Day 3: Lovely Listowel, Ireland

My painting of Billy Keane, owner of John B Keane’s pub and a total superstar! This was the first painting I did in Listowe1l

This is a continuation of the story from Day 2.  Pretty much the moment we entered John B’s pub, we started meeting people.  Olive knows everyone.  Its that simple!  Billy Keane (owner of John B’s) came in from the back and came over to meet us and say hello.  In the conversation, I told him that my focus in my time there would be painting the people of Listowel and the surrounding areas.  At this point he jumped up and went back to the back.  Did I say something wrong?

Moments later he returned with a book that is the faces of Ireland.  The entire book is nothing but interesting faces against black backgrounds.  To back up here, Billy is a character.  He has a presence that you can’t ignore.  You will find out more about this in subsequent posts but he has a quick wit and is an excellent story teller.

As he was looking through the book, though, looking for particular faces he could tell a story about (he is also in the book, by the way), I saw him sort of go away for a moment.  At this point, I did not know that his mother was gravely ill.  His father, John B, and his mother, Mary Keane, had raised their family above the pub.  Mary ran the pub while John B wrote and the kids all had their parts as well.  The light coming in from the window cast a hard line on Billy and, when I painted this from the photo I took, I had the background of the pub fading to black as he thumbed through the book because, later on, I realized more fully how he and his family were well known faces of Ireland.

Finding out later how ill his mother was and how she had always told them to keep their ‘shop face’ on and continue business as usual no matter the circumstances, I realized how important it was to show the depth behind the colorful character.  I loved the way this turned out.  People who came into Olive’s gallery when it was up would either immediately recognize it as Billy or would talk about how he looks like his uncle or his father in my depiction.

Billy is continuing to run the pub with his shop face on until it becomes his regular face again and he is doing it with honor and humor just as I imagine his parents would like it.

As a side note, Billy gave me the book he was looking through.  I love it!

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Day 2: Lovely Listowel, Ireland

My first painting while in Ireland!

When we arrived in Listowel, we got our bags settled, figured out WiFi, and had a yummy late lunch at Mai Fitz on Olive’s recommendation!  Afterwards, we walked around Listowel to get ourselves acclimated.  By the time we got back to Olive’s gallery, it was close to closing time and Olive wanted to take us to John B. Keane’s pub (lovingly referred to as John B’s).  John B. Keane was a playwright, novelist, and essayist who died in 2002.  His presence is still all over Listowel through his writing, in the statue in front of Lynch’s Bakery, his silhouette sculpture in the European Garden of our walking path.  The Field was made into a movie in 1990 starring Richard Harris and John Hurt.

Silhouette of writer John B. Keane of Listowel found in the Garden of Europe!

We ran upstairs to freshen up and realized there was a card waiting for us.  We opened it and it was from Lillie Morris (an artist from Georgia who will be part of this residency next year) with the most wonderful note inside telling us that she had purchased a bottle of wine for us at John B’s and we could go on over and enjoy it!

This story will continue in the Day 3 entry but we arrived at John B’s, sat down, and I saw this man sitting at the bar watching life go by.  He seemed comfortable and completely rooted on his stool.  I got this photo of him without him knowing.  I went and introduced myself and asked if he would mind if I painted him and he was delighted.

When I did this painting, I decided to skew the perspective a bit on the other stools to further make the point of his being rooted at that spot and the others were floating until another regular took their place for a pint and a story.  As you will read in subsequent posts, there were plenty of stories to be told.

Please check out http://www.etandressfineart.com to see more of my art!

Short and Sweet

My painting of Billy Keane, owner of John B Keane’s pub and a total superstar! This was the first painting I did in Listowe1l

Tonight, my beloved brother Bill and my Beloved friends from across the pond (even though now it is me who is across the pond) arrived in Lovely Listowel and I got to show the town off!

It was an awesome first impression to walk them down for a bite to eat at John R’s and have people stop to say hello that we have met while here!  Our bite was amazing and I took them over to Gurtenard House where Bill will be staying and they all got the grand tour and thought Kathy was wonderful and a visionary!  We started back towards the square and I was hoping to have them meet Vicar Joe and, lo and behold, he was just coming out and took a moment to let everyone in to see the spectacular St John’s Theatre.  We went to see the house that my friends from England are staying in and it, too, was awesome!  A perfect getaway!

We decided to eat at Mai Fitz for dinner and, acting almost like a bookend for the trip, Emma (who waited on Kerry and me the first day we arrived) was on hand to make our dinner absolutely delightful!  The food was really spectacular and, although everyone was full, we still ordered desserts to share and they were incredible!

Last but not least was a run to John B’s for Pub Theatre!  You know how you can totally build something up to the point it can’t possibly live up to it?  Yeah…I built up Pub Theatre at John B’s to a fare thee well and it not only lived up but exceeded all expectations!  What a night!

So now, here I sit.  Back at the apartment Kerry and I have shared for the past month realizing that our lives have totally changed and we can’t believe how lucky we are!

Tomorrow we go to Dingle.  This is a place that has been recommended since the plane landed.  Cannot wait!

Change is a comin’

The boats outside the castle in Killarney National Park

It has been said that, in order for an artist to grow, they need to leave the comfort of familiar surroundings and head off somewhere new.  The whole design of an artist residency is to give artist’s that opportunity.  I think of Gaugin in Tahiti or Van Gogh moving around France.  You can see strides in their work that correlate with going to unfamiliar places.

I have never been one to do landscapes but there is something about the way the sky moves in Ireland…a constantly roiling stew of blues and greys…or the constant variation of light play that has made the landscape come alive for me.

I can see why there are so many incredible poets, writers, and artists here.  We went to John B’s tonight to simply show support for the loss of Mary Keane.  They continued on with Pub Theatre and it was absolutely incredible and included two soliloquies performed from plays by John B. Keane. One from The Field and one from Big Maggie.  I can’t truly explain what it is like to sit in this historic pub and see these actors become these characters in front of our eyes but I will be reading The Field and Big Maggie.  It was that compelling.

Is it any wonder that the landscape in this magical place has taken on a personality for me?  It’s a compelling character that needs to be captured. It’s no wonder Listowel is so full of creativity and art.  It is deep within the soil here and rooted within the people who have lived here for so long.

Many thanks to Billy Keane for opening the doors to his pub tonight after the loss of his mother and reminding we temporary Listowelites why we love it here so much.  And many thanks to Olive Stack for putting this opportunity out there for us to find!

Paying Last Respects

View from our window of John B. Keane’s statue.

Today was Mary Keane’s funeral.  To say the Keane family is a national treasure would be an understatement.  St Mary’s is literally right around the corner and, as Kerry and I watched, we saw the throngs of people heading for the church.

Olive told us that the tradition here is to close the shop doors and line the streets for the processional.  We were watching to see when we needed to do this when Mary (from Chic Boutique) came over to let us know and asked us to join her and her wonderful Mother, Pat, on the sidewalk.  I want you to take a moment here and try to imagine all the sidewalks of this small village lined with people paying their respects as Mary Keane is being taken to her final resting place.

From our window, the statue of John B. Keane can be seen waving to all who pass by.  Today, there was a birdcage beside it with lit candles and a rose had been placed in his waving hand.

We saw the police starting to congregate.  We also saw the legion of videographers and photographers lining the street by the statue.  It was much later than anyone had anticipated but that was because the line to offer condolences to the Keane family was so long.

We closed the doors to Olive’s gallery and went to join Mary and Pat on the sidewalk.  Not being from the area, we found ourselves mesmerized as the family started walking up the street ahead of the hearse.  They walked and nodded to those on the sidewalk, then, paused for a moment as the hearse stopped at the statue.

As they continued up the street, hundreds of mourners that attended the funeral, escorted Mary to her grave site by following behind the hearse. This was possibly the most beautiful show of respect and love that we have seen and we are honored that we could be here among them and offer our silent condolences as we stood on the sidewalk.

All day long, people from all over Ireland stopped in to Olive’s gallery and told stories about Mary Keane, John B. Keane, and the entire family. There is an incredible pride and sense of family in Ireland and all of these people felt connected.  One woman spoke about Mary not allowing too much swearing and rabble rousing at the pub.  Apparently she could see a trouble maker from a mile away and would turn them away at the door. You have to love that!

We read her son, Billy’s, editorial in the Irish Independent Newspaper this morning.  You can read the full piece here:  http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/billy-keane/mam-picked-her-day-to-meet-up-again-with-dad-it-didnt-pick-her-31455736.html

But there is one part that sticks out to me because it reminds me so much of my own mother.  He writes of her this way:  “Mam was all for divorce, contraception and gay rights. She was no old-fashioned Irish Mammy who did as she was told. Mam was well able for Dad, but in a good way. She always spoke her mind and was full of wisdom. Our mother’s last advice to her grand-kids on relationships was, “If there’s an argument going on, one of you has to shut up.” She defined post-feminism even before feminism.” 

We have been so lucky to have this residency in Listowel at a time when we have seen such happiness and such sadness.  We have seen the sort of love people have for one another and for what a nation has for one of their own.  Ireland is an incredibly special country.  They have had such trials and tribulations and yet they are people who love their traditions and their country and the people in it.  They feel rooted to the core.

A woman today who came in to Listowel to be here during the funeral told me that there are places in Ireland that she goes to simply because she feels connected to the past and to her roots.  The people of Listowel and of Ireland feel connected to the Keane family.  The hush as the procession went by was so beautiful.  It is a moment in time we will never forget.