The best way I can think to describe this day is metallic. A steely grey sky casting a heavy sort of light that makes the sea look solid and cold, and puts you off leaving the shelter of your car. But not this dog, who seemed right at home patrolling the approach to Achill and keeping an eye on the odd sheep.
The Sky Road is a place you might end up if you drive to the west of Galway and then keep heading west until you run out of road. The name fits; from the top of hills you can peer down at houses made tiny by the scale of the sea and sky that dominate the view. On a windy day you can almost feel the land being torn into the islands that stretch out to sea, and you can definitely feel the power of the wind driving in from the Atlantic.
In the midst of the city it’s easy to forget just how close the mountains and the sea are. A few minutes travel and you can be up on the hills with a view over the whole of Dublin bay. The iconic chimney stacks would be lost in a more high rise city, but in Dublin they stand up to catch the light of an evening rain shower to create an unmistakable view.
If I were to pick a theme for this exhibition it’s ‘good timing’. Whether it’s catching a glowing sunrise or retreating snow storm, or having a sheep dog pose against a dramatic seascape, these paintings are made of moments that come and go in minutes or seconds. Timing makes the difference between just another landscape and a unique, unforgettable moment. This exhibition has been more than ten years in the making. It has been incredibly enjoyable to put together as I have pulled out some of my favorite memories and pictures from a decades worth of travels around Ireland.
The Sky Road is a place you might end up if you go to the west of Galway and then keep going west until you run out of road. It is just one of the incredible parts of Ireland’s coastline featuring in this new exhibition. Opening on Saturday August 11th, the exhibition will run for one week at The Gaslamp Gallery in Gorey.
