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I wrote the following piece early April 2015. I never posted it at the time and now I realize that, almost a year later, nothing much has changed except that I have begun to put my art out there! I've just finished another Burren painting, while I observe the new buds developing on the cherry tree outside my home. Soon there will be another awesome display of blossoms!

April 2015
Sweat leaked through the pores of my face, gathering in the folds of my aging skin, clouding my already blurry vision. The moisturizing face cream I had coated said skin with, liberally, didn’t help things. It wasn’t because of the ambient temperature in the room. I had already turned off the heating and opened a window, but the effort of trying to paint fine lines in the flat stones of this latest Burren landscape, my suffocating reading glasses and the fact that I was also holding my breath, brought on a dreaded ‘hot flush’. Nothing to be done but put the brush in water, cover the paint pallet in cling film and take a break. It is what it is!

I wiped my hands on my paint spattered apron and opened the front door. I gazed in awe at the white cherry tree blossom petals whirling around in the breeze, detaching from their short-lived flower heads. I contemplated this for a moment and breathed deeply. The tree blossomed for only a week in the year, but oh, what a week. Inadvertently, this brought my train of thought to our children.

Five children, born, raised and now living their own lives, rearing their own children, following their own varied paths. The thought made me smile. I am constantly surprised by our children. At fifty eight years old, many women experience ‘empty nest’ syndrome. I don’t. I revel in the freedom to be myself again. There are so many things that I want to experience. I remembered the feeling of satisfaction as the youngest became self-sufficient, a sigh of relief and a weight lifted from my shoulders. Of course, Ger and I will always be there for them, but as Khalil Gibran pointed out, they are like arrows shot from a bow, heading forward into time and space and their own destinies not coming back….that is until the rent goes up, they split up from a partner or need temporary sanctuary!

I finished the ‘Crow in Flight’ painting. Nothing could describe the feeling of satisfaction when I finally put down the brush, stood back and thought, ‘mmm, not bad’. For days, I had been tinkering around with the foreground, trying to balance the tones of the rocks without compromising perspective and the sense of airiness I was trying to accomplish.

I mused on how glad I was to have the time to dabble and play this week with paint and canvas, no pressure, no expectations but my own desire to create! For most of my adult life, my responsibilities were to others. It was difficult to paint while working and raising children. No sooner were the paints out than everyone wanted to join in. While that could be fun and I wanted to allow their creative juices free reign, it was at the cost of my own creative needs. I am not complaining. I would chose my children over my art any day, but any artist will tell you that once you get into a painting, the house could burn down and you wouldn’t notice…doesn’t bode well for child minding!

Now, I get up in the morning and follow my inclination to meditate, listen to music, learn the bodhran, exercise, write, paint, crochet, knit do housework, watch some daytime TV or head down to the village for some shopping and maybe a coffee. I intend to hold exhibitions from time to time, even sometimes in collaboration with others. I travel when the urge takes me and meet lots of interesting people. Well that’s the dream!
Abraham (Abaham-Hicks, Law of Attraction) does encourage us to tell the story the way you want it to be not necessarily as it is!

Since I left work some months ago, after twenty five years working in the ‘caring profession’, I helped nurse my father until he passed. Now, in a rota with my siblings, I take my turn in helping care for my mother. She has Alzheimer’s. I am trying to change the way I look at this task, like, I’m spending quality time with her, not caring for her. So, increasingly there are days when I can live the life I dream of. I know it’s all in the head, the way I choose to think, I can change my perspective, live in the moment, I will cherish these times with my mother.

When I made the decision to leave my job, I was burnt out and not thinking clearly. I now know that it was the right decision!

The Yellow Steeple in Trim, is a prominent feature set across the Boyne River from Trim Castle. It's all that remains of the Abbey of the Blessed Virgin, founded around the 6th century. The stones used to build it are of an amazing yellow hue at sunrise. The abbey,now gone, had a bloody history, having been burned down at least three times with people inside. It is rumored that it finally fell prey to Cromwell's army in the 16th century. I've tried to convey some of that history in the colour of the sky and the porchefields where it is situated. This is a twenty by twenty four inch by one and a half inch canvas painting in oils, completed in 2006.

Trim is a heritage town of around ten thousand people located on the banks of the Boyne river in the Royal County of Meath. There is an archaeological dig going on for the past few years here and international archaeologists and students alike come every summer to help out. We are tripping over ancient ruins here! I would urge anyone planning a trip to Ireland to take in the Boyne Valley, Meath and of course Trim. If you do visit, make sure you drop in for a pint to Marcie's at the foot of the old bridge between the Knights Hospitaller Abbey and the Cathedral ruins at Newtown, ten minutes from Trim town.

During the summer, there are a number of county festivals here, e.g. The Haymaking Festival, The Royal Meath Show, The Vintage Car rally and The Jonathon Swift festival, all centered around the porchefields, with the Yellow Steeple overlooking them. I'm now sounding like an advertisement for the town so I'll quit while I'm ahead. All I'll say is that it's a lovely place to live in!

Keep smiling,

Martine

Hi,

At long last, I have decided to put my art out there in the ether. A friend told me about www.fineartamerica.com and here I am. Where to start? Like many creatives, I presume, I struggle with technology. I'm not even sure if I should be putting a 'www' or 'http://' or both in the link I just mentioned! However, I'm determined to get up to speed with my grandchildren, who seemed to have come into this world cable ready. Please be patient with a fifty eight year old newbie to this site. Believe it or not, I have a website, www.wellbeinginanutshell.com, which my husband helped me set up a few years ago but I haven't done anything with it for quite a while. It's on the 'to do' list.

I live in the beautiful heritage town of Trim, Meath, Ireland. We boast one of the largest Norman castles in Ireland, coincidentally built by my twenty sixth great grand uncle by marriage, Hugh DeLacy. I'm the family genealogist and said family were bemused when I landed that information on them! They are taking it with a pinch of salt until I verify everything with records....which I am in the process of trying to do. Painting buildings doesn't really excite me. I do have a ruin among the collection of pictures I posted, The Yellow Steeple, which faces Trim Castle on the opposite bank of the river Boyne. As I painted it, I tried to incorporate a sense of it's bloody history. When Oliver Cromwell's soldiers destroyed and looted many of the Irish churches and monasteries, the Yellow Steeple was badly damaged by canon fire.

No, I much prefer painting rocks, as you may deduce if you visit my page and look at the many paintings depicting The Burren (County Clare, Ireland) in various art styles. This scene resonates with me so much. For years, I had the original hanging in my bedroom when we were going through a particularly stressful period in our lives. I would escape into the painting and feel the cool evening breeze on my skin, smell the sea air and sense the timeless, solid rocks weathering the storms and gales that hit the western coast of Ireland. An art therapist would have a field day with me I think! When we moved house, we hung that painting over the fireplace.

There's a story with each painting, and over time, I'll add the information into my blog.

Until next time,

Keep smiling,

Martine