This is an old post – I only offer prints via Artmajeur.com here
If you find any images on this website or elsewhere which are not in the gallery but which you would like printed as a giclee print contact me via email emmafcownie@gmail.com or via the comments section at the bottom of this page and I will include in the Prints Gallery.
This is quite an unusual painting of Tenby into that the tide is fully in, and the boats bob on the lapping multi coloured strips of water, which add a crispness to the West Walian light and a rich vibrancy to the coloured Tenby terraced houses, which cwtch the Harbour and lighten the spirit with a sea-salted breathiness.
Buy mounted limited edition print here (free UK postage)
(29 x 20 cm print only) with mount 40 x 30 cm
[wpecpp name=”Tenby Tide A4 print” price=”30.00″]
This painting is of the back of the beautiful gardens lying behind the Caldey Island Monastery on the holy Island of Caldey Island, off Tenby in West Wales, UK. Caldey Island is a veritable ‘Eden’ when the sun illuminates this tree bunched island, the only Welsh island to have trees planted, and so many of them and in such rich variety, each speckling and sculpting shadows in their own way.
The atmosphere on this Holy Island is so relaxing, while peculiarly uplifting at the same time. There are seals frolicking around in the salt-watered topaz and jade, rich turquoises and biro blues which lap on to the gorgeous rough and ragged coastlined ridges which strain and arch to keep this island out of the Bristol Channel.
Peacocks honk and ponies bellow, all meshed in a pot pouri of sound with a medley of birdsong and the plaintive sound of the Cistercian monks singing Divine Office drifting from the Chapel to intermingle as it does with this natural orchestra of the island. The all rejoice in this Creation, give thanks for this plenty. Psalm singing with and without words. It is a very special place to be particularly when God showers the island in sunshine and His glad tidings.
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I am also delighted to say that I have been asked by the White Lion Street Gallery to contribute two ‘big’ paintings to this exhibition “The Big Picture Show” at the start of November in lovely out of season Tenby.
This painting is of the Abbot’s gate which leads via various steps, up a steep incline to the side of Caldey Monastery on Caldey Island, off Tenby, West Wales. The steps lead to the Abbot’s Chapel which is a wonderful wooden-paneled chapel, used seldomly and usually on special religious occasions or when the electricity fails in the main Chapel! This painting evokes long summer days spent languidly walking around the wonderful Holy Island of Caldey – the long shadows cast by the trees seek to evoke this stretched languidness and summered relaxation.
Visitors to Caldey will be used to walking past this gate, forlornly perhaps as they hurry to catch the last boat back to Tenby. The long shadows also hope to express the time dwindling as the sun begins it’s descent to the West and over the sea’s horizon, pulling the last light of the day with it. I use purply blues to evoke this sense of leaving somewhere special, affirming, spiritual even, as purple expresses both the hues of the sun-setting and the spirituality of this monastery and holy island; both leaving a lingering impression.
Wonderful Caldey is also set apart by its trees which is very unusual if not unprecedented among the Welsh islands. Thus this painting has two great Caldey signatures, the gate and incline to spiritual nourishment and the joy of time spent on this unique treed island.
We are about to decamp to Donegal for the summer/early autumn. I have mixed feeling about returning to oil paints. It’s been a quite a steep learning curve getting comfortable with acrylic paint but I feel like I finally got there. I am not sure what it will be like to paint in oils again, oh the the joy of easy blending! I will continue my practice of laying down an underpainting in grey-scale paint, regardless. Here are some of my recent acrylic paintings, mostly of Inishowen Penisula (Donegal)
You probably think that artists are good at creating paintings/images in all mediums; oil, watercolours acrylic paints. Many probably are, but I am not. I need to work at it. It’s a bit like being an athlete. You might be great at football but it doesn’t automatically mean you are a great sprinter, tennis player […]
What’s in a name? It’s complicated The name of the city I am living in right now is contentious. It’s official name is Londonderry but no one here seems to call it that, not even the council. Most people in the city itself, Protestants as well as Catholics, call it Derry. This suggests it is more […]
The ‘Illuminate’ festival is running over two weekends in Derry, 17th – 20th and 24th – 27th February, from 6pm – 9pm. We visited it on Thursday night. It was very cold (double socks and thermals weather) but mostly dry. This was important was all the sites we visited were out of doors. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and a brilliant introduction to Derry.
