2 New Paintings - Lahinch and Achill

Here are two more pieces I have just finished and which have just been released into the wild . (That is to say they are now available through the studio)

This first one is called "The Blue Road" and is based on a number of sketches I made in Achill for my Sentinels exhibition earlier in the year. I really like the atmosphere in this painting and those telegraph poles get a look in again. The canvas size is 60 x 60 cms.

The second painting is based on an old black and white photograph I came across of Lahinch Seafront, and is called....."Lahinch Seafront".

I really like this one, I think it captures the strength of the sea swirling at the base of the storm wall. It's an experience to stand on the seafront in the middle of a storm as the waves crash against the barrier walls, just feet away from the houses and businesses that look down on it. The canvas size is 50 x 50 cms.

2 New Paintings - West Cork and Achill

With all the "projects" I've been giving myself lately it's great just to switch off the laptop and get back into the studio and paint!

Here are two paintings I finished recently that I'm really happy with. This first one - "Looking Over at Hungry Hill"- is of Hungry Hill mountain on the Beara peninsula in west Cork. It is painted from a photograph taken from the Sheep's Head peninsula and I just love the old farmhouse tucked into the landscape in the foreground.

This second painting is one that I started at my painting workshop in Achill in early june - I call it "A Quiet Day, Achill". I finished in my studio in Delgany and I just love the calm, summer feel to it. I have put in the telegraph lines again, disappearing over the hill. There is something really evocative about those old telegraph poles - they are certainly a long way from mobile wi-fi and smartphone apps!

Paintings From Ireland.com

My second major project of the summer has just been launched, hot on the heels of my smartphone app Art on Achill (which, I'm delighted to say has been really well received).

PaintingsFromIreland.com is a new website I have set up specifically to market and sell my range of Limited Edition Giclee Prints and Art Greeting Cards online.

To coincide with the launch of PaintingsFromIreland.com I have introduced a brand new series of 10" x 10" prints to my existing range of Giclee Prints and over the coming months I aim to add some more images to the collection. These are a perfect size for birthday presents, anniversary gifts, in fact any occasion! Please excuse the blatant sales pitch but I'm in that sort of frame of mind at the moment :)

Art on Achill - New Smartphone App Launched

I am delighted to announce the launch of ART ON ACHILL a new smartphone app for iPhone, and Android, as well as most other mobile platforms.

This is a project I have had in mind for some time now so I'm really happy for it to finally see the light of day.

ART ON ACHILL is designed to be a guide to my series of painting workshops that I hold on Achill Island each year. But there is much than that... here is a brief outline of what you can expect to find on it..

- Painting Workshops: Dates and details of all Padraig McCaul workshops for 2011, as well as some other paintings workshops being held on the island over the summer.
- Eat, Sleep & Drink: My own personal guide to some of the best places to stay, to eat and drink in on the island, including contact details and profiles.
- Achill's Artists: Profiles of some of the artists currently living and working on the island, as well as essays on some of the more famous artists that have been inspired by Achill such as Paul Henry and Robert Henri.
- Where to Paint?: In this section I have featured some of my own favourite places to paint on the island, and where I bring my painting groups to.
- Achill on Video: a selection of YouTube videos featuring Achill Island in all it's glory, and it's not all about painting!

To download ART ON ACHILL you can browse to www.artonachill.mobi on your smartphone, or you can scan the QR Barcode shown here. To do this you will need a QR Barcode Reader on your phone - which can be easily downloaded from the App Store or Android Market.

Or to view it in your browser just go to www.artonachill.mobi

2 More Paintings for Achill

Here are 2 more paintings that are heading to Achill.

This first one is called Telephone Lines #1, Achill (note the creative title!). I have been meaning for a long time now to paint these lines of old telegraph poles that meander up and down the hills and bogs on Achill. This one, and the next one Telephone Lines #2, Achill (the titles just keep getting better don't they!) are based on sketches I made one day as I was heading into Bunacurry after leaving Blackfield -(The best place for coffee in Achill by the way)

To see the rest of the new paintings please follow the link here to my website: www.padraigmccaul.com/summer2011

I will be adding some more over the coming days once I get a chance to photograph them.

New Paintings on their way to Achill

I'm delivering 12 new paintings to the Western Light Art Gallery in Keel, Achill this weekend. Here's one I have called Clouds Falling, Keel.

It's a painting of the foot of the Minaun Cliffs in Keel, at a spot called Cathedral Rocks. Sometimes the clouds just roll down the cliffs, obscuring the huge mass of the cliffs. A great sight!

All well as trying to finish the Achill paintings in time I've been busy over the past couple of weeks designing a new smartphone/iPhone App called Art on Achill, which I will be launching in a couple of days time. But more on that in the next post....