Month: March 2025

Close up of the crest of the wave, Harry Clarke stained glass, Collins Barracks, National Museum of Ireland, Dublin.

This week we decided to visit an exhibition of Harry Clarke’s stained glass at Collins Barracks. I had already seen some of his work at the Hugh Lane, the National Gallery and in the windows of Bewleys and some nearby churches, so I was curious to see more. The detail in his stained glass is just unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. The snapshot of the wave above is from the lower portion of his work “The meeting of St. Brendan with the Unhappy Judas” (1911). The close up of flames tormenting Judas in the middle image below are from the same piece. To the left and right are two sections of the mermaid’s hair in “A meeting” (1918).

Harry Clarke’s work can be seen in churches all over Ireland.

Autumn was fast approaching when I started scouting out different angles to approach a painting of a local fashion boutique as the annual ‘Best presented shop front’ prize. Tidy Towns had chosen Aquila, so I was dispatched to start work on a small oil painting of the shop’s facade. The completed oil painting would have to be framed and presented to the owners of the shop in October 2024.

For this composition, I chose to include the entire building surrounding the shop, including its classic chimney pots and street trees. The leaves had just turned brown when I began the painting and were starting to fall to the ground by the time I finished it. At a particular time of day the shadows made by the tree branches as they fell against the pale yellow plaster of the old building were quite elegant, so I decided to take more reference photos and work them into the final composition.

I am told the shop owners were delighted with their prize. If you’d like to see the entire painting and not just the segment I’m posting on my website, why not pop into the shop and take a look? It should still be on display just near the counter. Aquila, Oil on Canvas, 21 Strand Street, Skerries, Co. Dublin, Ireland.