The original landscape oil paintings in Sweep Me Away are now available for purchase. They are all oil on canvas, mounted to cradled wood panels with the sides left natural wood, and waxed. They can either be hung on the wall unframed for a clean and contemporary look, or be custom framed if desired.

The 12″x 12″ paintings have sides that are 1.5″ deep. The 11″x14 have sides that are 3.4″ deep.

Please email irene@ireneduma.com for enquiries ,or Direct Message me via Instagram or Facebook.

Click on image to see a larger and uncropped view of each painting. Please note, price does not include tax or shipping. Work can also be picked up in St. John’s, NL via appointment.

In my defense, I have been very busy over on Irene Duma Teaches Art — that’s my new online art school and website for people who want to learn painting. I’ve been working on an Intro to Oil Painting Course for beginners.

But eek, I didn’t realize I was gone that long. I am actually embarrassed to see that my last post here is from 2019. How did that happen? (It’s true what they say about time flying. Double eek.)

So, because I am busy and time is flying, and I know you are busy, here are a few quick bullet points so you can see what I’ve been up to.

It has been a busy coupla years! Lots of really good things have happened including:

• Showing my work at the Red Ochre Gallery (St. John’s, NL) 
• The Baccalieu Gallery (Heart’s Content, NL),
• The new Earth and Sky Gallery in Twillingate, and
• Storeloft Supply Limited – Bay de Verde, NL.
• My work was picked for the cover of the Grenfell College’s Arts Journal, Paper Mill Press
• I was featured with an artist profile in the Newfoundland Quarterly, Winter 2019 edition, as well as on the Newfoundland Quarterly website here and here.
• Amazing artist Jenn Thornhill Verma talked about my work at a lecture at Memorial University, and featured my work on her page Cultural Landscapes along with some really super artists.
• My #miniduma triptych of the St. John’s Harbour was exhibited at the Rooms museum, Arts and Letters Awards, 2019
• I participated in the Soloman’s Path Art Collective, and met a bunch of wonderful artists. What a great community.
• I participated in fairs and shows including the Art Expo NL group show (Dec 7, 8, 9), and a show at the Marina.
• My original artwork continues to sell and be shipped across the world and there are two little pieces on a yacht traveling around the world (And yes, I am a bit jealous). 

Not too shabby. This late bloomer is thrilled!

Coming up:

• you will be able to find my work in Gander at the Newfoundland Tea Company
• I will be launching my online painting course with
• a FREE 5-day itty bitty challenge to help stalled, stifled, busy and/or beginner artists get more art in their life.

That’s it. Busy busy. So follow me on Instagram or Facebook. I am able to post there more regularly than here on this blog.

And don’t forget my newsletter. It gets a little more love than the blog, but I am hoping to write more frequently.

That is all. If you have questions, reach out to me. But I might take longer to answer: Summer is coming and my mantra for the season is hike, paint, repeat. That’s me last year stuck in level 2 of a video game. (Or, a hike near Pouch Cove, Newfoundland)

Romantic ideals. I have them. Saltboxes on remote craggy cliffsides is one of them.

I took this photo late in the afternoon on last week’s road trip to the Baccalieu Gallery in Heart’s Content. I was dropping off some artwork, and hoping to take some photos for more art creation inspiration.

The day started off sunny, then turned cloudy by the time I got into my car. This is Newfoundland; we can have all seasons in one day here.

But after another lovely art chat and visit with gallery-owner Jeanette, the sun started breaking out from the clouds. Pure drama sky. Yes!

So I drove to the other side of the peninsula. I had noticed that the houses get older and more traditional around Broad Cove (love that town).

I do one of my fave things in the world – I just turn down any pretty road that beckons. (I love doing this in foreign countries especially, and without a map. But I have also noticed – by the white knuckles on my co-pilots – that not everyone enjoy this as much as I do).

Also, taking these tiny, hilly roads is a lot easier now that I have a new car. In my previous old beaters, I was too chicken to drive on the steep hills. What if the breaks give out? What if I stall? (This happened. My clutch gave out on a hill when I was just learning to drive a standard transmission in a car that was given to me when I first arrived here. I had no idea if the problem was me or the car. It wasn’t me – the mechanic brought out the clutch and told me he had never seen one with such a deep crack in it before. I told him I had never even seen a clutch before. Even?)

But I digress.

Free from beater-anxiety, I am having the time of my life inching along tiny roads that take you right to the cliff edge, and passing through little villages with historic houses that make my heart swoon. I love historic houses.

Then I saw this house, with this view. Big sky, big water, big space – it’s my happy trio. Painted with a big red – cadmium red medium. The cadmium reds are to die for. They really pop.

Saltbox on the Baccalieu
4″x4″ oil on canvas with painted sides.

Will be dry in about a week.

Colonial Street. I lived here for four years. Now I live one street over. Love this neighborhood. I can walk to work, Signal Hill and #hallidays meat and convenience store is the best store ever. Also, it’s quite flat so I don’t have to worry about my car sliding down a hill. Yep, that happened.
4 x 4 inches, oil on canvas
#minipainting #ittybittymini #miniduma #miniatureart #miniart #miniatureoilpainting #miniature #paintingaday #dailypainter #arteveryday #artforgifts #startcollectingart #affordableart
#stjohnsnewfoundland #jellybeanrow #jellybeanrowhouses #cityart

Hello dear blog that I have ignored the past few months. Me bad. But I will be visiting you again daily as I signed up for the #30paintingsin30days! challenge again.

Yesterday’s painting is a little itty bitty mini oil painting which I am thinking about hashtagging with #miniduma  on instagram. If that’s nuts or obscene in any language, let me know.

Look Up!
3×3 inches
oil on canvas

What have I been up to? Well, I’ll write all about it in another blog post soon.

Painted from a photo taken during my walk a few days ago. The busy harbour hums and beeps in the morning, with lots of activity.

That pinkish pile in the foreground is the city’s winter’s salt supply. We go through a lot of salt to keep our hilly roads safe.

Day 23, complete. I have painted every day this month – wowsers! This is a mini painting. Also called ATC or ACEO.

Good Morning, working harbour
Oil on gessoed paper
2.5 x 3.5 inches.

Here is a tiny oil painting of the view from Signal Hill looking towards Cape Spear.

Confession: I just realized that I forgot to paint the lighthouse. I will do that tomorrow when I get some natural light so that I can see where to  place the tiny dot. I mean lighthouse. And also because I am too mad after having camera import problems for the last 2 hours. Tech problems. Waaahh.

#30paintingsin30days challenge, day 22.

Good morning Cape Spear
2.5×3.5
oil on gessoed paper

Good morning sunshine seroes

Good morning sunshine #1, Fort Amherst.
oil on gessoed paper
2.5 x 3.5

New this week, I’ve decided to try painting mini-sized oils. This is a great way to simplify your paintings by not getting into too much detail. And since I like big, gestural bold brushstrokes, this is a great exercise for me.

This small oil is on 2.5 x 3.5 watercolour paper that was primed with gesso. You need to prime the paper as the oil in the paint may react with the paper over time.

Paintings on paper this size are called ACEOs (Art Card Originals and Editions) or ATCs (artist trading cards) and they are a collectible item.

I am going to be holding an art show soon and think these would make great affordable gifts. Next on my list is to find things to mount these onto. Copper? Wood? Bark? Greeting card? I dunno. I will try it all.

Nothing beats living with original art in your home. I have nothing but originals in mine. Many are kitschy vintage works I picked up from garage sales for a dime, but they are real and I love them.

Oh, and I’m starting a series. This one is called Good Morning Sunshine, and it’s paintings of the mornings here in St. John’s, Newfoundland. With our own special timezone, we are the first to greet the morning in all of North America. I’m not a morning person, but it’s making me want to be one. Kind of.

This painting is from a snap I took of Fort Amherst and its lighthouse on my walk 2 days ago at 9 am. I think that’s the earliest I’ve ever been out on Signal Hill.

Day 21 of #30paintingsin30days

One of the pleasures of hiking the East Coast Trail is that it’s well maintained. If you reach a boggy part, there will usually be a raised wooden path to cross on. Often it’s covered in chicken wire so that you won’t slip.

I never liked hiking in Ontario – hot, humid, too many bugs. I’d rather be in the water. But hiking in Newfoundland is another thing completely. Crazy views. Crazy good workout. And no bugs. Did you hear that? NO BUGS!!!

Painted for day 21 of the 30paintingsin30days art challenge from a photo I took in April. For this one I experimented with an underpainting made by using hard pastels, then dipping a paintbrush in rubbing alcohol and painting over the pastel to blend it. Then I used some high intensity pastel on top when it dried. Pretty fun stuff.

Let’s hippety hop on the path
soft pastel on watercolour paper and gesso
5×7

This was directly in front of me – the house across the street. It’s a very narrow street.

Meanwhile, right across the street
5×7
Pastel on sanded paper.

And this was when I turned a 1/6th (I didn’t want to stress myself out too much now) turn toward the harbour.

A 1/6th turn of the head
5×7
Pastel on sanded paper.

Day 17, 30paintingsin30days challenge.