CapallGlas

Yes, someone asked me what I think about when I’m painting.

Well, when I’m using colors, I’m thinking about the colors. Where did I see a blue like that? Is this blue as bright or dark as the blue I saw this morning, as the sun was coming up in a clear sky? What do I need to change the color, change the feel of the color. Is it cool or warm? Do I want it cool or warm?

It’s hard to go back and pick up the specific thoughts. Harder still to think about it when I am actually doing it.

When I am working up a picture based on an actual place, I usually start with a photo, and sometimes a quick grid to block in the basic shapes of light and dark, and some initial details. Then I start thinking about how I felt when I was there. Thinking of the things that are hard to put into a photo. Wind and damp, birdsong or silence.

While drawing a pen and pencil landscape of the cliffs and caves of Kesh Corran, I thought about the dead grass and hot stone on a rare, dry day in Ireland. I thought about the silence, broken by the wind and the coughing rattle of ravens calling across the face of the cliffs. The words ‘crisp’ and ‘edge’ kept working into my thoughts, and the black shadows became sharp lines in the water-worn limestone.

Channels and patterns in the limestone, not well-documented in my photos, came from my memory, creating a look that seemed carved by the hands of craftsmen. Abstract lines and almost understood runes formed from memories of the intricate weathering. When framing, I found a bronze frame and warm, yellow/brown mats to complete the look.

Sketches of the Beltany stone circle in Raphoe, Donegal, were affected by my memories of brightness and energy. Shadows in the sketch were darker than in the photos, and the sharp edges formed more of an element in the art than in the photos.

And in Birch Interlace, I keep thinking about the deepness and richness of the shades of blue in a cloudless, winter twilight. The colors of blue as the sun slips away and the reds and yellows fade. The icy edge of a clear, winter crescent moon.

Time for a hot cup of tea, I think.

KJN