It's a bit of a hike from the car park to Maria's bridge, time enough for a bit of rain to develop and spoil an afternoons painting. Located near the boundary wall of Tollymore forest park, the arched lines of the bridge are not obvious from the path; a crawl through the tangled undergrowth is required to appreciate its construction. More apparent is the accompanying waterfall as it plunges into the rock pools before exiting beneath the bridge. While the waterfall can be sketched from the path, I chose to climb down under the bridge just in case the rain became more persistent. I was rewarded by the comfort of a seat shaped rock that in addition to supporting the arch also provided a good place to sketch and a dry roof over my head. Beneath the bridge the scene and the sound is dominated by the waterfall, it is important to accurately gauge its overall size in relation to the surroundings as there is a tendency to make the waterfall too big owing to its powerful presence. With the main shapes in place the prevalence and variety of the greens is then apparent; I have only two greens in my paint box and neither is used often enough to earn their keep, I do however have a fair selection of blues and yellows which when mixed provide an infinite number of greens. Its still advisable to limit their number in any one painting by choosing a single yellow and perhaps two blues to mix the required colours, this ensures a unified composition and prevents the work looking too piecemeal. Tollymore has an abundance of painting locations closer to the main car park than Maria's bridge; few visitors make it this far unless on a bike or horse back but you may be able to make out the voices of those that do spilling over the parapet, praising the waterfall, totally unaware that a masterpiece is taking shape underneath - and if its not quite a work of art then at least you will be protected from the rain and any cutting remarks.
If you are interested in a painting you can contact Eamonn by ringing 07962 189132