The Chapel in the Woods, ©John O’Grady
8.25″ x 8.25″ x 1.75″ oil on deep edged canvas, ready to hang
$242 (approx. €216, £188) with free shipping.
You can often notice, on top of hills in southern France, half hidden by shrubs and trees, small Romanesque chapels. Some date back to the 11th Century. They were built to honour saints and are visited on pilgrimage days.
The long evenings of summer offer an incomparable quality of light that cast deep, long, blue shadows. In full sun, objects appear to have an internal glow as the warm, raking light illuminates them straight on.
I came upon this chapel last summer whilst out walking, enjoying the cooler time of late afternoon and the tall trees’ shade.
On reaching the top of the hill, amongst the pines, I saw the facade of the chapel glowing a warm pink orange. The side wall offered a counterpoint with a deep shadow of blue / violet.
In this painting, I feel I captured the warmth of summer evening and dappled light.
Once the painting was finished, a short poem, ‘Pied Beauty’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89) came to mind:
GLORY be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.
I look forward to reading your comment.
Beautiful and evocative John. A place of peace.
Thank you very much Seumas, indeed it is.
Calming and inviting, the question is : do I enter the little chapter or do I stay in the lane, just gazing at its pastel beauty ????
Hello Dominique,
I think a little visit inside would be a good idea. Nice and cool on a warm evening. Thank you very much
Hello John – such a beautifully written description and the poem is so very apt; wonderful words that are ‘painterly’ and conjure up visual images. Both provide a backdrop for this lovely calm, peaceful painting. I admire your sculptural trees but love your soft dapples best of all! For me it has a sense of arrival, respite or sanctuary.
Hello Christine,
Yes his words are very ‘painterly’ as you say, he painted and drew himself, so perhaps that entered into his poetry, it is magical. I can feel Blake and Thomas in his work. I thought you might be keen on the dappled light Thank you for your comment
Interesting that your last two paintings have buildings in them, which seems unusual for you, John. This one looks like a magical place, almost a mirage. The elements, particularly the leaves and underbrush, are all identifiable but still indistinct, which draws the viewer in. I feel that the dappled light on the path is inviting me to an otherworldly destination. (All of which, I suppose, could describe the heightened feeling of a summer evening.) I like that you left the sky rather flat and white, which brings everything else into focus. The square format really suits the subject. And limiting the palette to those cool blues and warm pinks makes it more atmospheric — less of this world, in a way, and more of that particular, breathtaking moment..
Hello Jo
Yes the built objects have appeared in the last two pieces and I also have another couple on the go at the moment. I was at a funeral two weeks ago in a small Romanesque church with pine trees next to it, so perhaps this one was partly fed by that experience as well.I do know what you mean by the ‘Mirage’ like view, the painting has a feeling of been seen through a filter I think. I was particularly pleased by the dappled light as you say ‘inviting to an otherworldly destination’ When I finished the dapples I felt as if the light was magical and the light was like stepping stones if that makes sense. Thank you for your comment