Art Blog

Ireland for Art Lovers: Museums and Galleries You MUST Visit

7/8/2018

Have you ever traveled to a new place and wished you had a few solid recommendations of inspiring places to visit from actual locals who know about art? Planning a trip to Ireland and wish to make the most of it so you can return to your studio inspired and full of new ideas?

Traveling can be such an amazing source of inspiration for artists and art-appreciators! When I have the opportunity to visit a new city/country, I strive to make the most of it both in terms of enjoyment/relaxation, as well as taking in inspiration that I will later be using for work.

As I mentioned in my blog post 3 Proven Hacks to Progress Artistically While Traveling, I love reaching out to actual locals who share my interests and get suggestions from them about places I should visit.

Today's post was written by Neville from www.irelandart.com and he's sharing a list of recommended galleries/museums we simply must spend time in when visiting Ireland. There are few things as inspiring than spending time surrounded by all kinds of amazing artwork!

Enjoy!

Whether it is their Guinness, food, music or rugby, the people of Ireland seem to turn everything into art. For artists, art lovers and novices in need of inspiration, Ireland should be at the top of your bucket list as whatever your art fancy may be; you will find it in abundance in the Emerald Isle. Let’s look at some of the most popular art venues the country has to offer.

1. Irish Museum of Modern Art

Irish Museum of Modern Art

Located in the centre of Dublin, the building in itself is an architectural piece of art that takes your breath away before you even enter it. Dating back to 1684, it has been restored and revamped and now has huge viewing spaces. There is an artist-in-residence studio that is extremely popular with local artists and tourists alike. The permanent collection includes artists like Chuck Close, Ed Ruscha, and Louise Bourgeois, to name a few and of course Irish Artists also feature prominently in their collections.

2. Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane

The Hugh Lane Dublin City Gallery

This gallery was literally moved from London to Dublin; the walls, floors, ceiling and the rest of the building where transported across the Irish Sea. Today the gallery is the permanent studio of Francis Bacon, as well as an active charity which hosts open nights and events. Here you will find international modern and contemporary art. The collection includes works by Joseph Beuys, Berthe Morisot, and Agnes Martin.

3. The MAC

The Mac, Belfast

It’s not only the Republic of Ireland that has a nice art history and thriving modern scene, Belfast also hosts some of the finest art galleries in the UK. The MAC is one such gallery which features works from famed local artists such as Nicholas Keogh and Maria McKinney. This six story building is an impressive architectural structure housing no less than three very different galleries. The good news is it’s free to the public and open seven days a week.

4. Kerlin Gallery

This gallery is located in the heart of Dublin and is known for its impressive collection of contemporary works and well-known artists. One of these famous artists is Dorothy Cross. Her sculptures and photos investigate the connection between humans and the natural world.

5. Gallery of Photography, Ireland

Located in Dublin City’s Meeting House Square, the collection of global and Irish works will have photographers beaming. Their photography workshops and courses will be valuable to anyone interested in the art of photography as it is concerned.

6. Eakin Gallery

This small family run gallery in Belfast’s bustling Lisburn Road was established in 1979 and since then has become synonymous with the local art scene in Northern Ireland. They showcase some of Northern Ireland’s leading artists such as Terry Bradley, William Conor and Frank McKelvey. If you're looking to take a painting home with you, they do sell some of their collections as well.

7. RUA RED

This art centre is in the cultural quarter of Tallaght, is just outside Dublin city centre. Aimed at the local community, RUA RED works side-by-side with festivals and is involved in various events and programmes, like visual art exhibitions, theatrical productions, writing workshops, dancing classes and film screenings. Visit them for lively, local entertainment.

8. Trinity College Library

Trinity College Library

A visit to the library at the Trinity College is one of those things that you just have to do. This venue is famous for having an illuminated manuscript that contains the Four Gospels of the Bible, known as The Book of Kells. It is kept in a dark room. According to that in-the-know, the craftsmanship of this book is simply outstanding, especially the word Christ’ that is written in garnet, gold and umber colors.

9. SO Fine Art Edition

Nestled in the heart of Dublin’s city centre, SO Fine Art Editions is known as one of the best of Ireland’s contemporary art galleries. Their extensive collection includes sculptures, prints, photography and works in glass and ceramics.

10. Red Barn Gallery

If you are looking for a photographic art gallery with a difference then the Red Barn Gallery in Belfast is the place for you. It’s a non-profit organization which is dedicated to the provision and advancement of the photographic arts for the public. It’s a relatively young studio having just opened in 2008 but in that time it has become a must see for art lovers in Belfast.

Neville is the owner of Irelandart.com an online gallery based in Northern Ireland
that is dedicated to the promotion and celebration of Irish art and artists.
Follow him on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/irelandartonline/
https://twitter.com/fineirishart

Thanks SO much for sharing all of these awesome places with us Neville! I certainly look forward to visiting Ireland and taking in all the amazing art it has to offer!

5 Tips to Loosen Up and Create More Expressive Artwork

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How to Take Your Own Art Reference Photos

8/30/2017

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Do you often use other people's photographs as references to create artwork? Have you ever tried using a specific photograph to create a drawing or painting just to find out that it's actually working against you throughout the process?

I usually like having reference photos or real life objects in front of me to get inspired by when creating an artwork. Even though I am not particularly interested in taking the hyperrealist route, I use photographs because they remind me of details that I may or may not choose to include in my painting (or drawing), and might otherwise forget. I have found that, at times, it is these little details in photographs that my painting was lacking in order to become great.

Many artists recommend printing out the picture before starting a painting and working from it in order to ensure colors, values and proportions are true to the image. If you are going for something very realistic or simply believe it will be more comfortable for you, go ahead and print the image. I personally don’t because my style doesn't involve recreating images 100%.

I personally don't believe in tracing because I don't feel that this practice helps exercise observational and drawing skills as much. I really recommend not doing it after you have surpassed that initial level of drawing, no matter how hard it may be at first. I view imperfections and deliberate modifications by the artist as good things.

Getting back to photography, making time to take photos of the subjects you are most drawn to is incredibly important for an artist. In a previous post I talked about how sometimes it’s difficult to make time for this. I've shared links to sites that offer free quality photos that you can use to create artwork from and even sell.

Read this post here:
My Favorite Free Image Sites & Two Examples of References with Finished Illustrations
These sites are lifesavers for us who have a full or part time job aside from being artists and don't always have the time necessary to do an actual photo session. I don't think there is anything wrong in using photos that aren't ours in these cases, as long as we have permission to do so. I believe that using them to get daily practice in is SO much better than doing nothing at all.

However, there is nothing as rewarding as creating an artwork completely from scratch. Going though the process of brainstorming and visualization, finding the actual object(s) you want to shoot, sketching out composition ideas and arriving at the photo that you will later be using to create your artwork, may be a lot of work, but it is totally worth it at the end.

Photo session set-up in my studio. Not eating these was super hard! You can see here the harsh sunlight entering through the window. I avoided placing my subjects in direct light. Time of the day wasn't ideal.

Tips to Produce Great Reference Photos

It is important to know that simply taking a photo doesn't ensure that it will be able to be used for a drawing or painting. Things like resolution and lighting can make a photo extremely difficult to work with and even result in bad art.

1. Sketch ideas and visualize your final composition.
The more objects you are including in your photo, the more essential this step is. All great photos have a focal point and you must consider what this is going to be in your picture. Essentially, objects have to be placed in such a way that the viewer’s eyes naturally move towards the object of most importance.

2. Have balance and harmony in mind, always.
Keep in mind that compositions don't have to be symmetrical in order to be balanced. If you are shooting a variety of objects together, I suggest making it interesting and placing them in a way that results visually pleasing instead of in an obvious centered, symmetrical manner.

If you lack a trained eye, the ever-so-popular Rule of Thirds is something that you can research. This "rule" states that, to achieve an effective visual composition, a 3x3 grid has to be visualized within it. Imagine there are two horizontal and two vertical lines dividing the picture into 9 equal rectangles (or squares). Whatever we want the focal points to be in our compositions should be placed along the intersections of these lines. The basis for this "rule" is that the human eye will naturally move toward focal areas when images are divided into thirds. Finally, do different visual elements included in your photograph (color, texture, shape, etc.) combine well to create an interesting, visually aesthetic composition?

Rule of Thirds. 3x3 grid.

3. Make sure you are taking high resolution photos.
Blurry and pixelated pictures will not lead to good art. We want to be able to zoom in whenever necessary in order to view details.

4. Try to always use natural lighting (if you don't have special photography lights set up).
Using flash makes people and objects look flat and washed out. Of course, if you have photography equipment like lighting and reflectors and you know what you are doing, go for it! I personally don't, so I try to take my photos in the morning before noon or in the afternoon when sunlight is not at its harshest so that shadows and highlights are soft and not too distracting.

5. What angle will suit this object best?
Even if you already have initial ideas sketched out on paper, move around during the shoot! Do some calf raises, squats and lunges (ha!). Take a lot of photos in a variety of angles. Play with perspective. It would be a shame to waste this opportunity!

6. Consider background colors.
Personally, I create a lot of artwork with white or very simple backgrounds, so I like preparing white backgrounds for my subjects (usually cardboard or fabric) when taking photos. This makes it easier for me to clean up the image in Photoshop so that I can concentrate on the object I am painting.

However, if you are setting up an entire composition to work from, I suggest using a neutral color background that will not distract the viewer from the focal point. Or, if you are going for something colorful, think if the background color plays well with/enhances the object(s) placed upon it? Think about color combination and contrast when selecting objects. Perhaps it's time to bring out our Color Wheels?

7. Take a lot of photos and keep them organized.
Once you start doing your own photo shoots it's in your best interest to keep your references organized. In the past I have photographed some objects that I have yet to paint and if I hadn't made the point to organize them in folders, I probably wouldn't be able to find the images when I finally want to use them! I like to name my folders according to the subject type: Portraits, Food, Buildings/City, Animals, etc. Naming each folder with the date of the shoot could also be useful.

8. Remember, your photographs are REFERENCES!
Don’t be afraid to remove things that you think don't add to the final composition. I have also used two or three different references in the past to create one same artwork by cutting separate elements and combining them into one image using Photoshop. You can also change colors! Play around with your photos in photo editing software and see what happens. I think visualizing and modifying references gets easier the more experienced you become.

9. Decide whether you will print your photograph or work from your computer screen.
Experiment and see what works best for your particular process and artwork style. Neither of these is correct or incorrect. Just make sure you set yourself up for an efficient painting by placing the photograph or computer screen at a comfortable angle and eye level.

10. You don't necessarily need a fancy camera. You CAN use your phone.
Most phones have excellent cameras now-a-days. Just make sure you have your brightness and resolution to the max. Also, clean your lens before you start. And, remember, always avoid using flash. Flash is the worst.

Before starting with the photo session, I made sure to sketch out some ideas.

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Here are a couple of good pictures I ended up with that I will definitely be using to create some paintings. Try not to get too hungry!

Picture of three doughnuts to use in painting.

Picture of three stacked doughnuts to use in painting.

Picture of a cinnamon roll that I will be using in a painting later!

Do you consider the production of original reference images an important part of an artist's journey? I'd love to know your thoughts! Let's discuss in the comments section below.