Early this morning I packed sandwich camera tripod sketchbooks and watercolours and drove into the Knockmealdown Mountains.Spent some time at the Vee and took some more reference photos From that vantage point you can see across the valley and the other mountain ranges including Slievenamon the Galtee mountains and the Comeragh's. I am working on a series of landscape images at the moment some quite large. I am moving quite freely between smaller watercolours on paper an larger Oil and Acrylic works on panels and canvas. This return to large landscape after two years working on small images specifically for Limited Editions is very refreshing. The process of creating small block work can become mechanical if one stays at it too long even though some good work emerged.
I have always found that when dealing with landscape that I work in layers especially using acrylic and oils. I start with soft underpainting using earth tints and using stronger colours as the painting progresses, finally using oil glazes to complete the work
The satisfaction for me is how each element connects and how I feel in rhythm with the process . As I look for balance in the work it ceases to be a particular place and even though it is a representational image certain abstract elements appear.
I have long since ceased trying to force anything as I am now sure that the most important part of the creative process for me is to allow the image to emerge and to acknowledge that all is connected.
For me Painting has become an investigation into the nature of reality.
