Exhibiting at the Affordable Art Fair, London in March

The Doorway Gallery will be exhibiting a selection of my new work at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park, London next month - March 15th - 18th. They will be at Stand C1.

The fair opens on thursday 15th, but there is a special charity preview on Wednesday 14th from 5.30 to 9.30pm. If anyone would like invitations to for the fair please drop me a line and I will be delighted to organise them for you.

Here are some of the new pieces that the gallery will be on showing in London. The first piece - "Near Dookinella, Achill" , 60x60cms, is of an old house at the side of the road, with telegraph poles leading down towards the foot of the minaun cliffs.

The second piece is called "Living on the Edge, Clare" - 60x60cms - and shows a house perched close to the edge of a cliff overlooking a beach below. This was painted from some sketches I made around Kilkee, Co.Clare.


Meanwhile I'm working away on the Still Lives exhibition that I have coming up in April. I have to start thinking about who I might get to open it and get to work on the press release and video and posters and flyers....Nice to be busy!

News from the Studio

I met up with a friend of mine last week from my old life in software development. Wayne is also professional photographer, specialising in weddings and he came over to the studio to take some shots. Here are a few of photos he took of me in the studio. I'll be using some of the photos to update my website profiles over the next few weeks. Wayne's own website is http://www.wayneleonephotography.com/

The painting on the easel in the first photo is one of the new pieces from my upcoming solo exhibition in april. I have no title on it yet, but it features a cluster of houses in Achill and a line of telegraph poles disappearing over the hill. It's painted with Oil and Wax on Linen canvas.

I've had a frustrating couple of weeks where nothing seemed to be going right for me in the studio. But I seem to have turned a corner and am getting really excited about some of the new work. I'll be posting some previews on my blog in the run up to the show.

I'm putting my change in fortunes down to my choice of music in the studio. I've recently gone on a nostalgia trip - back to my teens - and have been listenting to a lot of Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and AC/DC!! I was NEVER a heavy rocker may I add but there's something very simple and uplifting about loud guitars and screeching vocals that seems to bring out the best in me :)

Padraig McCaul Painting Video Just Uploaded to Youtube #paintingvideo

I've been meaning to do this for ages and finally got around to it this week!

Here is a short video of me in the studio working through a new painting. It's a little rough around the edges as it's my first try at making a video like this - so ignore some of the continuity issues! And I was a little frugal with the voiceover (as you'll see). The music - "Cleaning out the Store" - is from The Harvest Ministers second album, which was released on Setanta Records.

But here's the thing - it was all shot on my iPhone and edited using Videopad software. And it's in HD which means it looks brilliant (whatever about the painting). Who needs professional production teams?!

Expect more of the same over the coming months!

Time To Come Out of Hibernation

It's the 1st of february and time to come out of hibernation!

Not that I've been sitting around doing nothing for the past month, but I just hate january and tend to keep my head down and wait for it to pass! In fact I've been busy, preparing for my upcoming solo exhibition which will be held in the Dalkey Heritage Centre from April 17th to 22nd.

Here is the first of the new pieces that I've just finished. No titles yet, but I am provisionally calling it "Still Lives #1". It is a single house, the first in a series of "house portraits" that I am doing as part of the show. Each "portrait" is devoid of any context or setting, leaving the buildings to stand on their own.

I have been using a Cold Wax medium on these new pieces, it gives a lovely matte sheen to the finished painting. Which I think helps to add to the mood and atmosphere of the painting.

I'll be adding new pieces to my website /blog as I finish them and I've started work on a new video to go with the exhibition - more on that later.

I've just been invited to give a painting demonstration to the High Loft painting group in monkstown in March. It's something I love doing so I'm really looking forward to that.