Strongbow and Aoife

The painting Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife (Daniel Maclise in1854) has recently undergone restoration by the National Gallery of Ireland.

This large picture depicts the marriage of Strongbow (a Norman lord, Strongbow cider is named after him) to Aoife the daughter of an Irish chieftian and took part in Waterford. It captures the start of Norman rule in Ireland and a period of foreign rule which continued until the early 20th centuary. The wedding was arranged in return for militatry assistance. In some respects foreign rule has returned to Ireland in the form of the Troika due to financial cataclysm that has occurred here and freedoms have been exchanged for loans.

A representation of Reginalds tower is visible behind the couple. You can visit Reginalds tower. The galleries website has a lot of information available on the background and restoration of the painting.

biscuit - custard cream alla prima

Custard Cream   18 x 12 cm

Could not help myself from doing this one! Now if I could just find a nice cup of tea. Ah go on.

Shot Glass alla prima

Shot Glass

A quick study of a shot glass.  I think it suffered as I probably rushed it a bit too much.

New Mexican Black Bear

Bear (Oils  18 x 12 cm)

This little character I picked up in New Mexico a while back.  It suffered some attacks by a puppy but survived and still resides on my desk reminds me of sunnier times. 

Sweet Pea alla prima

Sweet Pea (oil 12 x 18 cm)

Sweet pea in a glass.  About 1 hour. Glass could have been better!

Gmini 402 alla prima

Gmini 402 in oils

This is the next in the series of small oil studies.  This was a blast to do. It may be because I am Quite attached to this little mp3 player. It is an Archos Gmini 402 which also has a camcorder.  Archos were out there working on mp3 players before the ipod launched.
It has been overtaken by newer models but this one does what I want it to do really well which is play mp3s. It is robust easy to use and I principally use it when I am cycling.