A Bit of a Barney

It was a quiet day at the lake, not much happening. Some seagulls were cleaning up the last of the bread that children had brought on their way to school.  The Heron had arrived but hadn't taken up his usual statuesque stance staring into the water, waiting for an unsuspecting fish.  Instead, he stood gazing across the lake.  It was definitely an uneasy calm; you just knew, somehow, that something was going down.

Suddenly, over at the left bank, all hell broke loose.  There was lots of honking and white feathers flying.  The perpetrator made a run for it with his adversary in hot pursuit.  All the ducks and small waders scarpered; well you don't want to get in the way when the big guys are having a barney!

Well that's how I remember it!  As luck would have it, I had my camera with me and managed to capture the scene.  I couldn't wait to get home to paint it.  Here it is:

This painting was bought recently by a lovely lady called Sheila.  I'm delighted to know that it has gone to a good home!

My Labours of Love


Since I took to drawing animals, I have had the opportunity to look at some really beautiful creatures and hopefully I'll get around to working on some drawings and paintings of them all. In the past year or so, however, I have had the pleasure of working on two real labours of love.

My daughter, Caoimhe, has the cutest Chihuahua called Brogai. Now I should explain that 'brogai' is the Irish word for shoes. So why did she name her dog 'shoes'? Because when he arrived he was small enough to sleep in her shoes, which he did for the first few weeks. He soon grew out of them. Actually, Brogai is a standard Chihuahua, not the handbag kind and is a lot bigger than maybe you'd expect a Chihuahua to be and he has a big personality with a lot of attitude.

Here is my drawing of Brogai in his combat jacket. I used coloured pencils on watercolour paper. This work is now hanging in Caoimhe's living room.

My other great labour of love was a drawing of my brother, Colum's dog, Stevie.  Stevie is a Flatcoated Retriever and typical of the breed, he is a wonderfully intelligent working dog. He is strong and brave when working but when he is off-duty, he is an absolute messer - great fun!

This drawing is graphite on smooth Bristol Board. It was a birthday gift to Colum and I think he likes it because he hung it on his sitting room wall.

I have added both of these drawings to my Animals page. Feel free to browse through the works and please let me know what you think.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!

I am a Dublin-based artist and I've been drawing and painting on and off for most of my life.  In recent years, I've been working mainly with dry media such as soft pastels, charcoal and graphite.

While mainly self-taught, I have also taken several workshops with well-known artists and I have been awarded a Diploma in Pet and Animal Portraiture from the London Art College. I also hold a diploma in Interior Design.

I have a great love of the outdoors and I like to paint en plein air whenever the weather permits, capturing the beauty of local wildlife and floral subjects.

Recently, I have begun to concentrate on my passion for animals, producing portraits of wildlife and domestic animals.

I accept commissions and I am happy to discuss your requirements.

I hope you enjoy the paintings and drawings here.

Gerri.