He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Pointe Shoes 

For my baby dancer!

She loves to dance and I love to watch her.

Wedded Bliss

Two newlyweds share a kiss and a toast to wedded bliss. Bride and Groom pose for the photographer on the matrimonial bed following their marriage.

'Wedded Bliss' is a recent commission I've finished (March '14) for a special couple who've been married for 17 years and wanted to mark their wedding anniversary by reproducing a cherished wedding photograph.  It was a work in progress for quite some time as I got sidetracked several times while painting it but I got there eventually and it finally went to its new home along with a special wish for continued wedded bliss!

"May this painting bring to ye,

wedded bliss and harmony"

Turmoil

Turmoil portrays the inner turmoil we often face as we go through crisis and turbulence in our lives.  Sometimes we feel solitary in our struggles and feel imprisoned in our sadness.  The tree that stands between the girl and the turbulent sea represents the stable elements in our lives, like our friends and families who are the reason for the calm and contentment that helps us to get through every storm and come out stronger the other side.

I tried my hand at painting with oils for this one I've recently finished (Sept '13). I'm still waiting for it to dry so that I can varnish it...something I've found quite frustrating about working with oils; the long, long drying time. See my post 'Turmoil' to read more about my inspiration for this painting.

Little Ballerina

Little Ballerina makes her first debut on stage and revels in the adoration!

One of my frustrations with working with oils is the long drying times so sometimes I'll work on some frivolous pieces of acrylic art while I'm waiting for my oils to dry.  Little Ballerina is one of those pieces (Nov '13).

3...2...1...Take Off!

A little boy's first pair of shoes.  '3-2-1, Takeoff' references the little embroidered space rockets on the fronts of them, and the implication of the little boy's first 'take off' in his new shoes.

I suppose you could call this my first attempt at still life (June 2013). It's a painting of my firstborn's first pair of shoes. I can still remember the day I bought them for him in 1998. I was going to throw them out after I painted them, but I couldn't bring myself to part with them.  Now they're immortalised forever.

Blue Rose

Blue abstract Rose with gold, brown and green autumnal background and with hints of leaves floating around. 

This is my Blue Rose; a donation for the Ennis Art Bomb Project, July 2013. I chose this subject because of the fact that a natural blue rose is not known to exist in reality and so, it's believed by some that the holder of a blue rose will have all their wishes come true. I'm hoping that whomever becomes the owner of my painting will indeed have all their wishes come true. Please let me know if you happen to become the holder of this particular Blue Rose; did your dreams come true?

 

Golden Tide

I wanted to try painting a scene for a change so I chose to paint this night time seascape and called it 'Golden Tide'.  It was also an excuse to use my new gold paint; a treat to myself.

Lotsa Love Behind The Red Door

I painted 'Lotsa Love Behind The Red Door' specially for Valentine's day...soppy old tart!  It's inspired by a picture I saw in a magazine some time ago and always had in the back of my mind to paint, Valentine's day seemed appropriate.

 

Baby Blue

This is my newest painting, Baby Blue (Jan '13).
An Acrylic Black & White colour splash portrait; something different that I wanted to try for a change.
It's a painting of my son as a baby sleeping peacefully in Daddy's arms in the corner of the sofa.  He's 15 years old now and taller than his Dad!  He was my first born and the light of my life, followed three years later by my other shining star; my beautiful daughter (the subject of  my painting 'He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not'). 
My Family are my world.

King John's Castle, Limerick, Ireland - Circa 1841

This is a painting I've just finished for my mother-in-law (Nov '12). It's an acrylic reproduction of W.H.Bartlett's drawing, originally titled 'The Castle Of Limerick and is of King John's Castle, Limerick, Ireland, circa 1841. You can read more about Bartlett and King John's Castle on my blog post archived Sept 2. (see dropdown menu top right above for archived blog posts).  I must say I really enjoyed painting this and the result gave me great pleasure. I finished it off with a beautiful gold Marquis style art frame and had a brass plate inscribed specially for it.  I also managed to track down and buy her an original page from the publication 'The Scenery & Antiquities of Ireland' featuring the drawing by W.H.Bartlett...it's over 125 years old!  I think the final product gave my mother-in-law pleasure too and I hope others in my family down the generations will enjoy it also. My daughter took a real fancy to it so my mother-in-law has promised to will it to her when she pops her clogs!...not too soon I hope. It received a great reaction from a lot of people and I've been asked by several for print copies of it. Just goes to show how much people care about the history of the city where they grew up. 

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

 

A beautiful adolescent girl lies in a field of daisies, her pale young skin sun-kissed by the summer sun.  She contemplates about love and boys and growing up, while plucking the petals from a daisy.  "He loves me, he loves me not" she chants softly to herself hoping that her secret love will return her affections.  A wild Rose stands nearby like a mother still watching over her daughter as she develops from child to young adult.  This painting portrays the love of a mother for her daughter as she tries to stand back and allow her child to grow into a young adult but she continues to lovingly watch over her.

So, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not is my latest painting (June'12). It's inspired by a photo of my daughter and I put her in a field of daisies, with me watching over her (I'm the Wild Rose!).  It'll remind her when I kick the bucket, that I'm still keeping an eye on her ha!ha!

Close up

These were one of the first paintings I did when I decided to unleash the artist within me. After having dabbled with art from time to time but being interrupted by numerous life events, not all of them pleasant, I finally had the time to sit down and paint. They reflect the loneliness and the pain I felt when I lost my beautiful mother prematurely in her 60's, after a long battle with cancer.  She lived with me and my family for seventeen years and not only was she my mother, she was my sister, my best friend and when she got sick, my child.  The loneliness and pain has never left me but I have my work, reading, writing, painting and more importantly my family and friends to distract me.

Missing You

Still Missing You

So the significance of the dragonfly?......when mam was sick, we'd sometimes sit outside in the back garden during the summer if she was feeling up to it.  This one day, my son came out for one of his many daily bounces on the trampoline, only to climb straight out again without doing his thing.  What put him off was the sight of a 'creepy crawlie' invading his arena.  I investigated and found the most beautiful dragonfly sitting motionless on the trampoline.  I called my mother to take a look and she picked it up and placed it in the palm of her hand.  It happily let us inspect it, probably wallowing in the warmth of her hand.  We were in awe of it and I quickly ran for my camera.  I had just finished taking the photos when we heard what sounded like the noise of a propellor.  It proceeded to take off straight upwards just like a helicopter, before flying away.  It was a moment that stays in my memory and reminds me of my mam, as does the Rose.  It was my mother's favourite flower and I would buy her a bunch for her vase every time the old ones withered, all through her illness and which I still do to this day, in her memory. She loved to look at them during her remaining days.

The second painting is me, shedding a tear for her loss.  The Rosebud is my daughter and when my son wanted to know where he was in the picture?...my smartass hubby said he was the thorn in my side!!  Take no notice of him baby boy, you know we love you.

 

A little girl in flouncy red shorts and t-shirt runs to her mother to show off the shells she has just collected on the beach.  The remainder of her stash sits atop two rocks behind her.  Down the beach, her daddy looks out to sea while her brother unearths more shells with his foot. 

This is a painting based on memories of my family on holiday in Benalmadena, Costa Del Sol in 2004.  My hubby was delighted I gave him muscles!
Featured painting in Daler Rowney email campaign, summer 2014. 

Look Mammy!

Irish Officer

A portrait of my brother looking dapper!

Soo Tired!

   

This is a painting of Grandad & Jake. Grandad is my husband's father and Jake is his pride & joy. Grandad treats Jake like a baby and this painting is based on a photo I took of them while on one of our weekly visits to Nan & Grandad's house. Poor ol' Jake only has three legs; Jake the Peg, however you can only see two in the photo/painting.  One is neatly tucked away. He lost his leg in a traffic accident a number of years ago and has been spoilt rotten since.  Jake is known around the area where we live and Grandad is also recognisable as the man who walks the three-legged dog!  Jake is about 12 or 13 years old, which I believe is over 80yrs in human years.  I thought it was the funniest thing, seeing Jake in Grandad's arms like a baby and couldn't resist taking the photo on my phone camera. The added bonus was when he started yawning just as I clicked the shutter. I couldn't resist painting it and gave it to Grandad as a Christmas pressie; beats the ol' bottle of whiskey and pair of socks he usually gets don't you think?