The original of one of Monet's many haystack paintings, seen in four images below, is in a museum in Paris.  The upper left image was designated as an official digital image in 2008 when the painting entered the public domain 80 years after Monet's death.  The two images on the right are purported to be of the original painting.  The lower left is a "hand-painted museum quality replica" that can be ordered online for a few hundred dollars. The colors and values in each are certainly different!  We could go view the original in Paris to compare it to these images, but the museum lighting may be quite different from the ambience in which Monet painted (perhaps in plein air, but of no consequence according to the artist!).  Also, Monet had advanced cataracts which probably gave everything he saw a yellowish cast. So, which image is closest to how Monet actually saw his own painting?  A larger and more interesting question for me is does it make any difference?

I have a website, www.davidbealeartist.com, where prints of my paintings can be purchased.  A customer can choose from ten different media and a dozen or so sizes, some a bit smaller, others a lot larger than the original.  I have periodically pondered what this selection and altering means for a work of art.  Somewhere along the way, after looking at the large variety of images of almost any famous painting that can be found through a simple google search, I had one of those epiphanies. I do believe that viewing and purchasing art should involve an interactive process with the image.  If a prospective buyer wants to purchase a metallic image 3 ft by 4 ft made from a digital image in specific lighting in my shop of one of my small works, why not?  It is not simply a larger version on a different medium, but is created from a digital image I took and "color corrected" using my unique monitor and with specific lighting in my shop.  I then sent the image electronically to my print company in California, who used another monitor and printing equipment to reproduce the image from a series of pixels on a different medium. And, to carry the process one step further, why shouldn't it have as much validity as the original?   The creative process just goes on and on, through countless iterations....

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Included in this post are the paintings, shared photos of the sights we saw while exploring County Mayo, and comments by the participants.

Participants from left to right are Seamus Beck (our youngest!), Emily Gibbons, Eileen Gibbons, Rodger Beck, Martha Beck, Donna Marsh, Tom Steger,  Ron Ostman, Marian Davie, Eileen Arnold, Nancy Ostman, Marian Strand, Michael,  Molly McGowan, Mary Beale, Pat Gibbons, Kathie Beale and David Beale

Here’s another painting from my first trip to Dingle in 2013. When driving clockwise around the coast of the Dingle Peninsula following the Slea Head Drive with its “Wild Atlantic Scenery” west then north beyond the town of Dingle, finally rounding the tip to the northeast, I met the Three Sisters. The group of three peaks with their near-sheer faces facing seaward are unmistakable.  Many consider the coastal walking trail traversing the Three Sisters and Mount Sybil to be one of the best in Ireland. One of my dreams is to leisurely walk this seven-mile trail, maybe alone, before I “burn up all my daylight,” as a friend of mine likes to say!

Legend has it that the Three Sisters were the first landmarks Lindbergh saw after crossing the Atlantic in 1927.  British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown actually made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919, 8 years before Lindbergh’s flight. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, County Galway and crashed landed in a bog that appeared from the air more solid than it actually was!  A group of us visited the landing site, predating Lindbergh’s flight by 8 years, on our second “Painting the Wild Atlantic” workshop.

The original is for sale at davidbealeartist.com

Prints are for sale at davidbealeart.com

Receive 20% off prints by using the coupon code "EMERALD" when checking out!

For more information, contact me.

I also painted this watercolor of Ballybunion Castle, located on the West Coast of Ireland in County Kerry, on my first trip in 2013. The ruins are neither particularly large nor old by Irish standards.  It dates from the early 1500’s and was partially destroyed before the end of the century then further damaged by lightning in the 1990’s.  On this particular day, a stiff ocean breeze was depositing diaphanous wisps of salt spray around the ruins.  Even though in close proximity to the village, it appeared to be standing on the edge of an outcrop like a lonely sentry overlooking the small beach below. It evoked in me a powerful sense of loneliness and timelessness that seems the essence of something quintessentially Irish.

The original is for sale at davidbealeartist.com

Prints are for sale at davidbealeart.com

Receive 20% off prints by using the coupon code "EMERALD" when checking out!

For more information, contact me.

I have been to Ireland four times since 2013, three times to teach two-week painting workshops. Ireland has cast its spell on me. I love its enchanted, misty atmosphere and  it's sense of proportion where small is still beautiful. I have grown especially fond of the Irish folk with their friendliness, fatalistic humor and their ability to enjoy the moment. I hope my paintings will both resonate with those kindred souls who have also had the opportunity to visit and will inspire those of you who have not been to Ireland to add it to your bucket list!  I,myself, am eager to return.

I'll be introducing one of my Ireland paintings daily for the next month along with a link to purchase the framed original when available and prints of a variety of sizes on various media. I hope you enjoy them.

This painting from the Dingle Peninsula dates from my first day on my first trip.  This vista came into view when rounding a curve in the road on the southern shore about half-way to the town of Dingle.  I immediately knew I had arrived somewhere special!  The painting is a 9 inch by 12 inch watercolor and was painted later the same day while my impressions were still fresh.

The original is for sale at davidbealeartist.com

Prints are for sale at davidbealeart.com

Receive 20% off prints by using the coupon code "EMERALD" when checking out!

For more information, contact me.

We leave Saturday afternoon, March 25, for two weeks at Cow House Studios in Ireland.  Follow our activites and receive daily updates by signing up for emails!

Studio Snowfall Friday, December 2