From Kenmare
Posted: July 19, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized 23 CommentsThis might be a heat wave, by Irish standards. Bright blue skies, tops of mountains visible, and shorts and t-shirts pulled from the depths of my suitcase for the first time since I’ve been here. From my spot in Kenmare on the Ring of Kerry, I can look across the Kenmare River and see the hills of the Beara Peninsula. It’s a joy to finally be painting some pure Irish landscape. The hills across the river are nothing like the tree-covered hills I’m used to in North America. The view is much softer with visible layers of rock and grass. It’s a challenge to think about how to deal with it in paint, but I’m always up for a challenge.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
Beautiful. So glad you got to see Ireland at its best.
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Thanks Tony. What a spot. The views around each curve in the road are stupendous. if only there weren’t sommany curves in the road!
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Thanks Tony. I’ve really been enjoying the Irish countryside. Lots to paint here!
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Beautiful Work!
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Thanks!
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Thanks so much!
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Wow– Love the color! So rich and beautiful. Thanks for sharing from afar. Enjoy your travels!
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Thanks so much Jean!
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Thanks Jean!
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No one better to do the variety within these greens. And the sweeping depth of field brings me there. Wonderful narration of all these Irish locations !
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It looks lush, green, and beautiful! Glad you got to see it in all its glory 🙂
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I certainly did. The sun came out at the right time for me.
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Really lovely Shari. Just as I remember it.
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Thanks so much Kate!
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I love this, Shari. The glimpse of blue water.
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I just love the whites sparkling through….looks like possibly rough WC paper?
It gives it so much life. Thanks for sharing while you are traveling.
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Thanks!
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Forget to respond to your question about paper. This was cold pressed, but the mop brush creates a lot of texture if you drag it over dry paper.
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Forgot to say first time …. think I detect a bit of Lopez Island / Tom Hoffman influence in this one? Or maybe it’s just a similarity in subject matter? Hope the weather’s still good for you.
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I think you’re right about that. Tom paints Lopez so often, and my views were very similar. I’m sure I had Tom in my head for this.
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Beautiful. I wonder about the technique you use to obtain sparkling white spots throughout. Rough paper or wax or something else?
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Hi Jasmine,
That’s Saunders Waterford paper which is quite smooth. I was using a squirrel mop brush which can slide over the top of the paper and leave some white spots, if you don’t overload it too much with wash. It’s great for getting glints on water.
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Isn’t that a wonderful spot? Nice variation in the greens…a must in Ireland. Enjoy!
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