Culture Night at the United Art Club

Young Sam Lynch will be playing piano while Brian Gallagher and PJ Lynch  are drawing portraits on Culture Night at the United Arts Club in Dublin!

Sam has just learned "Naval" by Yann Tiersen for the occasion.

I hope lots of you can come along for Sam's first gig.

Life Drawings at the United Arts Club

I am delighted to have a few life drawings in Brian's latest group show at the United Arts Club opening later tonight the 7th May.
I used charcoal in the top pic and wax crayon and chalk on the lower...both were drawn on Ingres paper.

Culture Night at the United Arts Club

A team of quick-on-the-draw United Arts Club regulars will be in action this Culture Night for a "Portrait Drawing - Face Off".
Grab a glass of wine and watch the group drawing some of the UAC’s best known characters live!

I will be one of the artists along with my pals Brian Gallagher, David Hayes, Comghall Casey, Michael Mc Williams and John O Flynn.
I'll be there from about 6.30pm.

Friday September 19th
The United Arts Club
3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street
Dublin 2

The Incredible Belly Boy

Thanks to Brian Gallagher for organising another great IGI exhibition, "Mythical Beasts", at the United Arts Club. 
It was great to see everyone there, as well as the very impressive artwork.

This is "The Incredible Belly Boy", my second piece in the show.

UAC 2013 Life Room Exhibition: Framed and Hung

I had fun with Brian, Eoin and Paul mounting our group exhibition at the United Arts Club.

The show opens on Thursday the 5th September at 8pm.

Come along if you are in Dublin.

Giuseppe Asleep on the Daybed

Here is one of my paintings that will be shown in the group exhibition opening at the United Arts Club this Thursday evening. The model was my buddy Giuseppe.
The work on show has mostly been created at Brian Gallagher's Thursday night life drawing session at the UAC.

Two Female Life Studies

I've been digging through some life drawings looking for something suitable for Brian Gallagher's upcoming United Arts Club group exhibition.
Here are a couple that I had on my shortlist.

Life Drawing at the United Arts Club

It was nice to be back at Brian's Life Drawing session at the United Arts Club last night.

We had a wonderful new and statuesque model named Laura.

Here are a couple of my charcoal sketches

United Arts Club Exhibition Launch

A great evening was had by all who attended Brian Gallagher's latest Illustrators Ireland show at the United Arts Club.
There was a great turn out to hear Bren B of Offset launching the show and there were plenty of sales on the night.
Thanks to Mario for recording the merriment.

La Cours Des Miracles at the UAC

Tonight sees the opening of a show by the Illustrators Ireland group at the United Arts Club in Dublin.
It starts at 8pm, so pop in if you are in the area.
I helped Brian Gallagher and Eoin Coveney (above) with the hanging.
My piece in the show is this preparatory drawing for an illustration to A Christmas Carol.
A French friend said this one should be called La Cours Des Miracles.

Life Room Art at the UAC

 

I had a bit of fun with Eoin Coveney, Paul Stuart, and a few others, helping Brian Gallagher to hang his latest Life Drawing Group Exhibition at the United Arts Club this afternoon.

My paintings of Grace and Leo are in the show which will be opened by my old friend Louis Marcus this Thursday at 8pm.

Come along if you are in the area.  

Auction in aid of the United Arts Club

The United Arts Club in Dublin is a lovely relaxed spot to hang out and gossip about whichever Art you are into.
They are having an auction on Wed 10th October in the Club in aid of the UAC RESTORATION FUND.
I have contributed this little life study in oils. It measures 8x10 inches. 
Viewing is from 5pm and the Auction starts at 7 p.m. 
Admission: €5 includes wine and raffle.
It will be well worth a look as some wonderful paintings and interesting items have been donated.

A Quick Study of Sarah

It was a nice change to do some quick fire drawing at Brian Gallagher's life session at the United Arts Club last week.
Our model was Sarah, and this is one of my fifteen minute studies from that session.

Chalk and Crayon Drawing of Tara

I'm looking forward to getting back to life painting this week after a few weeks off.
I think I might try some more chalk and wax crayon drawings like this one of Tara that I did at the United Arts Club.

A Watercolour Life Study

Here's a watercolour I did from life at the UAC life room.
It was a twenty five minute pose and I would have loved more time on it, but, looking at it now, I like that sketchy spontaneity that having to work fast gives you.

IGI Exhibition at The United Arts Club.

Thursday the 26th sees the opening of a show of original illustrations by myself and other members of the IGI.
There will be work there by Niamh Sharkey, Chris Judge, Adrienne Geoghegan, and many others.
We each submitted two pieces.
It's at the United Arts Club in Dublin at 8pm.
Come along if you are in the area.

Sgraffito

Here's a shot of me spouting off at Brian Gallagher's launch last week at the UAC.
That's Brian looking slightly concerned about what I might say about him.
Beside Brian is the Arts Club's Angel Loughrey.
You can see more shots from the opening by Mario Sughi here.

One of Brian's wonderful Sgraffito pictures was this drawing of Keshet.


I like to show the same model as interpreted by different artists when I can, so below is a shot of the painting I did of Keshet on the same day. Just behind my easel you can see yet another version by Eugene Conway.

Culture Night in Dublin

For Culture Night in Dublin this Friday, I will again be drawing portraits at the United Arts Club.
I'll be there from 7.30pm and the drawings are only 10 euro each.
Here’s one I did last year of the artist, Patrick Brocklebank.

Emma on Lapis Ground

The well known portrait painter James Hanley RHA will be opening a new exhibition of work from
the United Arts Club's Thursday Life Drawing Group
tomorrow Thursday 20th January @ 8pm

The venue is The United Arts Club
3 Upper Fitzwilliam St
Dublin 2

I was asked to contribute three pictures to the show, and have included a life study that I worked up a bit in the studio afterwards.

As you can see I have drastically altered the picture without changing the drawing very much.
I was trying for the kind of intense almost enamelled effect in the background that you sometimes get in Holbien or Cranach. I even used some real Lapis Lazuli, but I found that good old French Ultramarine gave a much more vibrant colour.

Many thanks to Brian Gallagher who has organised the event.
The Exhibition continues
until 7th Fedruary 2011
Viewing Mon to Sat
from 5.30pm

Sophie's Back, Again

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a great Christmas.
We had a lovely time, but I hope that all our Christmases won't be white in future. I really love the snow, but Ireland just isn't geared up to deal with such a lot of it.

This picture of Sophie may look familiar to some of you.
It's based on a painting I did at the life room last year, which I was never entirely happy with (see below).
For one thing Sophie's gorgeous natural colouring has always been a bit of a problem for me (I think I need to buy a few new paints just to tackle her hair). A second problem with the original picture is that the working drawing shows through in a very inelegant sort of way. I seemed to be using a lot of green back then, which just looks sickly to me now.
Nonetheless I liked the pose, and the light and the composition so I thought it might be worth doing a second version based on the first.


Creating more polished image based on sketches from the model was very much the modus operandi of many of my favourite painters of the past. However I am always worried that what you gain in polish, you loose in spontaneity.
I'd be very interested to hear what you think.