Skyscape over the Irish midlands
Skyscape over the Irish Midlands, ©John O’Grady, 2013
Oil on Panel, 16″x 16″

Not For Sale

This is a detail of my latest painting showing the wide open spaces of
the Midlands where turf cutting is mechanised to a high degree.

The bog has been altered beyond recognition, leaving large areas of flatland
stretching out onto the horizon.

The landscape has been scarred and made uniform but it’s made room for the big sky
above to show off an incredible forever changing spectacle.

This reminds me of the Dutch master painters of the 17th century and of Constable, the 18th century Suffolk painter who closely studied cloud formations.

Both the Dutch painters and Constable were masters at capturing the ephemeral quality of cloud movement.

How can such fleeting apparitions be conveyed in a two dimensional static surface?

That’s what I set out to achieve in this painting.