the blue sky – feels more like Australia than Connemara.

The light is still very low and it illuminates each blade of grass much like theatre lights. There is great drama too in the starkness of the mountains – they loom in the distance, great shadowy figures waiting in the wings.

This is a protected area so there are few signs of human interference save the ubiquitous telegraph poles and the road itself. You feel like you are standing in a bowl or an amphitheatre with mountains on almost all sides. I love the blue pool in this one below – it reflects the colour of the sky.

I have started a series of new landscapes based on these images which I will post about soon.