I hope all is well with everyone out there. Ok, another couple of paintings to share today. The first is a little portrait of Paul Newman, who I've painted three or four times in the past.
And he was actually one of the first portraits I tackled when I began painting famous faces all those years ago. Kind of fitting then, that as I start winding down my portrait work, he makes a final appearance; Coming full circle so to speak.
As for Paul Newman himself, what I say, except that I'm a huge fan. I can't think of a performance he gave that wasn't genuinely moving. One of my all time favourites was his performance in a 1982 movie "The Verdict"; In this he plays Frank Galvin, a somewhat jaded lawyer too fond of the booze , who has taken more than a few missteps in life, and now finds himself embroiled in a case that threatens to push him over the edge. Not sure why I relate to such troubled characters, but probably I find echos of my own missteps in theirs.
After that I think "The Colour of Money" would be my number two Paul Newman movie, or number one depending on the day. Here Newman plays that iconic "Fast Eddie Felson" a pool hustler of yesteryear who finds his love of the game rekindled by a young pool player wonderfully played by Tom Cruise. Newman's worldly experience plays against Cruise's youthful impulsive wild-card nature to great effect. And thrown in the mix is the beautiful and talented Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who also puts in a first class performance. Oh and if I didn't mention Martin Scorsese directs and Newman gets the Oscar.
Of course, with Newman, there are so many classics I could go into: The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and of course The Hustler which made the sequel The Colour of Money possible to begin with.
Anyway, we will leave it there, for this "Art"/"Film" Bog, and even if the painting doesn't grab you, at least you've got some good movie recommendations to roll with.
More info on Paul Newman painting
As for the next painting, I want to say this is a new painting as well, but that wouldn't be the full entire truth. The truth is that it's kind of an old one, but looked at another way, it's kind of new too.
Let's begin with the old. You see yesterday I was doing a bit of work on my website, and I noticed this painting and wondered why it wasn't getting as much love and attention as others.
One thing that struck me was it wasn't exactly looking stellar in the pic I had up website, so I decided to take the original painting down from the shelf and compare it to the image. I guess I wanted to see if it looked equally sad and deserving of relegation or not? And sure enough, the colours and exposure were considerable off in the web photo.
And further to that as I went about fixing this I got an inkling to rotate the canvas 90 degrees on the easel, to see how it might look in a vertical rather than a horizontal format, and let's just say it was mini revelation. If only salvaging all paintings was always this easy:)
And so yes, it's an old painting, but the photo reflecting the true colours of the painting is new, and the format of hanging it vertically is not only new but positively transformative.
And finally, if this isn't overselling, let's face it this slender vertical painting will play nice with many a neglected alcove in your home, in a way a wide horizontal painting never could.
More info on "Folded in Light"
Ok, I will leave it there and leave you in peace.
As ever, thanks for reading and everything is up for sale on this very website if you wish to peruse things further.
Until next time, keep well and thanks!
Vincent
vincentkeeling@gmail.com
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The next painting is by an artist far from being under appreciated and little known, is almost universally hailed as one of the all time greats. Of course, we’re talking about one and only Michelangelo.
An ongoing preoccupations of mine over recent years has been the study of anatomy, to try to gain an understanding of how the mechanics of the human body, all the underlying muscles, bones and tendons work their magic to bring us to life; All this with a view to being able to work more freely from imagination.
Few if any artists embodied this epic knowledge of the human body like Michelangelo. And thus, it’s no surprise that I, like so many artists before me, have turned to him for guidance and knowledge.
With this in mind the first study I chose one of the figures that adorn the vault of the Sistine Chapel; And this particular character belongs to groupings known as the Ignudi, which I think just means naked figures.
Interestingly, these Ignudi don’t actually seem to represent biblical figures in the narrative, but more likely figures hinting at links to a previous pagan world; Or perhaps as others think these figures serve a more decorative function and compositional device. Either way the mastery of their execution no doubt trumpets Michelangelo’s genius as a painter.
And hear there is a certain irony, for Michelangelo never aspired to being a painter at all, and actually mocked painting as an art form, as compared to his beloved sculpture, which he felt was infinitely superior. There were some remarks by him saying painting, was like a game for children focused as it was on the creation of mere illusions. This led to something of a spat with that other giant of Renaissance Art, Leonardo da Vinci.
And why, one might ask did Michelangelo take on such an epic painting challenge as adorning the Sistine Chapel if he had such contempt for painting to begin with? The answer is that he was given little choice, as it was a personal project of Pope Julius II himself.
Michelangelo did attempt to worm his way out of it, pleading among many excuses that painting wasn’t his area of expertise, and that Raphael would be a far more suitable candidate; However, Michelangelo had already annoyed the Pope on a previous job, and this time the Pope wasn’t inclined to give the artist an out. However, if Michelangelo was reluctant to commit, once he saw the inevitability of his position, he went about throwing all of his creative genius into this monumental task, for now his reputation was at stake, and thus his ego, also monumental in scale, would brook nothing but the creation of a work of art that would establish his primacy as the dominant artist of his age.
As for me, I’m just trying to learn from a master and hoping that a little of his magic will rub off. We can but hope.
Click here to see this and other paintings in my Master Copy Series.
And yes they are for sale as this is how I pay my bills:)
Thanks for Reading!
Vincent Keeling
]]>I hope the world is treating you well out there. I'm just going to tell you about one painting today, and it's a pretty big one I've been talking about releasing for ages. The first thing to say is that it's another in my Creation Series of rose paintings, and I have to admit that this one was a long time in the making. And part of the reason for this delay was I was trying something new. You see in the past I have tended to keep the backgrounds on these large roses quite nondescript, very much in the background, so to speak. However, this time I wanted to try an idea that had been floating around my head for ages; the idea of introducing a background that might add a layer of meaning more closely communicating how I saw these large rose paintings to begin with.
And when I thought of possibilities, in this regard, my mind always drifted toward such things as mountain vistas, epic glaciers, endless skies or anything really that spoke of nature’s grand spectacles; all the things that had the power to make our collective jaw’s drop.
And when I thought of possibilities, in this regard, my mind always drifted toward such things as mountain vistas, epic glaciers, endless skies or anything really that spoke of nature’s grand spectacles; all the things that had the power to make our collective jaw’s drop.
And actually in the beginning stages of this painting the background was very much leaning toward those mountain vistas. And yet as often happens with a painting it can start leading the artist as much as the artist attempts to lead it. And thus, as much as I tried to direct the painting toward those angular mountain shapes, it stubbornly started dissolving them into watery wavy rhythms. I guess, sometimes, you just have to let the paint do what it wants and stop fighting it.
What I’m trying to say, in my own unique roundabout way, is that I always saw in the roses, in their small beautiful forms, something of the grandeur of nature’s larger set pieces; And thus, in searching for a suitable background looked to their impressive scale for echoes of the feeling I was aiming for; And this expansive sea of waves stretching to the horizon, I hope, does just that.
Here's a link to the painting itself with the size and price and all that info.
Creation XIV - A White Rose oil painting
Thanks for reading!
Vincent Keeling
]]>I couldn’t leave paint Christy Moore out when I began painting my Irish Portraits; He’s been such a presence in Irish life and music, for as long as I can remember. As a kid and teenager I always remember him popping up on The Late Late Show with a new albums and performances, and songs like The Voyage and Ride on, were just part of the Irish radio’s DNA. But in truth it was much later that I really started to appreciate Christy's music on a deeper level. Here are a few of my thoughts on the man and songs that meant something to me.
So what can I say about the legend that is Christy Moore. He’s an Irish folk singer of rare charm and authenticity; One of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts, a Newbridge, County Kildare man, who has never forgotten his roots.
There’s a lovely range to his songs from slow soulful ballads of rare beauty to infectious energetic knee slappers. In the soulful ballad camp I’d put such classics as “Ride On’ and “The Voyage”, which are both brilliant and no doubt very well known to you. However a less well know song, equally brilliant is called “On Morecambe Bay”; this one is from Christy’s Folk Tale album of 2011, and for some reason it has always struck a chord with me.
This is a haunting dirge of a song charting the story of the tragic story of the 21 undocumented Chinese immigrants who were drowned off the Lancashire coast in 2004. The circumstances around the tragedy involved, criminal gangs, unscrupulous business men, trafficking and succession of life circumstances that brought these immigrants to the Lancashire coast to pick cockles in dangerous conditions. As ever Christy, who always seems to instinctively gravitate towards those less fortunate, gets to the humanity of the situation as he weaves the tale filled with empathy and feeling, and also taps into the guilt of those who perhaps could have, but didn’t intervene.
I stood behind them in the corner shop and in the market too
I should have spoken to them, told them everything I knew
Like our mothers told us as we went out to play
Never try and race the tide on the sands of Morecambe Bay
For the tide is The Devil, it will run you out of breath
Race you to the seashore, chase you to your death
The tide is the very Devil and the Devil has its day
On the lonely cockle banks of Morecambe Bay
Full lyrics below!
https://www.christymoore.com/lyrics/on-morecambe-bay/
But honestly if you don't know this song just listen to it. This refrain of “The tide is the very Devil, and the Devil has it’s day” is hauntingly powerful.
Of course, the magic of Christy's music is that he tackles both the dark and the lighter sides of life. One the lighter side we have classic songs like “Delirium Tremens” his tragicomic take on hang-overs and a battle with another demon, the demon drink.
Goodbye to the Port and Brandy, to the Vodka and the Stag,
To the Schmiddick and the Harpic, the bottled draught and keg.
As I sat lookin’ up the Guinness ad I could never figure out
How your man stayed up on the surfboard after 14 pints of stout.
Well I swore upon the bible I’d never touch a drop.
My heart was palpitatin’ I was sure ’twas going to stop,
Thinkin’ I was dyin’ I gave my soul to God to keep.
A tenner to St. Anthony to help me get some sleep.
Full lyrics below
https://www.christymoore.com/lyrics/delirium-tremens/
Thanks for reading!
Vincent Keeling
]]>If you’re reading this it means that you’ve happened upon my collection of rose paintings, and indeed all those rose prints that are taken from my original canvases. What I want to do here is to give you some idea of the inspiration behind this work, and to explain why I’ve been drawn to paint so many roses over the years. There are some of the usual reasons, as you might expect. Roses after all have always been steeped in a wonderfully rich history of symbolism around themes of mortality, romance and love, and who doesn’t like a little poetry in their work. And then of course, there is the fact that roses are undoubtedly and almost universally considered beautiful, which never hurts.
However, neither of these explanations quite gets at the crux of my inspiration in painting them, and to explain this further, I need to first take you on a little detour, behind the curtain of the artist’s working method. Ok, you might not know this, but when we artists paint anything realistic, we must first perform something of a magic trick in our minds. In simple terms this trick involves resisting the brain’s desire to see the world as a three dimensional space of depth and distance, and instead see it as a series of flat shapes and colours. In a sense, see the world of real things as a flat abstraction.
And here’s the irony for with all the divisions between the abstract and representational schools of art, it could be argued that we are all abstract painters, all grappling with flat shapes on a flat canvas. And this relates to another secret of sorts, and that is that trapped within the breast of every realist painter lurks a frustrated abstract painter struggling to break free. This at least holds more than a grain of truth for me. I have acted on this desire to paint some abstract paintings a few times over the years, but it proved more difficult and harder than expected, and the results were usually unsatisfactory.
I suppose this shouldn’t be surprising as the task involved is no easy one. After all we are essentially trying to conjour from thin air an illusive complexity and beauty, which at the least we hope will hold the viewers attention and interest, and perhaps even enthrall them with a strange emotional resonance.
I guess this is why it’s so hard, and truly great abstract work is so rare, at least to my mind. But I still love the idea of it, even if part of me also keeps faith with the world of representation. And here is where we circle back to topic at hand, and why I have returned again and again to painting roses, for it’s as if aware of my own limitations in creating beautiful abstractions from my mind, I seek to borrow them from nature instead.
After all, nature is shamelessly good at creating these beautiful patterns of colour as she weaves her magic. It could even be said that she’s something of a show off in this regard, and perhaps nowhere more so, than when it comes to her roses. And thus it’s to roses I look, again and again, for poetry, mystery, design, colour, shape, pattern and everything that speaks to me of the wonder of creation.
Thanks for reading!
Vincent Keeling
The bad news all of theses roses are sold but there are a few new one still available you fancy taking a look with the link below.
ROSE PAINTINGS BY VINCENT KEELING
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Hi guys, this is a collection of my Dublin oil paintings and prints. It’s inspired by seven years of living and working right in the heart of Dublin city, where I ran a little art gallery called The Keeling Gallery. During these years I have to confess that I didn’t stray too far from the Clarendon St and the South William St areas.
Evening Fall on South William St, Dublin, oil on canvas by Vincent Keeling
After all it was here that I lived, worked, painted, enjoyed coffee with friends and of course went for a pint or two in Dublin’s legendary pubs. I say this to prepare you and set expectations when viewing this collection of my Dublin prints and paintings, in that it’s mostly focused on a few areas of Dublin City. For instance I’ve painted South William Street three times already, and as I write this I have a little oil painting of The Metro Café, half finished and sitting on my easel, which will make it four.
College Green, Dublin City, oil on linen, by Vincent Keeling
Now least you think I was stuck to this street, as many of my friends and family did at the time, I can tell you that on occasion I did indeed venture just a little further and thus managed to capture of few of Dublin’s iconic landmarks in oil paint along the way. The old Parliament building, better known now as The Bank of Ireland, on College green was one of my first Dublin paintings; Then there was a painting I did of that most quintessential Dublin landmark, The Ha’penny Bridge, with a little bit of romance thrown into the mix as well.
Lovers by the Ha'penny Bridge, by Vincent Keeling
And finally, I snapped a few pics of The Custom House down along Dublin’s quays. This is a beautiful piece of Dublin architecture and on that cold snowy Dublin night, it really did seem to have a magical quality to it, helping it become one of my favourite paintings I've done.
The Custom House, Dublin, oil on linen by Vincent Keeling
Ok guys, that all to mention really. Just to note that I’ll be adding to the print options as I go, with canvas prints and regular framed prints of Dublin as well; with the occasional new painting as well as I dig into my archive of snaps of days past for reference. Thanks! Vincent
Click here to see my catalogue of OIL PAINTINGS & PRINTS OF DUBLIN
]]>Hi all, I’ve just got one painting to tell you about today. I’ve decided to call it “Solar Rose II” after a painting I did way back in 2009. As ever, for me it’s all about trying to conjure up a luminous quality to the rose. And, in this instance the rose almost seemed to be emitting light itself, reminding me of the sun with it’s warm yellow and orange tones, and thus the title Solar Rose seemed apt. As for the composition, although I am often drawn to the interesting shapes of a tightly cropped arrangement, here I felt the sun-like quality mentioned above would be better served by allowing the rose a little breathing room;
A little space to shine, so to speak. Thus I went for a tall airy composition, which included the leaves, stems, vase and rose all set against a deep burgundy background; A background that I hope compliments the rich green of the leaves, and helps to subtly enhance the luminous colouring of the rose itself. Of course, one never knows fully if a work has hit the mark, but in trying to judge this one I was reminded of some great advice I heard once from a well known painter. He suggested that one of the best ways to judge the quality of the light in a painting is to place the painting itself in a poor lighting situation, and then see if the painting still holds up. Thus I decided to interrupt the writing of this message, a few moments ago to put this to the test. I placed my painting up on my easel, and then proceeded to turn off all my studio lights, all my house lights, and then with nothing but the modest light of a north facing window, of an Irish February day, to ask the question. The painting’s answer was to continue to shine and glow, and with that I felt my work was done.
Thanks for reading and you might be interested in viewing further details about this painting or purchasing it you can click the link below.
Or needless to say if you've any questions feel free to ask.
Thanks!
Vincent Keeling - vincentkeeling@gmail.com
PS. This piece of writing as most of my Blog posts were sent out first to the Subscribers of my Art Newsletter. If you think you might like to keep up to date with stories like this, then please take a minute or two sign up to my Newsletter below. The truth is I need you guys, otherwise I'll have to consider hanging up my paint brushes and getting a real job.
Thanks! Vincent
In my Blog post on 2 February many of you might have seen my oil painting study for The Unfolding Kiss; Both the study and this larger scale work, represent a long term ambition of mine to introduce figures into my floral work in an effort to create something quite new. And with this in mind I am delighted to announce that after many months of painstaking work this full sized painting is now finished, varnished and ready to go out into the world.
The idea behind the painting was to marry two of my favourite subjects in oil painting. The first is the translucent petals of the white rose, which can reveal fascinating abstract shapes and colours when hit by a light source. The second, is that timeless and endlessly fascinating subject in art, the human figure. And as I mentioned back in January, the figures at the centre of this painting are based on an iconic work called "The Kiss" by the wonderful French Sculptor Auguste Rodin.
I’ve always loved Rodin’s work and wanted to pay homage to him, while at the same time wanting to create something quite new, by endeavouring to seamlessly meld Rodin's embracing figures into my own rose composition.
Needless to say, the work presented numerous technical challenges along the way, which pushed my skill and experience to the limits. But now I am happy to say, that with the work completed, and a little time having elapsed to quieten the internal critic, I can step back and view this new piece with a quiet sense of satisfaction, for not only does it come very close to my original conception, but it also opens up fresh new possibilities for paintings in the future.
This is the back view of the canvas. It's a 120x80cm or approximately 31x47 inches Belgian linen stretched over study deep edge poplar stretcher bars from Milliken Bro.
If you'd like to check the availability of this painting or to see more information please click on the link below, or drop me an email at vincentkeeling@gmail.com
The Unfolding Kiss, oil painting by Vincent Keeling
All the best!
Vincent Keeling
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This painting is called “Lovers by the Ha’penny Bridge”, and for those of you who keep a close eye on my work, you’ll notice that this is a larger version of a small study painting I completed back in 2016. As often is the case I painted the smaller study to work out the colouring and composition on a small scale first.
So what can I say about this larger canvas? The first thing is that it’s an unashamedly romantic painting, where many of the unsightly elements, like garish traffic lights and battered road signs have either been removed or transformed with the magic of oil paint. Some might criticise this tinkering with reality, but I like to think that our minds often edit these uglier elements out anyway, especially when we’re buoyed up with a few drinks and carried along with the good company of friends, or as in this case, cupid has us within his sights. For this is the second strand of romance within the painting, the couple standing shoulder to shoulder against what we might presume is a pretty chilly Dublin evening.
As for the figures themselves, I purposefully made them somewhat anonymous, which I hope will make it easier for you the viewer to identify with the couple in the scene. In fact, this also applies to me, for I very much see myself, and my girlfriend Kathryn in this painting, especially as during the first year of dating we often made this mini Odyssey across the Ha’penny Bridge as I walked Kathryn to her much beloved if dented car. In fact, in thinking about it now, it was on one of these very walks together that I actually stopped to take the photo that this painting is based on.
As a final word on this painting I also see this snapshot of the couple as part of a larger journey, for having just crossed the bridge they seem momentarily paused, as if deciding what direction their lives will take next. Ok maybe, I’m getting a bit carried away here, but if you can’t indulge an artist talking about his work who can you indulge.
Thanks for reading!
Vincent Keeling
THIS PAINTING IS AVAILABLE TO BUY on this website, so just click below to get more information.
Lovers by the Ha'penny Bridge - large oil painting
vincentkeeling@gmail.com
]]>Finished painting "The Enchanted Garden" by Vincent Keeling
For me this work is very much about the circle of life. In the centre we see a King and Queen representing a couple in their prime, then to the right we see young lovers pursuing each other, and on the left a newborn is added to the mix creating a family tableau. Further to this I’ve added the semblance of a gravestone in the right foreground to complete the life cycle.
Early stages of "The Enchanted Garden" painting in progress.
The idea for this painting emerged in quite a spontaneous fashion. It’s in keeping with previous works where I approach a blank canvas with no real preconceived ideas in mind, and then begin to make random brush marks until some ghostly figures emerge, which can be further developed. This process tends to let things well up from the subconscious and can be a very fluid and enjoyable way to paint. In a sense I’m discovering and improvising as I go, and until I’m a few days into the work, I really don’t know what it’s final shape will be. Of course, for some, the down side of these paintings can be their lack of realism, but for me, that’s also a strength, for what they lack in realism, I believe, they more than make up for in feeling, and an otherworldly charm. I hope you feel the same.
Click here to check availability of this painting "The Enchanted Garden" and to see more information details.
]]>oil on canvas, by artist Vincent Keeling
This is a very important painting for me as it represents my first attempt to realize a creative idea that has been floating around my head for some seven years; This is the idea of combining two strands of my previous work, the floral and figurative, and trying to merge these into a seamless whole. I should also point out, that the figures in this work are inspired by a sculpture, I’ve always loved, called “The Kiss” by the nineteenth century French sculptor Rodin.
Although in the future I hope to work more from my own figure studies, for this first piece I decided to pay homage to this wonderful work, while at the same time placing it within a new and truly unique setting based on a photograph and painting of a white rose, all my own.
Further to this I just wanted to explain my decision to label this painting “A Study”; For this in no way denotes any lack of finish or quality, but is rather an indication that I wanted to work out some technical issues on a small scale study, as many artists often do, before embarking on the full scale painting. This larger painting from the same image is now well under way, so keep an eye out in my blog posts and newsletters over the coming months.
Thanks for reading! Vincent Keeling
vincentkeeling@gmail.com
This painting is now sold, but the larger work became available to purchase on 19 July 2018.
Click here to read about the full-sized version of "The Unfolding Kiss" by Vincent Keeling
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This painting still isn't finished, but I took a photo today and thought it was worth recording. Really like the blend of abstract elements and stylised bodies. Definitely going to get working on finishing this soon, and hopefully pursuing the style further. Watch this space! Vincent Keeling
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