European Paintings: 2002 (Archived)

Back Road by Lisdoonvarna
Image: 11 x 15 inches
Transparent Watercolor
(SOLD)

Marta and I took a walk on a small back road in the County Clare of Ireland, and I found this composition. A few days later I hiked these same two miles from our hotel to do this painting. It was raining, so I taped an umbrella over the easel to protect the work while I painted. This back road had very little traffic with only one or two cars and a few horseback riders. Over the hill not far from this site was part of the foundation of a fifteenth century church and grave yard. 

View of Blarney Castle
Image: 18½ x 25 inches
Watercolor & Gouache
(SOLD)

On a Sunday we traveled to Blarney Castle, which was about an hour and a half from the Lake Hotel where we stayed in Killarney, Ireland. (I mention Sunday because it happened to be the day of the Irish Hurling National Championships and our bus driver Brian Farrell was missing watching it!) I was pleasantly surprised to find a very paint-able subject in the castle and set right to work. This composition is off the beaten path, and I focused on the rectangular geometric motif. I wanted to capture the feeling of the age of the castle against the rich greens of the foliage. People meandered about and I selected one to sketch and later incorporate into the painting. 

View from the Ring of Kerry
Image: 22 x 30
Acrylic
(SOLD)

While in Ireland our workshop group took a bus around the Ring of Kerry. It was indeed spectacular but there were very few places to pull off. We did in some spots but there was just a short time to photograph and sketch. Thus, when I returned to my studio in Colorado, this was the first painting that I did. The sheep were grazing all over the hillsides which overlooked the sea, islands, and stone hedge rows.

View by Wells,
The Old Strawberry Line from Cheddar
Image: 19½ x 28 inches
Watercolor & Gouache
(SOLD)

I painted this view not more than two miles from Wells, England. I had been there with Jack Richeson and Colleen Richeson-Maxey to see the watercolor paper making process at the St. Cuthberts Mill. I had painted a view not far from here in May of 1985 and wanted to see how I would interpret the subject this time. I found that this was along the old “strawberry line” from Cheddar to London. There was a heavy haze in the air and a strong back light. I did some sketches of cows grazing in a field before adding them to the painting. I used gouache in this work to capture the density of the atmosphere. 

View of Laugharne, Wales
Image: 19½ x 27
Transparent Watercolor
(SOLD)

Eighteen years earlier I had chanced across this special village in Wales. It was at one time the home of Dylan Thomas, the Welsh poet. Marta, Allie, and I walked out to his boathouse where he had done his writing, as I had done two decades earlier. In Laugharne, we found a bed and breakfast with two dear people who became great friends. We ended up staying three nights. I found this view a bit above their home and did the composition. We later found a photo of a painting by JMW Turner of the same Laugharne Castle done in the 1700s. 

View near the Plage de Navez
Image: 15 x 11 inches
Watercolor & Gouache
(SOLD)

From Pont Aven, France I drove one morning a few kilometers to Navez and explored the back roads. Next to a beach I found this view looking back to a hill, a Breton house and a church to the lower left. It was a very quiet place and a good way to start the painting in France. Gauguin, Bernard, and artist friends traveled and painted in this area. The architecture in this painting is typical of Breton.

View From the Port at Pont Aven
Image: 26½ x 20 inches
Watercolor & Casein
(SOLD)

We spent three nights in Pont Aven, France. I wanted to see this place because Gauguin, Bernard, Serusier, and others started a school and the movement of what is known as the Synthethists at this place. They were known for color, flat pattern, and a cloisonne, or outline form of painting. We stayed at the Hotel Marmosa that was in a fairly quiet place close to the downtown, but right on the waterway. I did this painting over a two-day period next to the hotel. It is primarily a watercolor, but I introduced casein later in the painting. Casein gives a softness and a body to the painting as well as a few stronger notes of color that captures the essence of this subject.

Le Mouton et le Arbre de Pomme
Image: 21½ x 29 inches
Watercolor & Casein
(SOLD)

We spent three nights at a Chambre d’Hote just away from the village of Foix, France, near the Pyrenees. This is such an idyllic spot in the world. Outside our window were views of the Pyrenees, red tiled roofed villas, and beautiful field patterns. The place also has an incredible vegetable garden and flowers everywhere. I decided to focus on an apple tree and some sheep that were in a field next to the house. I started with watercolor and then ended with casein. These trees were actually loaded with ripe, great tasting apples that I sampled while working.