Studio Notes
On this blog, I regularly publish new paintings straight off the easel and discuss what inspired them and how they came about.
Opt-in here if you want to find out about the latest artworks.
Skyscape over the Irish Midlands #162
Skyscape over the Irish Midlands, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 16″x 16″ Not For Sale This is a detail of my latest painting showing the wide open spaces of the Midlands where turf cutting is mechanised to a high degree. The bog has been altered beyond...
The Southwesterly #161
The Southwesterly, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 6″x 6″ SOLD This small work was finished today. It shows a sky full of movement and character experienced when the wind blows from the south west in Ireland All the movement is from right to left, which is of...
The Edge of the Deep Green Sea #160
The Edge of the Deep Green Sea, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 10″x 10″ SOLD I have been working on this painting for the last few weeks. Green dominates through the whole piece in a tight tonal arrangement with a passing nod to Whistler.... My last few pieces had...
Dark Light #159
Dark Light, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Canvas, 16″x 16″ SOLD I was talking with someone from Donegal the other day and he mentioned how the bog was turning a beautiful rich orange colour. I responded by saying it sounded like a perfect subject for a painting....
The Valley of Lights #158
The Valley of Lights, ©John O’Grady,2013 Oil on Panel, 16″x 16″ SOLD A friend recently asked me why and how I do what I do so I thought you could find the stage by stage process I'm detailing below interesting. Please read on to find out how I got from stage 1 to...
Stormy Sky #157
The Stormy Sky, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 8″x 8″ SOLD I have been building up quite a few paintings over the last 10 days or so, 12 in total all at different stages of completion. They are lined up against a wall in my studio. I move from piece to piece, add a...
The Golden Field #156
Revisiting Sally Gap #155
Sally Gap Wicklow, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 12″x 12″ SOLD Less than an hour south of Dublin is the wide open blanket bog of Sally Gap. The wide expanse of the landscape and the constantly changing light and colours make every journey there memorable. Once you...
Dawn #154
Dawn, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 6″x 6″ Not for Sale Dawn light has a gentle quality, it is soft and washes over us as a balm welcoming us to the new day. The white grey light falls upon an open field washing away the night and the mists that cover it in...
The Flatlands #153
The Flatlands, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 5"x 7" Not for Sale (NFS)
Please Allow me to Introduce Myself
I have been posting paintings for over a year and of late, the web site that has sometimes felt like the Mary Celeste adrift on the virtual ocean has been increasingly viewed and more of you have subscribed. Thank you for your continued support. So I thought it's...
I Dreamt of White Horses #152
I Dreamt of White Horses, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas, 16″x 16″ $589 (Free Shipping) I think the expression 'White Horses' is beautifully poetic. It describes the white foam that appears as waves break at sea, normally when a gale is blowing off...
Bog with Passing Cloud #151
6″x 6″, oil on Panel.
Maybe the closest we could come to a big sun sliced by
Bog Heather II #150
Bog Heather II, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 12″x 12″ SOLD Evening is the time of peace for me. I keep returning to this time of day along with the reoccurring theme of the bog. Many things have been written about the bog, as a repository of our history,...
Breaking Through II #149
Breaking Through II, ©John O’Grady, 2013 Oil on Panel, 6″x 6″ SOLD Sometimes in the West of Ireland when a weather front moves in it's hard to distinguish the clouds from the mist as it all mingles. Then the light breaks through in a flash, highlighting a part of the...