Each day, I catch my breath again and again with the beauty in this part of Ireland-the light, the changing sky. Rebecca and I are driving and hiking in this incredible part of Ireland. Our travels have taken us to the vast Inny Beach in the nearby town of Waterville, where we walked the length of the beach and created an Andy Goldsworthy stone sculpture using the lines on beach stones.
We drove to Valentia Island over a mountain on a single-track road edged with high grass-covered stone walls. Some kind of terror in that effort! But the views from the top were out of this world and the island was like a fairy land, with enormous ferns and palm trees here and there.
And almost everywhere we've gone, we've seen brilliant rainbows shooting out of low-hanging clouds. Breathtaking.
On the way home from Valentia Island, we stopped at the beach at Finian's Bay. It was about 5:30pm, the sun was setting and the sky was clear and golden. The tide was out and a local dog was playing in the surf. But the magical part was that off in the distance were the sacred Skellig islands, the setting sun making them floating castles of gold.
I'm doing some writing here but not as much as I'd hoped to do. I've mainly been focused on painting and working with the limited palette I'd set out to use. It's been an exciting journey seeing how the land and the weather is influencing my work. I'm not sure how these pieces will translate into my work at home, or even if they will directly change my work. But surely it will to some degree.
Matisse said: " I am made of all that I have seen".
And so I am much richer for all that I have seen here in County Kerry.
Thank you for sharing your artwork, photos & experiences Janice, stunning, all around!
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