Friday, August 14, 2009

The International Exchange, Slovenia/Ireland 2009... for those of you who don't know I am just after completing the adventure section of my Gaisce - The President's Award, the highest Civic Award in Ireland! See below relating to the Charity Fundraiser for Tar Éis Óir and Gaisce.

If you would like to see me in action, the fun and turbulent 9 days in the spectacular terrain of the Slovenian Alps but the adventure of a lifetime... click below!

I'll never forget you guys x x 
CLAREMORRIS OPEN EXHIBITION 2009

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

WILD WEST THEMED MURAL & CHARITY FUNDRAISER!


The upcoming event (and charity fundraiser) - Wild West Themed fancy-dress fundraising evening - will be held in The Country Club on 20th June, in aid of the youth development work activities of Tar Eis Oir.

The Night 

Recently, I have decorated the front bar in a Wild West Style mural depicting a scene from the famous spaghetti Western, "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly", starring Clint Eastwood. The exact characters from the film are replicated in a tense gun-slinging scene on the interior walls.  

On the evening, to mark the opening of the mural, we are inviting everyone to come dressed up as Cowboys/girls, Indians, out-laws/”in-laws”!!  

The party will be kick started with a BBQ and DJ from 7pm and MC by our very own Gerry “quick-shot” Mchugh, principal of Lehinch national School. Following this there will be a raffle with many great prizes to raise funds for an upcoming project of Tar Eis Oir – an association dedicated to youth work and youth development activities - and will of course be followed by the main event which is the Wild West Fancy Dress Competition.  

There will be a very special guest present on the night to unveil this striking mural for me in the premises on the night. 

The Organiser - Tar Eis Oir 

Proceeds collected on the night will fundraiser in aid of a youth exchange project -

Tar Eis Oir’s Slovenian International Youth Exchange ProjectTar Eis Oir is the alumni society of Gaisce - The President's Award in Ireland, which is the national challenge award for young people in Ireland. Tar Eis Oir, is actively involved in youth work on a national and international level, and conducts its range of activities aiming to promote the development of young people to become active citizens in our communities and future leaders of our country. Tar Éis Óir hopes to inspire young people to dream more, learn more, do more and become more… 

To-date, thousands of young Irish people have realised their personal dreams, and brought about huge positive impact in their local communities and around the world through their involvement in Gaisce – The President’s Award. We believe that if we invest efforts in our young people now they will re-invest in our society in the future. 

The Project - Slovenian International Youth Exchange Project 

Later this summer, in the framework of a partnership between Gaisce – The President’s Award and Slovenian Youth Award - M.E.P.I., a group of 12 Irish people will take part in a pan-European youth exchange project in the Slovenian Alps. From 31 July to 9 August, the group of people from all over Ireland will travel to Slovenia to take part in the first international exchange of its kind between the two countries, and their respective youth award programmes.  

Together with a group of Slovenian young people the group of up to 30 persons will take part in a series of challenging personal and community development events in the Alpine region – including hiking & survival skills training, voluntary environmental protection activities, and human rights/international relations workshops.  

The project, comprising of 6 days hiking and camping outdoors, will challenge and develop the some of the skills necessary for safe expedition planning and execution, and also those skills crucial to survival in the wilderness, under the guidance of trained professionals. It will be no holiday, but rather a challenging voyage of self-discovery. The aim of the project is not only personally and physically challenge the participants within the framework of Gaisce – The President’s Award, but also to promote the personal development of these young people to become active Irish citizens, aware of the difficult issues affecting all of us as European citizens and to help to develop a critical mind to address these areas of concern in order to help improve our own communities at home. The group will also engage in voluntary environmental protection activities with a local Non-Governmental Organisation to preserve the breathtaking landscape in which the project will take place. 

This exchange of young people will serve not only to promote tolerance and understanding between these two small European nations, but will be all done in an inclusive manner, involving young people of all personal circumstances, backgrounds, and physical capacities. 

A follow-up similar exchange of a group of Slovenians to the West of Ireland is due to take place in the course 2010!! We are sure they will be warmly welcomed with a Céad Míle Fáilte! 

Any young person can take part in Gaisce – The President’s Award, and have a chance to challenge themselves to become the best they can be. Each person sets him/herself a series of personal challenges, which if completed to Gold Level will be recognised by the highest civilian merit in the country – an award presented by the President of Ireland. In taking part, young people can learn new skills, meet new people, develop their talents and open a world of opportunity – All of which are so crucial for young people in this era of pessimism!  

More information on the award programme can be found on www.gaisce.ie 

Personal Profile – Karen Forde 

At present I am in the process of completing my own Gaisce Gold Award and I am taking part in this project as part of the Residential Section of the award programme. I have been a member of Tar Eis Oir for the past four years and plan to receive my award at the Jubilee Celebrations in Dublin Castle in 2010. Joining me on this trip are Ivan Dixon, son of  John and Mary Dixon and his girlfriend Laura Heneghan. 

The award is something which stimulates and drives me to better myself, and do more for the community around me. Over the past almost 25 years, it has positively affected the lives of so many young Irish people, and would strongly encourage anyone to take that first step, challenge themselves and support their communities.  

Tar Eis Oir would be very grateful for any contributions from the public on this venture to inspire young people to dream more, learn more, do more and become more… 

I look forward to welcoming all the modern day Clint Eastwoods, Billy the Kids, El Tuco’s and Angel Eyes to The Country Club for a great night of good ole’ fashioned Western fun!!  

Go Discover… and Keep on Discovering!! 

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Hey guys check out what I've been getting up to lately!
http://bmibabymagazine.com/2009/02/destination-guides-15/

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Clint Eastwood_ My First Love





Having finally finished the last three projects of 2008, namely Burrishoole GAA CLub, Newport, Mayo, Fifth Avenue, Oranmore, Galway and the Tourist Office Achill Island, (See End 2008) it is with much anticipation that I have got round to actually beginning the work on "The Country Club", Pub mural in Mayo. [Sigh, little happy dance :)]

I will post up the prepartion photographs very soon to keep you all updated on the progress. I have had very few mishaps so far (trigger fingers crossed), and the prepartion went pretty well. I began to find images for this mural about five years ago but never saw a time that it would come to pass. I drew the sketch from an amalgamation of all of these "bits and pieces" I had collected to piece together my "Wild West in the Wild West scene!" The sketch as per usual began with my cup of green tea ,a roll of masking tape and my trustee markers. What would I do without them? I drew the sketch with relative ease although the wall was tricky to navigate. Freshly painted and plastered it was in the perfect condition to begin but, it is the lay of the wall that was the challeng
e on this particular occasion. Measuring 20ft by 18ft it has many breaks with a window to one side with deep reveals, a bar counter to the other side and many other "irredeemable nuances", I like to refer to them as. But. There is nothing like a challenge eh? :)

The theme for this project was, as I said the Wild West. Of course no one springs to mind more often when thinking on this idea than Clint Eastwood. And
Clint Eastwood was... am, let's say, easy on the eye in his famed 1966 Western, "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" days. So what a better era to choose from than his time spent in the Almeria desert in Spain (its on my list of places to visit!). He was filming for this epic spaghetti Western, the third in the series of his triolgy. The other two films he shot were; A Fist full of Dollars and A Few Dollars More.(The Man with No Name is name of box set, not to be confused with such similar titles. I reviewed a film one season in Film Studies at National College of Art and Design called The Man who wasn't There. Good. It is a gritty film Noir and the great BillyBob Thornton. Anyway. I like Fim Noir and Spaghetti Westerns you'll understand). I love everything Cowboy and always have growing up. I grew up in a liscensed premises and there were quite a few cowboys on the scene even that time! Its been a dream to get round to painting it.

And so the time has come. I finished the sketch in good time and went about masking my prized areas before mixing the appropriate paint for the skyline as you will see from the progress shots. I am in the fourth day now.

I am painting Clint. He is beautiful like my boy and so I will make him thus.

Watch this space.

I have the majority of the base coat up on the wall as yet but I have yet to begin any detail. The masking tape I used was a good quality durabond which worked very well as sometimes you find with cheaper alternatives that they will be so tacky they may remove the paint baser from the wall when you remove them. Everyone take a deep breath and relax because that did not happen!

You may be able to see this from my image. I have chosen to put my most recent pictures to the beginning of my post as each time you log in progress is right there for you to see instead of scrolling through counless paragraphs of my processes. A customer in the premises came and gave me and Ennio Morricone Movie Hits Compilation this morning. He did a huge amount of Sergio Leones Scores and of course was also involved with The Good The Bad and the Ugly. I've been enveloped in mystic and haunting orchestral tones by Ennio all morning and I'm feeling all romantic and nostalgic. I love to become familiar with a theme in every way possible when painting. Be it the particular movie soundtrack. A book version of the film that I can read in the evening after my work. If it be a musical backdrop I am painting or a particular period in culture and history I will firstly comes to terms with that era and become informed of the atmosphere, people and conditions related. This is the only true way to make a painting look realistic other than just regurgitating a visual.

Tell me what you think of the work so far :) xk