Padraig McCaul's Art Blog

Interview with Charlie McBride in the Galway Advertiser

2016-04-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is an interview I gave to the Galway Advertiser in the run up to my exhibition at the Townhall Theatre in Galway in March this year.

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'I got stuck in Achill in a good way'

Artist Padraig McCaul discusses his Town Hall exhibition

BY CHARLIE MCBRIDE

On The Edge Of The Atlantic features 25 new paintings inspired by the beauty of the landscape and coastline of Ireland's west coast. McCaul presents the Irish landscape in a series of colour filled, evocotive, images, where broad strokes are preferred to fine detail and where simple, uncluttered, compositions allow room for the viewer to get lost in the painting. This is his first solo exhibiton in Galway.

'Under a Passing Cloud' | Oil on Canvas

“I came quite late to painting,” Padraig, erstwhile member of The Harvest Ministers tells me. “My interest was always in music, I studied music in Maynooth as part of an arts degree and for the next 20 years music was my main passion with the band. It’s only in the last 15 years that I started delving into painting, it was almost a substitute for when once the band stopped taking it very seriously, we weren’t playing nearly as often as we had been, I took up the brush and began painting.”

McCaul was much enamoured by landscape painting from France; “I love French painting, artists like Cezanne, I love the colours French artists used,” he admits. “When I started painting I was looking for colourful landscapes, that’s what I was drawn to for some reason and I was into Italian and French paintings. When I started painting Irish landscapes I began bringing in all the colours that I would expect to see in French and Italian landscapes. Then you realise over time that the colours are there anyway in the Irish landscape. For whatever reason a lot of Irish artists seem reticent about putting those strong colours into their paintings in the way you would see them in European paintings.”

'Into the Sea' | Oil on Canvas

Notwithstanding his love of French and Italian painting, Padraig also sees himself within the tradition of the many great Irish artists who have depicted Achill and the west: “I see myself very much as coming from the tradition of Paul Henry and Roderic O’Conor.” he says. “There are elements in my paintings where I can see a direct influence from the likes of them, the colours, the strength. I don’t see vibrancy in a lot of Irish landscapes, sometimes they are almost too true to life. I use primary colours, blues and reds and crimsons, to elicit emotion. They are not just there to describe the landscape, I’m using them to stir an emotional response. “My paintings are based on the Irish landscape but what I am really trying to get across is the feeling of it,” he continues. “I can paint a mountain 10 times and every time will be different, that’s not what matters, it’s how you convey the movement and the energy and the light around it.

"You are creating more than just the image of a mountain, you’re creating what it feels like to be standing in a field looking at it when it is rainy or windy or warm, it is all those extra feelings that have nothing to do with the visual, that is what the painting should be about. You bring a viewer into a painting, the image is what draws them initially but there is more, you can get to the root of different feelings. The strong colours you see in continental paintings I use as a way of stirring that emotive response, they are not just there because the colours work well together.”

'To the Sea' | Oil on Canvas

Padraig expands on his connection to Achill: “I got stuck in Achill in a good way. When I first started painting I thought this is great I can travel and go anywhere, but when I came to Achill for the first time it stopped me in my tracks. It has everything that a landscape artist would want, there is the sea, the mountains, the rolling bog, and the sky and the light that changes every hour of the day.

"There is no reason to go beyond it, there is so much here to inspire painting. Because I live here now, I take the light and the atmosphere and everything about it is replicated all the way down the west to west Cork. If you can capture the atmosphere of Achill in a painting that really captures the atmosphere of all of the west of Ireland.”

McCaul is represented by the Doorway Gallery in Dublin and his paintings are in many international collections; “From the first time I started exhibiting I seemed to get a really good reaction from people who felt a connection to the paintings," he says. “I have been painting full time for 10 years now and always had a very strong response to the work and that subsequently translated into sales and galleries. I have been working with the same gallery for the last 10 years in Dublin, also another five or six regional galleries around the country. Thankfully the response has been really strong throughout that time”.

How did he connect with Margaret Nolan for this Town Hall show? “I first connected with Margaret via Facebook, it is great!” he replies with a laugh. “I knew Margaret years ago when I was coming out of college in Maynooth she was in NCAD. We hadn’t touched base in years and then Facebook is a way of reconnecting with people and through that she told me she was running shows in the Town Hall, she asked me last year to contribute to exhibiting in windows for Cúirt, and those paintings got a great response and she invited me to do a show in the Town Hall, so it is a lovely way of getting my work seen in Galway, it is my first time having a show there.”

'On the Dingle Peninsula | Oil on Canvas

And what about The Harvest Ministers? “We put out an anthology two years ago on 12" Vinyl and download - 'You Can See Everything From Here' - and played a couple of shows promoting that and that was a nice way to put a full stop after my name with the band. (https://theharvestministers.bandcamp.com/album/you-can-see-everything-from-here). Will (Merriman) has continued writing and recording and there's a new Harvest Ministers' due out this year.

"I’d put the sax and guitar away but I brought the sax out again to play with the Mayo Concert Orchestra which was incredible for me to find and that allows me to get back into playing music again, I’ve been playing with them for the past two years and I play some local sessions here in Achill.”

2015-03-27T10:05:00.002-07:00

Catch up on my upcoming events in my new Spring Newsletter
http://eepurl.com/bh2j41

INTERVIEW | Artist Padraig McCaul - The Mayo News

2014-06-10T04:08:00.000-07:00

Bringing in the people

On Keel Beach, Achill

published by The Mayo News, June 2014

Interview
Ciara Moynihan

Achill-based landscape artist Padraig McCaul turned 50 this year. So far his lifetime, he’s worn many different hats. Arts student. Accountancy student. Clothing retailer. IT professional. Band member of The Harvest Ministers. Husband and dad. Artist. Some hats he tried on, didn’t like the fit and put away; others he continues to wear with pride.

The old stressful life in retail and IT now is a distant memory. Now, he’s a full-time artist, producing his own work and giving classes. For many years, McCaul’s landscapes were unpopulated – buildings might appear, but never people. That’s changed now too.

Originally from Dún Laoghaire in Dublin, McCaul now lives on Achill with his wife, Anne, and their three children, six-year-old twins Claire and Rory and three-year-old Tom. His family have become part of his work, and along with the island, they too now are inspiration and motivation.

‘Island Life’, an exhibition of McCaul’s work, opened in The Western Light Art Gallery, Keel, Achill, on Sunday. In it, viewers will find McCaul’s distinctive landscapes, some peopled, some not. All are Achill.

Atlantic Cliffs, Achill; 60x60cms; Oil on Canvas

The move west
“Friends of mine used to come to Achill camping every year, and when I started painting – about 15 years ago – they said, ‘you’ve got to come over to here’,” McCaul tells The Mayo News.

“I’d never been before. I came over for the first time maybe 12 years ago. I came over on my own. I’d spent two months in San Francisco with work and it was quite a stressful job over there … When I came home I said, I’m going to take a week off – I need a break from this. So I used that time to come over to Achill.
“I booked myself into the Bervie Guesthouse, and I just had the most incredible four days. I’d never been struck by a place … I was just gobsmacked. It was June – glorious sunshine, blue skies. I was just blown away. Completely and utterly captivated. Every day I was looking at different parts, and I just fell in love with the place.

“I started coming back regularly over the years, painting. Then we got a house on Achill, about seven years ago. I got married eight years ago, and we’d come and go between Dublin and Achill.”
The west constantly tugged, and eventually, the McCauls decided to stay. “When the twins were ready to go to school … we said we’d come down to Achill and see how it works out. And it’s been brilliant; absolutely great.

“The kids started school here in Saula and our little guy, Tom, started in naíonra this year. Because we got to know a lot of people over the years from coming down, it’s just been a lovely transition. We’ve been very warmly welcomed into the community.”

'Facing the Atlantic', 50x50cms

Love of the landscape Since moving to Achill, the island has formed the bulk of what McCaul paints. Words such as ‘desolate’, ‘stark’, ‘quiet’, ‘provocative’ have been used to describe McCaul’s work. While the qualities are certainly there, the paintings are not depressing.
“It [the landscape of the west] can seem pretty desolate and wild, and sometimes I want to get some of that into a painting, but all of my paintings have to have warmth. Warmth draws people in. Some of the work would be that broody, dark, sort of west-of-Ireland skies … but even with those pieces, I’ll try to make sure there’s life or warmth in the painting somewhere.”

He cites French artist Claude Idlas as an influence. “Very simple shapes, lovely strong, blocky colours – primary colours, primary yellows and blues and reds, and various shades and hues of them … happy paintings. When I started painting I wanted to get across something like that as well.”
McCaul found ways to use the same colours, but ‘to make them believable’ in an Irish landscape. “With a lot of traditional Irish landscape [art], the colours might be true to what you see on a fairly dull day, but they just don’t convey any sense of warmth.

“I use the colours to get the right feeling. That feeling, say, of standing on the beach all on your own. That’s one of my first memories of Achill. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up at about six in the morning and went for a walk on the beach. A beautiful summer’s morning – no one there, tide out. It was just this idyllic morning. The sound of the sea, the breeze, the cliffs. And I was sketching it – but how do you get across that amazing sense of feeling, that sense of being there on your own, listening to the water, the early-morning birds and the wind? I think colours are a way of doing that.

“There’s a lot of movement in my work too. All the work is done with a palette knife. The initial painting is painted with a brush in outline … everything else I do with a knife, constantly moving and blending the paint around the canvas. So even though there might be a simple composition with three or four main elements, there’s a huge amount of movement in subtle colour changes. Every block of colour has a lot going on within it.”

'On Keel Beach', 60x60cms

Peopling scenes
McCaul’s work has recently begun to move away from ‘strict landscape’, and he has started to introduce figures.
“All my paintings were always about landscape,” McCaul explains. “Even when I put buildings into them, the buildings were simply there to draw your attention. They were always kept very simple – no doors, no windows, no man-made elements other than the shape of the building. The idea is to draw the viewer in, but there’s nothing there to hold you – you continue on into the landscape. The buildings are effectively part of the landscape.”

The appearance of figures is linked to one of McCaul’s other hats – the hat of the musician. “I was prompted by Will [William Merriman], who I play with in The Harvest Ministers. We just released an anthology of the best of what we’ve done over the last 20 years. We’ve released six albums and various singles over time, particularly in the ’90s. Will asked me to do something for the album cover, and he specifically wanted me to put some people in the painting. And I was like, ‘Will, I don’t do people!’”
Merriman wouldn’t take no for an answer, however, so McCaul gave it a go – and he discovered a new element to incorporate into his landscape art.

'The Paddling Pool' - 40x40cms

“I was looking for a way to put people or figures into the paintings that allowed me to use them in the same way that I use the buildings – as focal points, where I could put lots of colour and lots of texture but very little detail. So I started putting in very simple spherical heads and a body and two legs and that’s it. Everything else – all the character – is in the colour, and maybe the slight of a figure’s stance. You can put a lot of expression and character into that.

And the figures themselves? Well, they were there all along, under another of McCaul’s favourite hats. They are the members of his own family.
“The paintings are much more personal, because they’re about my own family – but they’re still landscape paintings. Even though the people might be the central figures, like the buildings, they’re not there to hold you – they’re there to draw you in and bring you to the rest of the painting. They’re a way to bring the landscape out.”

'Under the Shelter of Slievemore' , 60x60cms

The focal points might be kept simple, but there’s one detail likely to resonate with local viewers: the occasional appearance of a Mayo jersey. “Ah,” McCaul laughs, “That’s ’cause unfortunately my kids, the three of them, have switched over to Mayo. So we’ve got three Mayo supporters in the house. My little guy, Rory, started playing football about two years ago, and he’s really gone completely Mayo mad. We go into McHale Park for the home games. I tried to push Dublin at them, but they’re not interested…!

“It’s amazing the way you can tell a story in a painting just by including one or two tiny details, like a jersey or a football – but still leave enough room for whoever’s looking at the painting to put themselves into it or take more from it.”

Padraig McCaul’s exhibition, ‘Island Life’, is running at The Western Light Art Gallery, Keel, Achill, throughout the summer. For more information on the artist, his work and his classes, visit www.padraigmccaul.com.

Art in Action....on Achill Island 2014

2014-05-05T16:41:00.002-07:00

I've just spent the last 3 days demonstrating and exhibiting at Art in Action, at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. And it's been a blast!

Art in Action - Farmleigh House, 2014

This was the first time I have ever attended Art in Action, let alone take part in it. But when I was invited last year to take part in the 2014 event I jumped at the chance, having heard about it through some friends and other artists. The concept is very simple - bring together a diverse collection of painters, craft workers, ceramicists, sculptors, in fact all types of artists, and have them share what they do with the general public.

So I set up temporary studio in the Craftworkers marquee and painted for the 3 days.

Art in Action 2014

What a great way to spend the weekend:) This was a real family event, with both children's and adults art classes being held each day - painting, potting, all sorts of crafts. It was just a great festival of art! And it's got me all fired up for my first painting workshop of 2014 which takes place on Achill Island next weekend, May 10th and 11th.

There are still some places left - but if even a 10th of the people that said they wanted to come to Achill for one of my workshops show up then I'm in trouble! The full list of dates for my 2014 workshops on Achill Island are:

May - 10th/11th

Art in Action, on Achill Island!

June - 7th/8th ( *This looks like it might be fully booked, pending confirmation from 2 people. So please check with me first)

July - 29th/30th/31st - This is being run as part of the Scoil Acla Summer School.

August - 4/5/6/7

August - 11/12/13/14

August - 18/19/20/21

Full details of the workshops can be found at www.padraigmccaul.com

Unique Limited Edition Print 'FAMILY' Now Available

2014-03-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

'Family' Limited Edition Print with Oil Over-Painting

My new Limited Edition Print FAMILY is now available to order.

Printed on Hanemuele German Etching Paper, each print is individually hand finished, the figures being over-painted in Oil, making each copy a one-off, unique piece. The edition is limited to 25 and comes mounted and framed.

Details:
Image Size: 11.5" x 11.5"
Edition Size: 25
Framed Size: 40x40cms
Price: €295 (Including shipping)

The print will be available at my upcoming exhibition Family Album which runs in the Dun Laoghaire Art Gallery from April 3rd to 19th. View the full exhibition here...http://www.padraigmccaul.com/GalleryMain.asp?GalleryID=142532&AKey=HPCT53G4

For further details please contact me at info@padraigmccaul.com or ph:086 8801733

What's the difference between Miles Davis and Miles Davis?

2014-02-19T04:15:00.001-08:00

About 10 years it seems....

I've never been a big Jazz fan. The only jazz album I've ever owned until recently is Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, which by any standard is probably one of the best ever recorded. Sketches from Spain is another I bought around the same time, but that has always sounded more like an orchestral piece to me so I don't really count that. But I fell in love with Kind of Blue the first time I heard it. The music and the playing on it are just amazing.

Well it's been on the iPod a lot in the studio lately, and it led me to search out some more from Miles. So after downloading a couple of 'Best of' albums ('The Real Miles Davis' is a great one) I finally went and bought Bitches Brew. None of the tracks on this album tend to feature on any of the 'Best Of' albums, and yet it is routinely cited as one of the top three Miles Davis albums (Kind of Blue is always in the list too). And if you listen to it you can see why.

There is only 10 years between them (Kind of Blue was released in 1959 and Bitches Brew in 1969) but the difference in style and sound is unreal and could be measured in light years! There is something primal about the tracks on Bitches Brew, it's like music in free fall, made up on the spot, and sounds nothing like the beautiful, melodic music of Kind of Blue. But it's a brilliant album too, it just gets in on you and is great music to work to. And it's by Miles Davis - the same guy that made Kind of Blue!

It's been on non-stop in the studio for the last month. I'm not sure if it's having any influence on the new paintings I've been working on, but you'll have a chance to see the results at my upcoming exhibition, Family Album, which opens in Dublin at Dun Laoghaire Art Gallery on April 3rd. There's still plenty of work to be done before then but here is sneak preview of one of the new ones...

'Family' Oil on Canvas, 50x50cms

3 New Limited Editions Now Available for the Autumn Exhibitions..

2013-10-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Winner of my new print competition, Marion Bockman, with her prize!

Earlier in the year I ran a competition to help me choose which painting to create my next Limited Edition from. And here's Marion, winner of the competition with her prize - one of the first copies of the new 'Homeland' print!

As well as 'Homeland' I have produced 2 other new prints, 'West Cork Homestead' and 'Tom', all of which will be available at my exhibition in Whites of Wexford, as well as at Art Source in the RDS in November and Craft Fair in the RDS in Dublin.

That brings my collection of Limited Editions to 15. The full collection can be seen here...www.padraigmccaul.com

'West Cork Homestead', 18x18ins Limited Edition Archival Print

'Tom', 10x10ins Limited Edition Archival Print

Exhibiting at Whites Hotel during the Wexford Opera FRINGE, from 25th October

2013-10-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

I somehow managed to delete my previous post about the upcoming Fringe festival exhibition, so here are the details again...

I will be exhibiting in Whites Hotel in Wexford during the Opera Fringe Festival from Oct 25th to 28th and Oct 31st to November 3rd. I'll be in the Selksar Suite on the 1st floor from 11am to 7pm each day.

There's a nice mention about the exhibition in the latest edition of the Irish Arts Review...

http://www.irishartsreview.com/whats-on/129-wexford

'Under Summer Clouds' 50x50cms

I will be exhibiting my full collection of Limited Edition Prints and Art Cards, as well as over 30 original oil paintings. Don't ask me how I'm going to fit them all in!

'On the Saula Road' 40x40cms

Homeland - New Solo Exhibition and Video

2013-06-20T03:27:00.002-07:00

'Our Mountain', 60x60cms

My new exhibition, Homeland, opens in The Doorway Gallery on June 27th.

I'm starting to get excited about it now and am really looking forward to seeing the reaction to my latest 'Family' paintings. It's a little bit of a departure for me and has made the new show much more personal. I don't have too many of them in the exhibition but just enough to tell a little story of our time living on Achill Island.

That's the family there in the painting above, on 'our beach', under 'Our Mountain'. Jack the dog isn't ours but he likes to hang around and play with the kids, so he get's to be in the painting!

Homeland Video

I put together a short video, a mix of paintings from the show and some footage that I shot in my studio of me talking about the ideas behind the exhibition. It features a song from The Harvest Ministers, 'You do my world the world of good'.

This was the first single we ever released, it was recorded around the kitchen table in the recording studio in one live take. It's still one of my favourites and just goes to show that sometimes that special 'magic' comes only once and you have to learn to leave as it is once you've found it, and don't go trying to 'improve' or tamper with it. Just like a painting!

New Work On Show at the Affordable Art Fair in London this Week

2013-06-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Affordable Art Fair takes place again this week in Hampstead, London and once again the Doorway Gallery will be exhibiting some new work of mine there.

'Riverbank Rooftops' Oil on Canvas, 60x60cms by Padraig McCaul

If you would like free tickets to the fair please contact the gallery at..

24 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2
Ph: 01 764 5895
www.thedoorwaygallery.com

As if to act as a reminder to me to let you know about the fair I received a lovely email over the weekend from someone who purchased a painting of mine at the fair last year. Without giving away any names I thought I would share it with you...

'I bought a painting of yours over a year ago at the affordable art show. It seemed so much money at the time and I had to pay half in cash and borrowed half off my sister. It looks amazing in my house now and I love it. Sometimes if I'm watching tv and its boring I swing my head round and sit and gaze at it instead. I've had so much pleasure from that painting, I thought you should know!'

'The Road Home' by Padraig McCaul, Oil on Canvas, 100x100cms

Now there's an email that put a smile on my face :) It's amazing how good it can make you feel when someone goes to the trouble of simply letting you know they are enjoying your work!

You should try it sometime, I know I plan to.

2 days of Sunshine, Pleasure and Painting on Achill Island

2013-06-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend! I've just been reflecting on a perfect weekend painting on Achill Island with a lovely group of enthusiastic (and talented!) art lovers. Easy to see why my summer painting workshops are something I look forward to each year!

Painting workshop with Padraig McCaul on Achill Island , 2013

But this one was extra special. Glorious sunshine for the 2 days, breakfast in the garden each morning with the kids, before meeting up with the group to share some of my favourite painting locations on Achill. We spent a lot of time sketching and talking and just looking at the unspoilt views at Keel and Dooagh and Saula. The remainder of the day was spent painting indoors, absorbed in the challenges of trying to put down on canvas what we had spent the morning observing and sketching.

Then there was the bonus of getting to build friendships that I know will last for a long time. Add to that a great evening at home on friday with friends from Dublin, a gorgeous meal on saturday night in the Bervie (top 5 places to eat in Achill according to the Irish Times) with two very special people from Canada, a celebratory pizza with the kids in Pure Magic on sunday night (also in the top 5 places to eat!) and it all adds up to the perfect weekend.

Drawing the Minaun Cliffs on Achill Island, June 2013

Next painting workshop on Achill is not until July 20/21 but I'm already working on the weather!

'West Cork Homestead' - A New Painting For The London Affordable Art Fair

2013-06-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a trip to Adrigole, a small village on the Beara Penninsula in West Cork. I was dropping some new paintings into the Hungry Hill Gallery, one my favourite trips each year.

'West Cork Homestead' 80x80cms Oil on Canvas, By Padraig McCaul

It takes a while to get there from Achill, about five and a half hours, but once you turn off from the main Killarney to Cork road and start driving along the narrow Kerry roads that bring you to Kenmare, you start to forget the previous four and a half hours of monotonous driving and become enthralled by the beauty of the landscape. Thick, lush green hedgerows and trees follow the winding roads that bring you to the beautiful town of Kenmare. After that it's a drive over the Caha Pass - no time this trip to take the more scenic route over the Healy Pass - before you reach Glengarriff, nestled in the Beara landscape of barren rock and bright green fields and trees, with it's boats and pubs and tourist shops. And then it's only a short trip down to Adrigole, with Bantry Bay on one side and the mountains on the other. It's an amazing place.

And every time I go there the sun seems to be shining! But what gets me every time is just how green the landscape is, and how blue the sea is. These are my 'Cork' colours. Green and Blue. My painting 'West Cork Homestead' is typical of my 'Cork' colours. It depicts a small Irish farmhouse, with it's hayshed and barns tucked in close to it, overlooking Kenmare Bay on the other side of the Beara Penninsula to Bantry Bay.

The Doorway Gallery will be exhibiting West Cork Homestead in a few weeks time in London at the Affordable Art Fair which takes place from june 13th to 16th. Please contact the gallery via their website for invites if you would like to addend the show - they would be delighted to send you out some.

It is also one of two new Limited Edition Archival prints that I have released in advance of my upcoming solo exhibition 'Homeland', which the Doorway Gallery will be hosting this summer in Dublin (more details to come in the coming weeks). It is printed at 18"x18" on Hahnemuhle German Etching paper, signed and numbered in an edition of 100, and has been produced by the master printers themselves at Inspirational Arts, Dublin, so the colours are sparkling!

The Limited Edition Archival print of West Cork Homeland is now available to order online at www.padraigmccaul.com . It costs €250 ($325) and includes shipping worldwide.

You will always remember your first Achill Island Painting Workshop

2013-03-23T04:40:00.001-07:00

You always remember the first time, right?

Well the first painting workshop I ran on Achill Island was pretty special...I'd been hoping for a nice sized group, maybe six or seven, enough to create a good dynamic and to ensure some good interaction over the two days of the workshop. The room I'd booked could easily cater for more if any latecomers showed up looking for a place, plus I'd bought in a few extra easels, made sure I had plenty of brushes and paints and canvases. By my own standards I was well organised.

My first confirmed booking had been taken nearly two months before the start of the workshop and there had been a steady flow of interest. This was going to work!

Sort of. As it turned out, despite all the interest, that first booking was the one and only! The dates didn't suit, a partner couldn't get the time off, 'we'll do it next month instead'... Lots of excuses, but only one person signed up.. It was going to be a long weekend...!

But it turned out to be very special weekend. The lady that had booked, let's call her Catherine, turned out to be one of those people you meet in your life that make you feel better for just having been in their company. Catherine was a pensioner, and recently widowed. A born and bred Dubliner with a warm heart.

Catherine had been coming to Achill every year to paint for longer than she would admit. For two weeks each year she would come with her husband and paint the Minaun Cliffs, Keem Bay, Croghaun, Keel Beach...She was passionate about Achill. It had got under her skin, she had the bug! Her husband didn't paint but would accompany her each day, sit and read the paper in the car and together in the evening they would discuss the day's painting. On one such day her husband suffered a massive heart attack and died. She had lost her companion and friend on those painting trips.

But Catherine continued to come to Achill, on her own, to paint and to remember her husband. Some friends tried to dissuade her, they couldn't understand why she would come all that way on her own, to a place where 'it always rained' (not true!), and was so remote and isolated. They didn't see the beauty of the island, they just didn't 'get Achill' they way some people do and that makes them return time after time. But Catherine did.

And so this particular weekend she spent it with me. She was the gentlest character you could wish to meet. She was constantly apologising for taking too much of my time or for asking too many questions! I had to keep reminding her that she had in fact paid for the weekend and therefore could ask me as many questions or take as much of my time as she wanted. We spent the mornings at Keem Bay and Keel and Dookinella, sketching and drawing before heading back to Ted's function room where we painted for the rest of the day, stopping at lunchtime for a bowl of their legendary homemade soup and brown bread.

She told me stories about the many times she and her husband had come to Achill, about the painting classes she had attended on the island and how previous tutors would arrive in the morning to give a short demonstration... then leave, and let the class work away on their own for the rest of the day! I started to get a much better idea about how I was going to run my own workshops, and from her I got a sense of what was working and what wasn't.

The workshops have developed since then but the one thing that doesn't seem to change is the type of people that attend them. Without exception I tend to attract warm hearted, generous, friendly people who want to spend a few days painting, enjoy their time on the island and make some new friends in the process. And that's why I find myself looking forward to the start of the 'season' every year, wondering about the people who will attend and what stories I'll be priveleged to be part of for a few days.

My next workshop on Achill Island is on May 11th & 12th. Full details are on my website

www.padraigmccaul.com

Find me on Facebook

And The Winner Is.........

2013-03-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who took part in my recent Facebook competition to help me choose the image for my next Limited Edition Print. The response was much better than I had expected and the result was not quite what I had expected. Which made the whole thing really worthwhile!

Anyway, in the end it turned out to be a dead heat between image number 1 (Homestead) and image number 6 (Homeland). Each received 37% of the votes, leaving 26% to be shared out between the other 4 images.

'Homestead' 80x80cms Oil on Canvas

And the winner of the competition is.....Marion! (name and email kept private). Congratulations, I'll be sending on one of the first copies of the print in the coming weeks once it has been produced.

This was great fun, expect another competition sometime soon!

In Conversation with James Sweetman

2013-02-27T06:01:00.003-08:00

I recently gave an interview to James Sweetman for his online e-Zine and Blog. James is a highly-rated and well-respected Executive and Personal Coach, Trainer, Keynote Speaker, Author and Columnist, and he had some great questions. Over to you James....

In the latest in my series of articles where I interview people who have aligned their passion with their profession, I met with landscape artist Padraig Mccaul to discuss his inspirations and how he was able to step out of the corporate world and make a living doing what he loves. Read the full interview here - http://www.jamessweetman.com/2013/02/padraig-mccaul-interview/

London 2013 - Affordable Art Fair

2013-02-21T15:47:00.002-08:00

'Clifden Skies' 100x80cms

The Doorway Gallery will be exhibiting at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, London, next month, and will be showing a large selection of my new paintings there. http://affordableartfair.com/battersea/

Unfortaunately I won't get a chance to get over there myself but if anyone would like invites to the show please let me know, or contact the gallery directly at www.thedoorwaygallery.com , they will be happy to send on some invitations.

This is the first big show of 2013 and I'm looking forward to seeing how some of my new work is received in London. Once of the pieces that will be on show there is 'Clifden Skies'.

This is a painting I started working on over two years ago! I got it to a certain point and then it just lay in the studio, as I waited for the burst of inspiration required to take it over the finishing line. Well it arrived last week. I've been really happy with some of the work I've been doing over the past couple of weeks and thought now was the time to try and finish it.

'Connemara Farmhouse' 60x60cms

It could have something to do with the music I've been playing in the studio - lots of My Bloody Valentine and Led Zeppelin. I got the new MBV album, which is great, but it sent me back to their earlier album, Loveless, which is just incredible. And it's perfect music to paint to.

Anyway, here are some more pieces that have been born out of the beautiful, distorted noise of MBV, all of which will be on show in London. To see the full collection please go to my website at www.padraigmccaul.com

'The Long Road' 60x60cms

Here we go again...Welcome to 2013

2013-01-25T12:21:00.001-08:00

Wow, I hadn't realised I had left it so long since my last post - nearly 3 months ago! But I haven't been idle you know...

I had a really busy run up to Christmas with the Wexford Opera Festival, Art Source and the National Craft Fair, as well the London Affordable Art Fair in October. It was a bit of a whirlwind - all happening within 5 weeks of each other - but very worthwhile and very successful. The most enjoyable aspect of the fairs though is getting the opportunity to meet everyone. It is such a privilege to know that what you 'work' at brings such joy and happiness to some people.

'Homeland' Oil on Canvas, 80x80cms

But busy and all as last year was, 2013 is going to be crazy! The Doorway Gallery have a hectic schedule of exhibitions pencilled in, starting with two London exhibitions at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea (March) and Hampstead (June), then I have a solo show - Homeland - opening in the gallery on June 27th which will be running until the end of August. We have lots of events planned to coincide with 'Homeland' and I'll be letting everyone know about it closer to the time.


'The Little Footballer' - Oil on Canvas; 8x8cms

On top of all that are a couple of projects which are very close to my heart but which I can't say too much about yet! However one of them is related to our first year living on Achill Island, watching the kids grow up, settling into a new way of life. So far it's been a pure joy. There are days in the studio when I catch myself asking if life could be any better right now. It's obviously affecting my painting too. Here's something a little different...'The Little Footballer'. Can anyone spot the Mayo jersey??

The soundtrack to this contented period of work in the studio is firmly rooted in the 1970s. I've been listening to lots of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd - it's like being back in my first year in college as a 17 year old! But just listen to Led Zeppelin's new live album and try telling me they're not as vital and raw and alive as anything being produced right now. And they're in their 60s!

http://youtu.be/PD-MdiUm1_Y

Music to Paint to - Whipping Boy's 'When We Were Young'

2012-10-15T15:20:00.001-07:00

The electricity was cut off in the studio one day last week. No radio, no CD player, no coffee machine!

It was lovely for a little while, I opened the door, listened to the birds singing and realised just how little time I allow myself to appreciate nature. So I painted for a while, in tune with the singing of the birds.

Then I got a bit restless, went for a swim in the pool in Mulranny and when I came back to the studio the electricity was back on. So I switched on the coffee machine, put Dublin band Whipping Boy's album 'Twinkle' in the CD player and started again. Caffeine and loud music. That's what gets me going in the studio. And it doesn't come any better than Whipping Boy. I went to see them play in Dublin's Tivoli theatre on my stag night seven years ago. At the time I was still working in software development, having just moved back from San Francisco. Wow, that seems like an age away, a different world, it's hard to believe just how much has changed since then. Earning a living as an artist is such a privilege! And such a pleasure.

But spending days alone in the studio can lead to a lot of reminiscing. In fact it's amazing the things that go through your head - it's not all about contemplating the meaning of life or the importance of each brushstroke! But reminiscing is what I've been doing most over the last week or so, with a soundtrack of Whipping Boy, Teenage Fanclub and the Harvest Ministers playing in the background. And this song - 'When We Were Young' - just brings me back 25 years in an instant. Sometimes bands come along that seem to write songs that just connect with you, songs that stay with you forever, no matter how old you get! This is one of mine (although the lyrics don't necessarily reflect my own experiences as a teenager growing up!). Play it LOUD.

From Achill to Dublin to London

2012-09-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

'Under a Big Sky' - 60x60cms - Oil on Canvas

I'll be heading up to Dublin this weekend to drop some new work into the Doorway Gallery. The new paintings are destined for London next month where the gallery will be exhibiting again at the Affordable Art Fair in October.

Here are two of the new pieces I will be sending over with the gallery. 'Under a Big Sky' - (60x60 cms, Oil on Canvas) takes it's cue from last year's Sentinels exhibition. I've been dying to do a 'sky' painting for some time now and this one just took off!

'A Quiet Road' - (60x60cms - Oil on Canvas) is based on some sketches I made over the summer in Achill - my new home.

Oh yes, I moved to Achill with my family at the start of august! We've been so busy moving over, settling in, emptying boxes, building Ikea furniture, starting school, renting out our home in Dublin, running my August painting workshops, setting up my new studio - that I've had no time to let anyone know :)

'A Quiet Road' - 60x60cms - Oil on Canvas

I'll get around to writing a few dedicated blog posts about life in Achill once I get into my new routine but for the moment we are loving it, the kids are happy and we're talking about getting some chickens. TALKING about it.

'Off the Beaten Path' - 40x40cms - Limited Edition Giclee Print

Keep an eye on my Facebook page for more photos and news from the island. I will also be posting news of my latest Limited Edition Giclee Print 'Off the Beaten Path' - which I am making available at a special introductory price of €150 ($195), including shipping to the first 10 people to buy it online. I was prompted to make this print based on the amazing response the painting received when I posted it online over the summer. I received the final print from my printers and the quality is simply stunning.

You can order it online now at www.padraigmccaul.com/

That's it for now, lots more to come in the next few months...

Road Trip - Ardmore, Adrigole and Wexford

2012-07-06T03:54:00.000-07:00

I'm just back from a road trip through clouds and sea fog, dropping off work for summer exhibitions in Wexford, Ardmore and Adrigole. The weather was appalling, visibility was no more than 50 feet for hours on end.

'The Gables' - Available in Ardmore Pottery & Craft Shop

First stop was Ardmore in Waterford, which I believe is a beautiful seaside village - it's just that I wasn't able to see much of it with the fog and rain! But what I did see was stunning. I was invited to exhibit in Ardmore Pottery and Craft Shop last year and I'm really glad I took the opportunity this summer. It is situated on the cliff road out of the village, looking over the sea and magnificent Ardmore beach, and about 500 metres from the renowned Cliff House Hotel. The craft shop/gallery is owned and run by ceramicist Mary Lincoln and contains a great selection of Irish craft, ceramics and paintings. I think I'll be happy there :)

Back into the car and onwards to West Cork and the Hungry Hill Gallery in Adrigole, one of my favourite trips each year. Through more fog and clouds. But just as I drove into Adrigole three hours later a beautiful blue sky appeared and stayed for the evening.

'Mist Comes Down, Beara' - available in the Hungry Hill Gallery

I love when things happen like that. As ever the welcome and the hospitality from Gerry and Cecile was worth the trip alone. But the big bonus this year was that I got to meet their beautiful six month old daughter Amelie for the first time.
After a lovely home cooked meal and a bottle of Saint-Emilion Grand Cru that Gerry unearthed it was off to bed.

Next day, I'm back on the road and heading for Wexford to Whites Hotel. I have an exhibition running there for the month of July in the foyer. Whites Hotel is in the heart of Wexford Town and in some ways is the heart of the town. It acts as a meeting place for everyone and so is a lovely place to be able to exhibit.

Whites Hotel, Wexford. July 1st to 31st

I'm on the road again tomorrow, this time over to Achill Island where I have some painting workshops organised for next week - July 14/15. It never ends!

Summer Exhibitions 2012

2012-06-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

'Bog cotton, Achill' - 40x30cms

Summer is here. Somewhere, under the clouds and the rain! Let's hope it appears again before next week as I'm off for a week's holiday in Kerry with the family. Can't wait for the break as it's been a busy couple of months - and it just seems to be getting busier.

The 3x3 exhibition finished up in Newbridge last weekend so I drove over to pick up my paintings on monday (I was delighted to hear that I'd sold one of the bigger pieces!). Special thanks to Brian O'Loughlin and everyone involved in the exhibition for putting on such a strong exhibition and for all the energy and work they put into it.

Brian produces beautiful Bog Oak sculptures and had some amazing work at the exhibition. You can check out his work here - http://irishbogoak.com/wp/
Perhaps it was seeing his work that inspired me to rework an old bog cotton painting of mine - 'Bog Cotton, Achill'.

Before I head off on holidays however I have to get some paintings out to my galleries for their summer exhibitions.

"A Quiet Moment, West Cork" - 80x80cms

I have just sent some new work down to the Lahinch Art Gallery in Clare and am busy finishing paintings for The Hungry Hill Gallery in Cork. Then, in July I will have an exhibition running in Whites Hotel, Wexford from the 4th to the 31st. One of the bigger pieces I will be displaying there is "A Quiet Moment, West Cork", 80x80 cms.

From Wexford it's only a short drive to Waterford, and Ardmore Pottery, where I will leaving some work for the first time. FInd out more about Ardmore Pottery here http://www.ardmorepottery.com

3 x 3 - Group Exhibition in Newbridge

2012-05-29T04:15:00.001-07:00

I will have some work included in a group exhibition that opens this thursday in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. The show runs until June 17th, so if you are in the area do drop in.

The exhibition is called 3x3 and is being held as part of the June Festival which takes place in the town. It includes 3 artists from Newbridge, 3 from Kildare and 3 from outside Kildare.....they are:

3 from Newbridge; Mauve Mulcaghy (watercolour); Elanor Swan (ceramics) Eamonn Keenan (oils)

3 from Kildare; Brian O'Loughlin (bog oak); Annette Mc Cormick (bronze);Margret Becker (etching/print)

3 from Ireland; Padraig Mc Caul (Oil); Laurence O' Toole (oil/acrylic); Brock Butler (multi media)

The exhibition is being held in a 250sq m. vacant unit opening on to the main street in Newbridge and backs onto the Courtyard shopping centre, which is right beside the WhiteWater Shopping Centre.

'Still Lives' moves to Dungarvan for 5 weeks

2012-05-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

'Still Lives: Sky View'; 80x80cms, Oil & Wax on Linen

After a successful run in the Dalkey Heritage Centre, my current exhibition 'Still Lives' moves to the Old Market House Arts Centre in Dungarvan, Co.Waterford for a 5 week run.

The exhibition will run from May 18th to June 23rd. It will include some new pieces that were not part of the Dalkey show, including 'Sky View' (pictured here).

Thanks to everyone who visited the show in the Dalkey and for all the wonderful feedback - and especially to those who bought some of the new paintings!

'A Still day, West Cork'

Comedian Tommy Tiernan dropped in on the Wednesday morning and fell in love with one of the bigger pieces 'A Still Day, West Cork'. Unfortunately (typically!) it was already sold and destined for a good home in London! Maybe next time.

'Mists Come Down, Beara'; 50x50cms, Oil & Wax on Linen

Keep an eye out for the Phoenix Magazine later this week when they will be including a special feature on the state of the Art sector in Ireland. I get a small mention plus an image published.

Opening Night for "Still Lives"

2012-04-19T02:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great opening night for "Still Lives" at the Dalkey Heritage Centre. Thanks to everyone who came! And a special thank you to Olivia O'Leary who gave a wonderful opening speech.

I will be giving a talk in the gallery this saturday - 21st - at 2pm, so if anyone is in the area do drop in.

It's been lovely to hear people's reaction to the new work and stars of the show so far, among others, are "Winter Road, Achill" and "Mist Comes Down, Beara" (below)

"Winter Road, Achill" 80x80cms

The exhibition runs from 11am to 5pm each day and closes next sunday, april 22nd.

After that the show will be moving down to the Market House Gallery in Dungarvan, Co.Waterford and will run from May 18th to June 23rd. I will be posting more details a little closer to the date.

My summer workshops on Achill Island kick off next month also. The first workshop is on May 12th and 13th and there are still some places left. Full details are available as always on my website - www.padraigmccaul.com

"Mist Comes Down, Beara" 50x50cms

Opening night - "Still Lives"

Opening night for "Still Lives"

"Still Lives" to be opened by Olivia O'Leary

2012-03-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

My new exhibition Still Lives is almost 3 weeks away. Opening night is the 17th April and I'm delighted to announce that the show will be officially opened by award winning journalist and broadcaster Olivia O'Leary.

Most of the work is almost completed, with the exception of a few of the larger pieces. But I need to let them "settle" and sit in the studio for a while so that I can pick up on any small changes or touches that I think are needed. It's an important part of my painting process - to allow time at the end to just live with the paintings in the studio. It's amazing what little things you can do to a painting at the very last minute that can make a profound impact to the overall painting.

This piece was "finished" two weeks ago, and I was happy with it. But something was nagging away at me telling me it needed something else. And then I added the shock of red to the gable end, and it suddenly came alive!

Here is another of the new pieces from "Still Lives". No titles yet, I will be writing a little more about the thoughts behind the exhibition in the next few weeks. I will also be posting a YouTube video of the paintings which I am close to finishing.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone for all of the warm congratulations I received over the success of my work at the Affordable Art Fair in London last week. It's a brilliant platform from which to grow my profile in the UK, so a special thank you to Denise and Deirdre at the Doorway Gallery for being so pro-active about promoting and marketing their artists abroad.