Kilmore Quay Part IV

Another place we visited outside of Kilmore Quay was Johnstown Castle Gardens which is part of the Irish Agriculture Museum. The grounds were beautiful with paths aroung several lakes, paths through sculpture gardens, and a walled garden. I liked the towers by the lake and the plants around the lake. They had these gigantic leaves bigger than my head. I wish they had marked what they were.

I did one painting of the tower and the lake.

After having a pot of tea in the cafe and warming up a bit the sun came out and I painted part of the castle itself.

Of course we went to a pub there for music. We couldn't get a spot with a view of the musicians at Kehoe's Pub and Parlour, so I sketched some of the people at the bar instead.

Kilmore Quay Part III

At the beginning of the week it was almost warm enough to sit on the beach at Kilmore Quay.

Of course there were families there for the weekend and the kids did put their feet in the water.

These two guys ventured out in their small sailboat. I would have been freezing. lol

Here are a few houses that were overlooking the beach.

This was the main street in Kilmore Quay...notice all the traffic. lol

This section had the most thatched cottages.

Kilmore Quay Part II

We did take a few side trips from Kilmore. One afternoon we drove to the town of Wexford which was about 30 km away from where we were staying. It was the closest bigger town and actually had a library with internet access. I visited the Spectrum Art and Framing Shop to give something to the owner from a friend who had been there last year. The owner recommended that I visit the Greenacres Gallery which I sketched here.

One day we planned a ride to see two sights. They were about 45 minutes away from Kilmore. The first was Tintern Abbey. We got lost along the way and some kind Irishman led us to the correct road in his car. It was an impressive place, partly in ruins. It was founded in 1131. How's that for historical?The grounds were lovely. I painted this standing on this old bridge facing the abbey.

We left there looking for the Hook Lighthouse. From the map it looked like it was a direct route from one to the other, but we took the Hook Loop which although it sounded like it should be correct...wasn't. We went way out of the way often on these narrow roads where one car could barley pass. And of course it was very windy. Eventually we found the lighthouse.
I sketched it from outside but it was much too windy and I did the painting from inside the car.

Kilmore Quay

Our next stop was Kilmore Quay in County Wexford. It is a sleepy fishing village with several thatched roof cottages that just charmed me. Apparently the population is under 450 people. It is a popular place for RVs and fishermen.

There isn't much of a town...two small (and I do mean small) markets that were barely as large as my living room, two seafood shops, a few restaurants and pubs, a few B&Bs, a church, a lovely beach, a big dock with commercial as well as private boats, a seafood processing plant, and a few gift shops. The weekend we got there it was a bank holiday in Ireland so there were a lot of people in RVs vacationing for a few days. That also meant that Kehoe's Pub had live music two nights over the weekend. Yeah!

Like I said, I was charmed by the thatched roof cottages. Here are a few.

This second one was my favorite. I would have loved to have seen the inside of the cottages. I was fascinated during the week to watch workmen repairing/replacing the roof on one cottage. Each roof is different. There were some newer, more modern looking cottages but the little whitewashed ones had more character.

This is the Catholic Church in Kilmore. I was surprised to see palm trees in front of it.

I painted this during what felt like gale force winds. I was sitting and leaning against a large sign that felt like it was going to blow over on top of me.

Dingle Part IV

I would like to take a minute in honor of Memorial Day

to thank all of those who gave so much for our freedom.

As you can see I did a lot of painting in the Dingle area.

This painting has a bit of  a story. I read in my Rick Steves Ireland book that there was a lighthouse in Dingle that you could walk to, and he gave directions to get there. The book said it was about a 45 minute walk one way which seemed doable. So I went off with my backpack and painting supplies.

Of course it was a windy day and cold...but it looked like it wouldn't rain. After the first two turns it told you to climb over the steps by the Coast Guard building and follow the pathway along the ledge along the water in the harbor. It did not tell me that I would have to climb through a slatted fence (luckily I fit) or that I would be walking through a cow pasture for part of the trip with many cows having lunch. I did pass some lovely views of a tower up on a hill too.

When I got to the lighthouse I sat down on my tripod stool and started painting. By the time I was nearly finished, I had my scarf wrapped around my head because it was so cold, and I was wearing my earmuffs and my gloves. It was a pretty spot. I loved the brick wall and the posts on the left.

Walking back wasn't too bad because the wind was to may back. But there was a section that was downhill that was very muddy and along the side of a cliff. My balance isn't good normally and here I was walking with my very overstuffed backpack on slippery, muddy rocks...but I did it!

Paudie's Bar and B&B was one of the typical colorful buildings down by the harbor.

I tried to sketch a view down one of the main streets in Dingle. 

All those cars made me crazy since I don't like sketching cars.

This was the view from Blue Zone Jazz & Pizza.

Our table had a rooftop view.

This was a great store where I searched and searched for a non-wool Irish sweater. They had the prettiest sweaters but nothing I could wear...not even most of the scarves.

It did make a nice spot for sketching.

Dingle Part III

Here is another of Dingle's many pubs.

Right outside of the town of Dingle was Minard Castle which I loved. It was in ruins, but it is in this gorgeous setting on a hill overlooking the water. I liked it so much that I did two views of it.

Apparently there is an art to pouring Guinness. This was done at the Mighty Session, another pub known for their traditional Irish music.

Dingle Part II

The buildings in Dingle are colorful and quaint. This group of buildings is called An Caladh, or the Colony. There are several shops including the Dingle Music Shop.

I sketched one evening at the An Droicead Beag, a triaditional Irish pub that has traditional music. We got there too late to get a table in the front room where the musicians were. I liked the look of the arched entrance and all the people watching the musicians play.

At the edge of the town on the way to Slea Loop Drive that went around the tip of the peninsula was an interesting stone bridge. Everything on the hillsides was wonderful greens. I passed this area every morning when I went walking.

Down the street from the house we were renting there was a fenced area with sheep. They were so cute and interesting to watch.

Dingle Part I

Dingle is located in County Kerry, north of the Ring of Kerry. It is a small town but you can drive along the coast for miles along what is known as the Dingle Peninsula. There are a lot of historic attractions along the route. I was more interested in the colorful town, the sheep, and the pubs. lol

This is Dingle Harbor. There are a lot of fishing boats and the backdrop is the wonderful green countryside broken by rock walls and shrubs and the colorful houses.

This is one of the colorful cafes in the town itself. Don't you just love the pink?

One day we went for a ride along the Dingle Peninsula. I read that the road around is one-way and I can well understand the need for that since in spots two cars can't pass side by side, never mind a car and a tour bus. There are windy, hairpin turns, enough to make you think "this wasn't such a good idea" about driving there. However, the one-way rule was not in force during the off season. My husband, Jerry, said he was going to have an ulcer after being in the car there. There were a number of scenic pull-offs where we were able to park and I could sit outside of the car. This is a view of some of the islands off the coastline.

This was also painted along the coastal road. I don't understand why the sheep just don't roll down the hillside. There were sheep everywhere and I just loved them. Luckily these sheep were fenced in and not roaming around on the road.

Galway Part IV

We had a bit of a view of the water from our room at Ardawn House in Galway.
This was the view.

This is a sketch of Murty Rabbitt's, one of the pubs where we ate and listened to music.

Don't you just love all those bottles?

Galway Part III

Galway was a fun and colorful town.

Here is one of the old wooden fishing boats called hookers.
I did this one later in the afternoon after the hailstorm.

When I needed a little warmth I came back to the B&B we were staying in called the Ardawn House and sketched in the sitting room while I sipped some wine.

We had some very tasty lunches in Galway. 

Mussels with spicy chili sauce at McDonagh's Seafood were delicious!

Galway Part II

It has been a long 4 weeks, but we are finally home from Ireland. It was frustrating to not be able to upload from there. Either the public computers didn't have a place to connect my memory card or wouldn't read the memory card. lol 

Here are a few more paintings from Galway.

Above is part of the historic area of Galway with the Cathedral in the background.

As you know, every picture has a story. The weather in Ireland changes often and very quickly, and while we were there it was fairly cold (at least to me).You may think it is going to be a sunny day but minutes later it is raining. That must be why it is so green. I went down by the harbor, set up my stool, took out my paints, and started the painting above. My husband went off to look at something and told me he'd be back in about an hour and we could go to lunch. I was nearly finished when he came back. By that time I was wearing a sweater, a coat with a zip out lining, my scarf, my fingerless gloves, my earmuffs,  and I had my hood up because it was super windy and it was the only way to keep my hair from flying in my face.  It started to drizzle and I started packing up while my husband held an umbrella over us...and then it started to hail...big hail. lol We were really pelted with it while we ran to the restaurant which was quite a way from where we were. It was an extreme plein air experience!

Of course a day in Galway meant a pub at night. Below is a sketch I did of the traditional musicians playing at An Pucan Pub.

Here is a page of a few of .my beginning sketches that I did at Kennedy Airport waiting for our flight. I forgot to post them first.

Galway

This was sketched in Galway along the street in the old town. For some reason there were a lot of barber shops along this one street...very colorful.

This is Quay Street in Galway.

Uploading these 2 paintings has taken me nearly a half hour so I'll have to stop for now.

Hope to get back to do a few more in a few days.

Out Painting

Sorry I haven't been able to post anything new, but I didn't bring my laptop and uploading from the public computer in Ireland has so far not been possible. I have been painting a lot, so when I can finally upload you will get to see some of my work. We are presently in Dingle, Ireland which is on the southwestern coast. It is lovely and a lot of fun...especially the pubs. Tomorrow we head to the County of Wexford to a tiny village called Kilmore Quay. I'm not too optomistic about being able to post from their either. I miss having the time to visit your blogs but I will catch up.