Paper Sculptures in " Bloom" garden show in the Park, June 2011.

The annual "Bloom" show in the Phoenix Park, our Irish version of the Chelsea Flower Show, was on in June. A myriad of small, medium, and large sized purpose built designer gardens ( most usually themed) are on show to the public, over a 5 day period. This show gets better each year, - as there are tons more garden/ horticulture/craft/food/furniture and the likes on display each year.

This year, I made weatherproof paper sculptures of butterflies for Sheena Vernon's Lyric FM garden. I attached them to fishing line and hung them on wire stands, among her plantings. The wind blew and the butterflies danced away , - looking really well. Her garden won a well-deserved silver-gilt medal. Putting together a show garden for Bloom is not for the faint hearted.

Spot the butterfly..Lyric FM garden in Bloom

...another try...

This one is too easy, even if it is a poor photo.

I found a soft landing for my "Feather Bed" in Fiann O Nuaillains Craft Garden, marking 2011, as being Year of Craft.

" Feather Bed"

Funny thing was that when I went to this garden, the following day ( following a night of howling winds and heavy rains) , my "Feather Bed" wasn't there...I'm guessing it melted !

Doggie artworks

I love dogs, and this year I have been working on some doggie images. Here are a few..this one is of Sammy, my friend Jennie's Westie.... It is done with chalk pastel on Ingres paper, - I like the dry, chalky , matt, feeling of working in this medium. It can be dusty and messy to work with , but all this is forgiven, as these pastels are so easy to transport. "Boxer puppy", acrylic on canvas 30cms x 20cms Sometimes, a painting paints itself without much effort from the artist , and this is what happened here , - I was surprised to see this wee dog looking back at me. Some times this happens me when i work with animals. This is a mixed media work on canvas of Pucci, a much adored 2 year old lab. Not a great photo. This work is on a large canvas ( A1) size , and is worked up using acrylic, pastel and inks. Above is "Valentine", a mixed media on canvas. He is a rescue dog , an American bulldog crossbreed who was lucky t

"Sense of Place" Art Exhibition in Tallaght University Hospital Dublin. June - September 2019.

Some weeks ago, I was honoured to be asked to prepare a hashtag body of artworks for hashtag exhibition by the family of the late Maeve Doyle. Maeve left a vast hashtag collection of hashtag paintings, hashtag drawings and hashtag poems, expressing a wish that her hashtag artworks be exhibited further afield. " Meeting of the Waters in Avoca". Watercolour. 30cms x 20cms Born in 1958 to a German refugee mother and an Irish father, Maeve was the youngest of their four children. Most of her life was spent living along the coastline of south Dublin, from which she derived much of her inspiration. She studied Fine Art Painting in IADT, known then in the 70’s as Eblana Avenue. She was a gentle and sensitive young woman, who was a true working artist expressing herself in a free and fluid manner through her several media. I was delighted to find the perfect hashtag art venue for her work in hashtag # tallaghtuniversityhospital , which is the National Cent

Community Arts - Irish Rugby Legends Portraits Exhibition, September 2011.

The enthusiasm for this exhibition came from Terry Connaughton, the director of Ranelagh Arts.. One of my all time memories of Terry will be of him - sitting huddled up, beside an electric fire, doing a days work, in layers of coats and scarves, in the depths of our coldest winter in my living memory ( remember night time temperatures of -17c , and daytime ones of -5c ) last winter, in Ranelagh Arts Centre. Terry arrived to the centre, everyday, - day after day, week after week , on the coldest , bleakest, most unfriendly days..and was often was the only one in there, working away..working towards his vision of RA being a vibrant, community hub of all the artforms. The Ranelagh Arts building was nothing like it is these days, there was a lot to do...still is ..and will be..and the future of it is uncertain. His all time hero ( since childhood) has been Jack Kyle, who has often been described as Ireland's best ever rugby player. He asked artist , Declan Gould

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