Shade from the hot sun overhead would have been welcome but there was none. I wanted to find a spot on the bank where the flat surface of the water was free from reflections so that I could clearly see down to the layers of silt on the bottom of the pond. Nothing moved, but after a while water boatmen began to skim across the surface, tad poles swam up from the muddy bottom and a damselfly patrolled the air; eventually a newt appeared, then another, I counted five in all. Soil recently excavated to create the pond had been spread out on the surrounding grass before baking hard in the sun, the area was already attractive to amphibians but of little aesthetic interest. I was about to lift my sketch book and move on when a patch of white caught my eye, the remains of a clay pipe. The use of clay pipes was once widespread through out Ireland, no wake would be complete without porter, whisky and a tray of clay pipes. When lit the mourner would offer a small prayer and the pipes became known as 'lord ha mercy' pipes. I've never smoked a pipe nor do I intend to but devotees generally seem at ease with the world, unhurried and self assured. Searching for a suitable subject I completed a few quick sketches and spent a long time staring into the pond before returning home to work up a sketch of a pipe smoker from the recent horse fair in Castlewellan. The man in the foreground seemed to have his eye on a better deal ignoring the big stallion that caught the attention of the rest of the crowd. The newts that caught my eye moved into the ponds from the surrounding hedgerows to lay eggs, watching them is fascinating but as Churchill said "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man" and finding a broken piece of clay is as good an excuse as any to paint one.
If you are interested a painting you can contact Eamonn by ringing 07962 189132