Archive for July 2009

Jim Larkin - Sale

A photo of Big Jim Larkin on O’Connell Street. When I noticed the juxtaposition of the Clery’s sale sign and the poster of the woman, together with the statue of Ireland’s great socialist, I went in search of the angle to take the photo that’s crying out for a caption. The great appear great because [...]

A Night in London

-Can I borrow your Mirror? he said, waking me up.
I took my head off my newspaper pillow.
-It’s the Independent, I replied groggily, referring to the wrong London newspaper.
He walked away. I remade my pillow with the magazine Flash Art on top. Half an hour later I woke and peeled my now blue, hand and ear, [...]

And Her Streets Of Cobbled Stone

Dublin. A photo.
I’m not mad on these newer style of cobblestone. Maybe it’s their relative newness but they’re a bit fake looking of edge, and kinda funky looking of colour. Having said that, squares, patterns, shapes, lines, and iteration, I could look at all day.

click to enlarge
This is Smithfield, in Dublin’s north inner city [...]

Photo: Abbey Street, That Door

Another Dublin photo. This one is of that door on Middle Abbey Street, right by where my old bus terminus used to be, across the road from where the Aldelphi used to be, and the old Lighthouse come to think of. See what recession’s do, they get you thinking of Dublin in the rare ould [...]

Drawing: Neil Gaiman

Regular readers will know that my painting arm, my right, has been out of action for a couple of months and so my other arm, my left, has been in training - learning to draw and to paint. Well here’s an early drawing with my left hand - done about 6 weeks ago - [...]

Sunlight Chambers, Grattan Bridge Lamps

Here’s a Dublin photo for you from the weekend. It’s of Sunlight Chambers on Essex Quay taken from Ormond Quay so as to include the lamps on the western side of Grattan Bridge, a bridge some of you will be inclined to call Capel Street Bridge.
All of which reminds me that I still have an [...]

Photo: Daisies

A photo of some daisies growing wild here in Dublin West. It’s hard not to like them when they impress upon you in such numbers.

click to enlarge
Some Other Photos
   • A Boy, His Pony, And His Pink Bicycle
   • Teabags On A Window Sill
   • Little Yellow Flower Things
   • Dublin Door: Number 18

Photo: Graffiti, Genoa

Although my trip to Italy last year was full of spectacular scenery - that yielded for example my painting of Pegli - I was probably happiest taking photos of walls. Only a couple of those were of grafitti mind you, but this particular set I took more than one picture of, as it was one [...]

A Boy, a Bicycle, and his Little Pony

-Excuse me Mister?
-D’ya need a hand?
-Could ya get me bike outta there? I’m tryin’ to get this fella out
So I did. With a gimpy arm and a dog on a leash, both barking at and afraid of the pony, I waded into the long grass and fished out his bike. Then I left him to [...]

Photo: Bow Street, Dublin

Before the development of apartments and the Luas, and the complete-rejigging of neighbouring Smithfield into a civic space, I used to walk up Bow Street for no good reason other than to walk up Bow Street. Probably because I like walking alongside high lonely walls. Usually there were very few people despite the presence of [...]