Tuesday, November 27, 2018

The Wild Atlantic

It’s no secret, most of our favorite places in Ireland are located in a skillfully trademarked area – the Wild Atlantic Way. This is an incredible branding effort that encompasses over 1,500 miles of the western coast of the country and successfully maps out and promotes all the villages, towns, and ancient sites of this beautifully scenic region.

It seems almost coincidental then that artZ Gallery in Amery, WI, is celebrating the month of January 2019 with a “Wild and Wonderful” exhibit! In the spirit of this theme, I decided to paint one of our recent discoveries. On a rainy day in late October, we decided to drive north to the Gaelic-speaking districts in Donegal County. On the remote and rugged Fanad Peninsula is located the Fanad Lighthouse.  The light was first lit using whale oil on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1817; a new larger and higher tower was commissioned and the light, using paraffin, went into operation in Sept 1886. The light is 39 meters above sea level; the tower is 22 meters high from foundation to the top of the tower not including the lantern and there are 79 steps in the tower. It is one of 70 lighthouses around the coast of Ireland and continues to provide a vital role in maritime safety today.

This week’s painting, Fanad Light, is 8” x 13” on 300 lb. watercolor paper, and reflects the lighthouse situated on the wild and rocky coastline in the face of an approaching storm.





No comments:

Post a Comment