Winter 2011 Newsletter

Apologies to anyone who has received this Newsletter already! I have started to use a new platform to publish my Newsletter but not all of my subscribers have been switched over. So here, for those that have not received it yet, is my Winter 2011 Newsletter
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Hi,
It's that time of the year again, christmas lights starting to appear and a new budget looming! So another year almost over and lots to look forward to in 2012. But it's not over just yet and I'd like to take this opportunity to fill you in on some upcoming events as well as some good news stories...

Exhibitions:

National Craft Fair - RDS - 30th Nov - 4th Dec

I will be exhibiting at the National Craft Fair in the RDS for the first time this year. I've heard that it's very different to doing an Art fair but I'm excited about it. I will be exhibiting at Stand A55 in the Industries Hall (at the back of the main hall).

As well as showing my Oil Paintings, Limited Edition Prints and Art Greeting Cards, I will be offering my full collection of cards as a boxed set for the first time, ideal for a christmas present. The boxed set features 15 cards and envelopes and retails for €39.95 ($49.95 US Dollars). It can also be ordered online from my website.

And speaking of Christmas, my Art Gift Vouchers always prove popular around this time of year and are available online or through the studio (as well as at the craft fair).

Finally, I have been busy packing my Christmas Cards for the Craft Fair. Each set of 5 cards and envelopes costs €10 and can also be ordered online (postage included in the price). The card is based on the painting below "Snow on Achill" and have proved a real hit at Art Fair 2011 and the Wexford Opera Festival.


Snow on Achill, 40x40cms

Everything can be viewed on my website at: www.padraigmccaul.com
If you are planning to visit the Craft Fair you will find me in the Industries Hall (at the back of the main hall), stand number A55.

The Doorway Gallery Christmas Show - Dec 8th

The Doorway Gallery in Dublin will launch their christmas exhibition on Dec 8th with mulled wine and mince pies. I will have a number of small 10x8ins pieces on display which were especially painted for the show, as well as some of the work that was exhibited at the London Affordable Art Fair and the Edinburgh Art Fair.

Dalkey Heritage Centre - Nov 30th

I am taking part in "Ubuntu" - an exhibition in aid of breadline Africa which will be held at the Dalkey Heritage Centre. Organised by Jo Callanan, it will be opened by Sue Tulk and features the work of 6 artists. The exhibition runs from Nov 30th to Dec 1st.

News:

Achill Painting Workshops 2012

The dates for next year's painting workshops on Achill Island are now confirmed. They are...
May - 12/13
June - 9/10
July - 14/15
August - 6/7/8/9
August - 13/14/15/16
August - 20/21/22/23

The cost for the 2 days workshops are €125 and the 4 day workshops are €250. Full details are up on my website - www.padraigmccaul.com
Bookings can be made online and you have the option of paying in full or paying a €50 deposit.

Art on Achill App

My smartphone app Art on Achill seems to be proving very popular so far, with users finding the related infromation about Achill very helpful. If you haven't had a chance to look at it you can see an "full screen" version of it here - Art on Achill or you can scan the QR Code below to download it to your phone. (iPhone, Android, Windows are all supported)
I have updated it with all of my 2012 dates and will be adding some new content to it in the new year.

Failte Ireland to use "A Soft Day, Achill" for 2012 campaign

I received some great news earlier this month when Failte Ireland asked for permission to use one of my recent paintings - A Soft Day, Achill - in their upcoming campaign to promote the West of Ireland as a tourist location. As we all know, good news travels fast, but I was still pleasantly surprised to see that the story had already reached The Mayo News newspaper and was featured in last weeks edition. I've no idea how the image will feature, or if it will make the final cut at all, but it's exciting to know it was picked out by them.

(A Soft Day, Achill; 80x80cms)

US Magazine to Publish Interview and Profile in December issue

Finally, and keeping the best news till last, something that is definitely coming out on December 1st is a comprehensive interview and profile in the Ohio Irish American News magazine. And I was really honoured to find out that they will be using one of my images for the front cover of the december issue. This is something I have to say that I am very excited about, as one of my main objetives for the next few years is to raise my profile in the US and to work towards a number of exhibitions over there.

That's about it for now. Thank you for your continued support and I'd like to wish you a very happy christmas and a peaceful new year.
Padraig

Edinburgh Art Fair 2011 - Exhibiting with Wilson Fine Art Gallery

Wilson Fine Art Gallery will be showing some of my work at the Edinburgh Art Fair this weekend. This will be my second time showing with the gallery at the fair, so I'm hoping it will prove successful again this year.

Here are two of the paintings that will be on display. "Looking Toward Minaun" (right), 50x50 cms - is a painted from sketches I made near Dooagh, Achill looking back towards the Minaun Cliffs.
"Off the Doolin Road" - 50x50 cms - is based on drawings I made on the way to Lahinch from Kinvara earlier in the year.

Failte Ireland to Use "A Soft Day, Achill" in 2012 Campaign

Thank you to everyone for their support at the Art Fair in the RDS last weekend. It was a busy weekend and great to see so many people attending the show, even if sales were a little quieter all round than last year. It's certainly becoming a more challenging economic climate for any artist to survive in, but as long as we keep the standard high and people come to see the work then there's always the possibility of success!

Star of the show for me was "Castletownbere" - 100 x 70cms, which received an amazing response (and was a personal favourite of Irish Time's Fine Art correspondent Michael Parsons), and I'm happy to say it sold - as Michael predicted it would!

Another piece that continues to find admirers is "A Soft Day, Achill" which sold at the Wexford Opera Festival and went over to the UK. Failte Ireland have asked permission for the image to be used in their 2012 promotion campaign. I've no idea how it will feature or what exposure it will get (it will be among hundreds of other images they may or may not use) but it's nice to think that it just might help in attracting some foreign visitors over to the West of Ireland. And of course it will be following in the footsteps of Paul Henry whose iconic images were used all those years ago to promote the beauty of Ireland. Not that I'm suggesting in any way.....

Article Published in Ohio Irish American News magazine

A new essay by Susan Magan was published recently in the Ohio Irish American News Ohio magazine. In it she talks about how, on a visit to Dublin this year with her son she came across my paintings for the first time. Below is an extract from Susan's essay, to read the full essay please click here.

Extract from Blowin In; Harvest Home by Susan Magan

This past spring when my son and I traveled to Dublin, we sat enjoying lunch in an Italian restaurant near Trinity College. As my son devoured his plate of profiteroles, I watched the decidedly urban view outside the café window. Chic shoppers and bohemian college students hurried past my vantage point. When the view cleared, I saw a most welcome sight, an image of Keem Beach in Achill Island. The image was not a mirage in the middle of an urban oasis, but one of McCaul’s hauntingly beautiful paintings in his Sentinels series. I questioned my son, “Do you recognize that painting in the gallery across the street?” “Sure, it’s Keem,” he replied. Unaffected, he went back to his chocolate cream, while I hurried to pay the bill. I had to see more of this artist and his captivating works.

McCaul’s paintings are modern and stark. The images are not romantic portrayals of shepherds and rolling hills. These landscapes recall the imposing beauty of County Mayo and other coastal regions on Ireland’s Western shore, the changeability of the weather, her daring cliffs, the brilliant colors of her fields, and the steadfast quality of the houses. Though unpopulated with people, McCaul’s renderings underscore the sad times when sons had to leave their mothers, and girls were sent into service to help provide for large families. The homes were left empty, standing as sentinels to a lost time of family comfort. While many of the paintings exude a heartbreaking sense of loneliness, others radiate a sense of humility as powerful shadows creep across the mountains at twilight and dawn continues to rise over the western sea.

All of the paintings speak of the perseverance of the Irish people: their strength of character and their ability to find hope in the simple beauty of the sun shining over a distant hill that one day will light the way back home for their sons and daughters.
The paintings are not unlike the farmhouse with the absent farmer. Evidence of the farmer’s labor exists in the leveled fields that lie in wait for spring tilling. Evidence of the farmer’s harvest shines in the light illuminating wood-paned windows. Evidence of the farmer’s simple notion of comfort escapes through the smoke softly curling out of his red brick chimney, welcoming his family home.

Art Fair 2011 at the RDS - Starts on Friday 4th November

Thanks to everyone who stopped by at my recent exhibition in Whites Hotel in Wexford. It was great to meet so many new admirers! But even nicer to see so many people returning following my previous years' Opera Festival exhibtions.

Some stars of the show were "The Bend in the Road, Achill" which I featured in my last blog post, quickly followed by " A Soft Day, Achill" (below) , both of which sold. Another favourite was my centre piece "Westport Quays" - 100x80cms (Left) - which I will be showing at Art Fair 2011 in the RDS this coming weekend.

It was great to see my new range of Art Cards prove so popular and which ensured that even on quiet days there was always a sale to be made - no matter how small!


Thanks also to everyone at Whites Hotel for all their help and friendly service - particularly when I managed to drop and smash a full cup of coffee as I was carrying it up the stairs, which in turn fell on some guests sitting below. But the less said about that the better...

So now it's on to the RDS in Ballsbridge for Art Fair 2011. I will be exhibiting at stand Q2 - same as the last two years. If anyone would like free invites to the show which runs from friday to sunday, please email me at info@padraigmccaul.com