Blue Umbrella

This is a lovely painting by the artist Joe Russell called 'Blue Umbrella'. It shows a little girl in lovely orange shoes and summer frock holding/struggling with a huge blue umbrella. I think after the summer we've just had, this is an image everyone can relate to. This painting recently sold in the Blue Leaf Gallery in Fairview, but they have a few more of Joe's excellent paintings in stock. Prices start at € 650, nab one quick!

Lucien Freud Exhibition

The Irish Museum of Modern Art is running some pretty interesting exhibitions at the moment. I'm looking forward to attending the Lucien Freud exhibition this Friday. The exhibition has been running since the beginning of June and concludes on the 2nd of September, so it's my last chance really to have a look.

According to the IMMA website this exhibition: "comprises some 50 paintings and 20 works on paper and etchings from the last six decades, several being completed just months prior to the exhibition and others never shown before in a public venue. Best known for his portraits and nudes, Freud’s subjects include his family, friends, lovers and fellow artists."

I'm not a huge fan of Freud, but it's hard to pass up an opportunity to visit the solo exhibition of such a highly regarded 'living legend'.

While I'm there I will also be sure to check out the exhibition of Anne Madden, whose work I really do admire, in fact, I prefer her work to her husband's Louis Le Brocquy. Anne's exhibition comprises 60 works, spanning the 1950s to the present and includes some of her best known works such as the series Clare Land (1967), Megaliths, Monoliths and Doorways (1970s), as well as some of Anne's early pieces of sculpture.

More information on these exhibitions, as well as future exhibitions are available from the IMMA website.

Dave West

This painting is called Fishing Boats and was painted by the artist Dave West. I really like his style of painting and the palette he uses. You can almost reach out and touch the water and smell the brine in this painting, it's really excellent. I was lucky enough to attend Dave's recent solo exhibition opening during the summer, and I was really impressed by the quality of Dave's work. The few remaining paintings that weren't sold in his solo exhibition can be viewed/purchased in the Blue Leaf Gallery in Fairview Dublin 3. Prices start from around €750.

Rainy Paintings

I love this rainy street scene painting by artist Joe Russell. It really captures this year's summer for me. It has the bright colours we associate with summer, but it also has buckets of rain pouring down. It gives me a slight shiver just to look at it. I particularly love the glass like reflections on the pavement.

This painting and other paintings by Joe can be seen/purchased at the Blue Leaf Gallery in Fairview, Dublin 3