The Fairy Rath IV, ©John O’Grady
12″ x 12″ x 1.75″, oil on deep edged canvas, ready to hang.
SOLD
Night is approaching.
All is quiet on the rath.
On the crest of the hill, the trees dwarfed by the immensity of the sky stand in relief against the silver blue twilight.
To the right of the copse, a raking orange light gives the fallow field an autumnal feel.
In the last painting, the fairy rath is a place where the earth swelled and exuded energy. In this one, the energy has moved to the aerial. The contrasts and movements of the clouds sweep over the hill and dominate the dormant land.
I’d love to read your comment.
I like the dominating sky, dwarfing the landscape below.
Thanks very much Robert, yes that’s what I was aiming at.
There is a sense of longing on the left side of the painting while the right side evokes a sense of belonging..again an interdependency of emotions which achieve balance while harnessed together under a purple blushed sky. Beautiful colours John! You could say a self actualised painting:)
Hello Irene,
Thank you for your comment and poetic reading of the painting. I like your term ‘purple blushed sky’ how lovely.
I like the difference in perspective and proportion in this fairy rath piece, John — the grove viewed from a distance, with the massive sky (lovely crescent moon, almost invisible in that open patch) over the strip of land. The land to the right is bathed in light, exposed (in soft, loose brush work), while the little copse (with the trunks standing out in detail, like figures huddled together) is in darkness, guarding its mysteries. Even from a distance it looks like a place set apart, with its own secrets. I’m curious about what prompted this shift in viewpoint. It is marvelous.
Hello Jo,
Thanks very much for your thoughts on the painting. The shift in viewpoint really came about purely by chance as in many things that arrive. I had worked on loosening up the sky and very pale light blue on the horizon. The deep brown black came about as I was wondering what to place next to it to make that pale blue sing. The initial marks reminded me of the shape of the trees in the last painting, so I just ran with it.