The west coast of Ireland is dotted with islands, big and small but also plenty of sea stacks. Perhaps, they were once sea arches, I am not sure. If they were the crown of the arch fell in to create these majestic pillars. They can be seen from miles away. Even on misty days. This one, Tormore (in the painting above and below) is miles away, near a very remote location called Glenlough Bay. There is something exciting and other worldly and timeless about it.
Rossbeg Beach, Donegal (Photo credit:Emma Cownie)
Rossbeg (sometimes spelt Rosbeg) is a tiny townland on the west coast of Donegal, just three miles south-west of Portnua and Nairn. This is the Dawros Peninsula. There is a pier and a scattering of houses, some are modern, but many are old cottages, probably used as holiday lets.
The beach and the view is just perfect. The water is so very clear that the rocks and seaweed are visible from quite some distance from the shore.
Rossbeg Pier (From Marina.com) note the cows on the baechRossbeg Pier (From Marina.com) You can see the seaweed from up high too!Rossbeg Beach:- Photo Credit Séamas Johnston
If you are wondering, Kenneth Campbell is a real estate agent/realtor/auctioneer. We bought our cottage from him several years back. He’s very good at his job and a natural performer!
You can read about my recent visit to this charming installation here
It took a while, but I finally worked it out. On sunny days Lidl’s car park in Dungloe is pretty full but the shop is quite empty. Just across the road from is the entrance to the River Walk. I have eyed this entrance many times as I have bundled the shopping into the back of the car. Mothers with prams and toddlers are often headed this way. Yesterday I finally crossed to road and wandered into a magical woodland. No teddies to be found but a magical woodland with fairies and a giant troll. Here he is.
Troll from Dungloe’s River Walk Land of Magic 2022
He’s really big! Photo credit Séamas JohnstonHitching a ride on on the back of a lorry from Northern Ireland last year. – Credit: Destination Dungloe on Twitter @DungloeD
Here’s a selection of images from the walk. It was inventive, funny, engaging and charming in equal measure. I just loved it.
Land of Magic – from Dungloe’s River Walk Land of Magic 2022The backstory (in Irish)- from Dungloe’s River Walk Land of Magic 2022The backstory – from Dungloe’s River Walk Land of Magic 2022
Some pretty cool housesJust love those chimneys!It’s also got a tiny out door privy
On such a sunny day there was plenty of washing hung out to dryA fine bit of dry stome walling too.
An insect hotel tooEvidence of diverse bunch of fairies live here
I liked the pine cones around the edge
EU notice – from Dungloe’s River Walk Land of Magic 2022
I wonder how many sightings of magical creatures have been reported to the Elf-13 office at the EU? A fair few I shouldn’t imagine.
I have decided that perfect is the enemy of good, and I need to give up on the idea that I should write lengthy blogs posts, as I end up writing nothing! So here goes,
Two grey scale paintings
One of the many great things about being back in West Donegal is that I can paint much larger paintings as my art studio is much bigger here than in Derry. So I now have two on the go!
Donegal Greyscale #1
These are both painted in acrylic paint. I find it easier to make adjustment in the value/tones in acrylic before I move onto a layer of oil as a final layer. Acrylic can act as a foundation layer for oil, but not the other way around. I had forgotten how physically tiring painting a large painting is. My arms are tired!
Donegal Greyscale #2
If you want to know about Greyscaling and why I have adopted this technique since moving to Ireland please see my post “Adventures In Acrylic Paint”
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 am looking forward to being able to paint larger canvases. 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)
Kinnagoe Beach – Emma CownieDown to the Rusty Nail, Inishowen_Emma CownieFanad (SOLD)On the Way to Kinnagoe Bay (Drumaweer, Greencastle) (SOLD)Down to Doagh Strand, Donegal
Lambing season at Fanad Head (Donegal)
Carrickabraghy Castle, InishowenPortmór Beach, Malin Head, Donegal
And finally a few also of my favourite, Gola Island.
Still, On Gola (Donegal)The Turn in the Road, Gola – Emma CownieA Sandy Road Through Gola-Emma Cownie
The weather forecast is for cool weather, so I will be packing some light jumpers. I have found, however, that forecasts are pretty unreliable for Donegal so it could be very pleasant. I am looking forward to the sweet breezes!
Last Thursday morning Bingo, one of my two cats, collapsed in the front garden under a hedge and we had to take him on the long drive to the vets to end his suffering. It broke my heart. I had had him for over a decade and loved him dearly. Hattie, his cat companion of the last 6 years, misses him too and she has been outside looking for him. That’s even sader. We are keeping her indoors for now.
Bingo
So my concentration hasn’t been great. I have struggled to write anything, although I had almost finished another blog. Every time, I looked at images, trying decide what painting to start next, I am crippled by indecision. So I have been painting instead a series of small studies. Playing with composition, and simplifying images. The idea is to reduce detail to the minimum.
Caravan at Magheraroarty 24x18cm
Inishbofin #2 24x18cm SOLD
I then moved on to slightly larger canvases. The photographs of the paintings don’t quite capture their colour. Unfortunately, they have a blueish cast to them.
Inishbofin #3 30x24cm
Inishbofin #4 30×24 cm
Inishbofin #5 30 x34cm
Inishbofin #6 30x24cm
Inishbofin # 7 (SOLD) 30x24cm
Inishbofin #8 30x24cm
I will continue with these and hopefully I will find it within me to paint some much larger versions. In the meantime, we have a large rescue cat we have named Tadhg (pronunced “Tag”) from Burtonport Animal Rescue, in the office. He is named after a famous Irish rugby player, called Tadhg Furlong, on account of his robust physique.
Human Tadhg, the rugby player
Unfortunately, Hattie hissed at him when she first saw him, so we are introducing them very, very slowly. Swapping scents and feeding them on opposite sides of the same door etc. Tadhg was a stray and hasn’t had much experience of the indoor life, so he’s getting used to things like doors (they move when you rub up against them, you know) and mirrors (there’s a big black and white cat in window thing in the bedroom next door he’s worried about). He also loves carpets and heating. When he wants a break he sits under the chair in the corner of the room. I hope we can successfully integrate Tadhg into our animal family!
I recently join the Stair Árrain Mhór – Árrain Mhór History Facebook group and was overwhelmed by the positive response I received from the members when I put my most recent post online there. I was asked if I had any more paintings of Arranmore for them to see, so here’s a collection of all my paintings of the Island that I have completed in the last two years.
Where it reads (Private Collection) it means that the painting has been sold. I hope you enjoy looking at them.
In my last post I decribed visiting the abandoned fishing village of An Port tucked away in a remote corner of the Donegal shoreline (read it here). We were inspired to seek out this very remote spot by American artist Rockwell Kent, who visited and painted the area in the 1920s. I was waiting for […]
An Port has loomed large in my imagination for a long time. It’s very remote and quite difficult to get to. To reach it, you have to drive down a very, very long single track road (it’s about three miles but it feels longer) on the way to Glencolmcille. There are plenty of sheep and […]
Rossbeg (sometimes spelt Rosbeg) is a tiny townland on the west coast of Donegal, just south of Portnua and Nairn. There is a pier and a scattering of houses, some are modern, but many are old cottages, probably used as holiday lets. The day we visited the weather was calm and sunny. It was just perfect.
This was one of a pair of large paintings I started before I got ill. It sat in it’s greyscale state for over a month and a half until I recovered enoungh stamina to complete it!
New Work & Recent Sales
Kinnagoe Bay (Inishowen, Dongal)
Still, On Gola (Donegal)
Fanad
On the Way to Kinnagoe Bay (Drumaweer, Greencastle)
Down to Doagh Strand (Donegal)-Emma Cownie
Lambing Season at Fanad Head
Fanad Lighthouse (Donegal)
Down to the Rusty Nail
Carrickabraghy Castle, Inishowen
Upper Dreen_Emma Cownie
Portmór Beach, Malin Head, Donegal
Down to the Rusty Nail, Inishowen
The Walls of Derry
Painting of Derry City
Derry Walls by Emma Cownie
Shipquay Gate by Emma Cownie
Over to Owey Island (Keadue) Donegal
Lighting the way to Arranmore
Old Stone Cottage in front of Errigal (Donegal
Boat at the Pier, Gola
House on Inishbofin, with distant Seven Sisters (in studio)
