Oils and Pastels by Margaret Dyer

Friday I was ready to catch the bus at 8:45 Friday morning, but I needed a break and the tree pints the night before didn't help. So I let the bus leave without me and I had a late leisurely Irish breakfast. Then went shopping for a sweater and another pair of jeans, thank you USAirways. You'll be getting an invoice. I spent the rest of the day trying to nap, watching a movie, and fretting about the upcoming evening's function: a critique. I was asked to be one of three artists to critique participants' work. I HATE CRITIQUES. I HATE HAVING TO CRITIQUE ANOTHER ARTIST'S WORK. I HATE HAVING ANYBODY CRITIQUE MY WORK. But I'm in don't-turn-anything-down-mode, and I agreed to it. I had a couple of glasses of wine to fortify myself, then shot off my mouth a while in front of the artists. Couldn't wait to crawl back to my hotel room, which is where I am now, hearing live music from the pub 2 floors below. My suitcase arrived Friday night around 7:30, just as I ...

  When meeting another new artist, chatting with a stranger or just observing passers-by, I recognize faces... My mother, gone 31 years now. My Aunt Pat, gone many years, my Uncle Art, gone several years, my nephew Kevin, my early childhood friend Maureen. There's a familiarity to almost every face I encounter. I feel a vague sense of belonging here. A few things I forgot or did not realize about Ireland: They do not pronounce the th sound. It's tree tirty here. Arthursville is Artursville. They are very soft-spoken. I have to lean in close to hear what they're saying. Often, even if I do hear, I don't understand a word they're saying. Irish men are very nice. Twice men have taken my heavy carry-on bag from me and walked me several blocks to my hotel. They weren't coming on to me, they were just being nice. The cream here is so thick it oozes slowly into my coffee. Here's a view of my walk home from the pub last night, where I had tree...

Tuesday Yesterday we were taken to a working farm, home of the Donovan family for 300 years, in Ballymore. In the rolling hills of north Wexford, it overlooks the patchwork valley to Slieveboy (Yellow Mountain). On the grounds there is a 150 year old church and graveyard, a holy well and the site of a Norman castle. It was the site of a rebel camp during the rebellion of 1798 during which there were members of the family on both sides of the conflict. Thank you, Wikipedia. I taught my first 3 hour workshop there Tuesday morning, and spent the rest of the afternoon capturing the light on a tractor. Wednesday Today we climbed onto our huge comfortable tourist bus again and were driven to Ballyhack, a plein-air painter's dream -- when the weather is accommodating. Ballyhack is a small fishing village located in the southwest of County Wexford, on the eastern shore of the Waterford Harbour. Many artists, huddled under umbrellas, gathered around the morning demonstrato as ...

Here's a view from the hotel hall window overlooking the Irish Sea in the distance. Sunday night was the greet and meet here at White's Hotel. Probably 100 artists converged for the reception; 180 from 7 countries are expected to participate in the paint-out. Three lovely Irish ladies came right up to me from the crowd and introduced themselves, setting me right at ease. They had been told to look out for me by Julia Patterson, a Colorado artist I met at the International Association of Pastel Societies in Albuquerque this June. THANK YOU, JULIA!!! And then another beautiful red-headed Irish lass, Jane, introduced herself; she had been told to look for me by fellow Atlanta artist Marsha Savage. THANK YOU, MARSHA!!! We were warmly welcomed by the Mayor of Wexford, a shorter, stouter version of Alec Baldwin, wearing his heavy ceremonial 180 year old gold chain. We then spent the next couple of hours introducing ourselves to each other over free-flowing wine. Ea...

I won't bore you with the details of my delayed and cancelled flights on route to Ireland because I got here and that's all that matters. After a 2 hour bus ride from Dublin, I am in Wexford, waiting for my hotel room and my luggage which got lost again. With my art supplies in it. Tonight the artists converge at this hotel to meet and greet and hear the itinerary for the coming days. By then I will have had a nap, a shower and a drink and I'll be feeling a little more enthusiastic. I hope.   More later..  

On the first day of my 2 week workshop at La Bonne Etoile in France this June, Wendy, a student from Australia, was assigned the task of cutting flowers from the garden and arranging them in pretty little antique vases for each bedroom and the dining tables. We didn't know Wendy had actually worked as a flower arranger in the past, and she blew us away with her stunning arrangements. "Wendy dans le Jardin" is an unframed 11.5"x15.5" pastel, up for auction. Bidding begins at $200. Click post title to be taken to auction.

I know I posted this one before, but it's up for auction now. So here it is again with a link. I've been ordered by my friend Daniel not to name my paintings anymore. I'm to wait for him to help name them. He's tired of names like Cat on a Refrigerator, Tea Time 2, The Piano, Rainy Day in Paris. I'm willing to get help for my lack of imagination. Hopefully this is one of the last with a compelling name like In the Garden. In the Garden is a 15.5 x 11.5 pastel on Sennelier La Carte Pastel Paper. It is up for auction and bidding begins at $200. Click on post title to go to auction.