Art in the Open Paintings (Wexford, Ireland)

Here are some of my plein air landscape paintings of Ireland from ‘Europe’s biggest plein air painting festival’, the Art in the Open plein air landscape painting festival in Wexford. It was my first time in a painting festival like this and I had a good time.

I’ve painted the Irish landscape before, so I knew what I was getting into weather-wise. Last time I worked a lot from inside the car. This time I bought a full waterproof kit and just painted through the showers. Both methods have their drawbacks.

Landscape Painting of Kilmore Quay, Ireland

Kilmore Quay. 25 x 35 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Landscape Painting of Kilmore Quay, Ireland

The Parking Lot at Kilmore Quay. 20 x 30 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Landscape Painting of Hook Head Lighthouse, Ireland

Approaching Rain, Hook Head Lighthouse. 25 x 35 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Landscape Painting of Hook Head, Ireland

Hook Head Lighthouse. 20 x 30 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Landscape Painting, Hook Head, Ireland

Buildings at Hook Head. 25 x 35 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Cityscape of Wexford, Ireland

Main Street, Wexford. 20 x 30 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Seascape, Wexford Harbor

Boat in Wexford Harbor. 20 x 30 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Landscape Painting of Wexford, Ireland

Wexford Sketch. 20 x 30 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Landscape Painting of Wexford, Ireland

The Quay at Wexford. 25 x 35 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Huntington Castle Painting

Huntington Castle. 25 x 35 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Landscape Painting of Enniscorthy

Enniscorthy Bridge. 25 x 35 cm, oil on linen (on board).

Irish landscape paintings can be quite a challenge with the radically changing weather. The Irish landscape is stunning though and I look forward to going back to AITO next year.

11 comments

  1. Wonderful body of work Marc. We have seen so much gray weather this summer along the far north coast of Ca., a lot like your paintings. The color and values in these paintings really make those grays work beautifully. Jim

  2. Thanks Erik. Painting from a car restricts your subject matter, as there are only so many places to park. Especially in Ireland where you have hedgerows alongside all the roads. It’s also annoying not to be able to step away from the work and see it from a distance.

    Painting in pouring rain can be problematic for a number of reasons: The paint doesn’t always stick well if there are sheets of water on the canvas. I was using Harding’s titanium white which bled in the water, I wont buy it again. The raindrops actually make little craters in the paint if you look at it closely.

    The worst problem though is the wind. It moves the board the whole time and makes details very difficult. On all these works I spent a day in the hotel room straightening lines and fixing wind-caused paint spasms, as well as cleaning up the white bleeds everywhere.

  3. Very nice work Mark, I am organizing a plain air festival in Canada for next summer , in a city call Belleville, you are welcome if you feel like coming, I will let you know more if you are interested, is going to be good prices .

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