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I Stood on the White Strand, ©John O’Grady 2014
Oil on deep edged canvas, 12″ x 24″ x 1.75″
(approx 30.7 cm x 61.5 cm x 4.5 cm, no need to frame and ready to hang)
SOLD
All along the West coast of Ireland there are beaches called ‘White Strand’.
You can wander along and not meet another soul, particularly on a wet and windy day.
The sand can be really white and stands in stark contrast to the deep browns, greens and purples of the land that surrounds it.
I wanted to capture the feeling of standing alone on the empty strand with the power of nature sweeping over as the tide comes in.
The starting point for the painting came from one of my favourite songs by an Irish band called Planxty that were around in the 70s. The song is called ‘The West Coast of Clare’. It’s hauntingly beautiful and evokes times gone by.
The use of colour captures a little bit of that melancholy.
I would love to hear what you think.
Here are the lyrics and a video of Planxty’s performance.
The West Coast Of Clare
Written and composed by Andy Irvine
Sorrow and sadness, bitterness, grief
Memories I have of you, won’t leave me in peace
My mind is running back, to the west coast of Clare
Thinking of you, the times we had there
I walked to Spanish Point, I knew I’d find you there
I stood on the white strand, and you were everywhere
Vivid memories fade, but the mood still remains
I wish I could go back, and be with you again
In Miltown there’s a pub, its there that I sat down
I see you everywhere, your face is all around
The search for times past, contain such sweet pain
I banish lonesome thoughts, but they return again
I walk along the shore, the rain in my face
My mind is numb with grief, of you there is no trace
I’ll think of this again, when far off lands I roam
Walking with you, by this cold Atlantic foam
Sorrow and sadness, bitterness, grief
Memories I have of you, won’t leave me in peace
My mind is running back, to the west coast of Clare
Thinking of you, and the times we had there.
Oh, one of my favorite songs! And this painting reflects those feelings so beautifully. There’s a sense of the otherworldly in it — of memories and ghosts lingering in the atmosphere.
I have met Andy, and he’s a lovely and gracious man. I wish he could see the painting his song inspired.
Hello Josephine,
Yes it is a fabulous song, he really captured something special full of feeling and imagery and the arrangement is great too. Glad you think the painting captures a little bit of that feeling. I would like to think he would like it too. That must have been special to meet him, they really were groundbreaking.
What is particularly lovely about the painting for me, John, is that the song elicits quite somber feelings – I had pictured a dark, brooding landscape – whereas your piece is full of the most ethereal light and color! It gave me a new perspective on remembrance and longing. Thank you for that.
‘Hello Josephine,
That really means a lot, that it had such a positive impact for you, regarding remembrance.Thank you. The song is filled with such emotional force and I had it in mind as I painted this piece of conveying in some way that force, not in a conscious analytical way but of actually feeling the emotion as a springboard to making a painting. The ‘Take me to the Island’ series is the same the starting point was the Paul Brady song ‘The Island’. For me, I felt Andy’s song to be more wistful and meloncholic, than brooding, hopefully some of that came out in the painting’, mixed with memories of that special light you get in the west as Seamus says ‘when the wind and the light are playing of each other’
Wonderful. Everything. Captured. Elucidation. Clare. Song. Memories. Water. Wonder. Awe. Sadness. Joy. Memories, always memories, always.
Thank you Terry, for your beautiful inspiring words
This is so lovely John – very beautiful. There is a sense of longing as we the viewer look out from the shore towards the setting sun. This, I know, can create wistful feelings of loss as the day comes to an end, never to return. It was inspired of you to combine it with this emotional song (which I hadn’t heard before) and it makes it all the more powerful. You have captured it all in a painting full of heart – it deserves to be widely seen.
Hello Christine,
Thank you for your comment. It’s great that it transmits a little bit of heart in the work. As the song is so full of emotional pull. In fact the song really is the painting Christine, I was trying to capture my response to the song in paint and that is how it came out.
My initial response to this painting was ‘how beautiful and evocative’. The feeling of remoteness and isolation evoked when standing on a huge expanse of sand completely on your own, is perfectly captured. The use of colour adds an ‘other worldly’ feeling which I love. When I read your notes and the lyrics of the song, I discovered a whole, other, layer of emotion and feeling. This is brilliant, John, well done.
Hello Tisha,
Thank you very much for your comment. That’s great that you felt something about the painting before reading the text. Yes I think the colour adds a particular quality to the painting.
I love your painting and “The West Coast of Clare” is a favourite of mine. I think you have evoked the sadness of loss but also the gratitude for what was and the promise that enduring love also lies in the future.
Hello Moira,
Thank you for your comment on the painting, it is such a hauntingly beautiful song and if i captured a little bit of that i would be happy and as you say a little bit of hope for the future