The Children of Lir spent 300 years on Lough Derravaragh in Co Westmeath transformed into swans by their stepmother Aoife; it was a peaceful period during their 900 year exile. They would have been just as content had they spent some of that time on Corbet Lake in Co Down. I was there on Friday evening as the sun began to set behind the low hills transforming the light and chilling the air. I got out of the car and was instantly surrounded by an army of hungry birds; I'm a bit nervous of swans, meeting a territorial male on a narrow stretch of water is a canoeist's equivalent of meeting a bull in a field. Swans are less threatening on land waddling about with a comical gait, nevertheless I retreated to the car and the sketch book as their ranks swelled quickly with reinforcements coming off the lake, eager get a share of the bread I had failed to bring. White paint is rarely employed in a watercolour painting, even when swans are the main subject, instead parts of the white paper are left untouched. Right from the start an artist needs to know which areas to avoid painting over. Masking fluid can then be applied to exclude paint from these areas while some non-staining colours will lift from the paper if teased with a damp brush and then dabbed out with kitchen roll. White areas can be recovered by introducing an opaque colour like Chinese white but this is a step to far for many purists. In this painting I have avoided using masking fluid or opaque paint by carefully painting around the swans. The swans behaved themselves in fact I have yet to be attacked either a swan or a bull but I imagine Corbet lake is still a dodgy place to take out sandwiches; it is perfect however for having a go at preserving whites.
If you are interested in a painting you can contact Eamonn by ringing 07962 189132