Wicklow born artist Rod Coyne delighted the Greystones Art Group with a fascinating demo of an Irish landscape view across the Atlantic Ocean. Rod spoke about his journey from his art studies in Ireland to a 10 year stint living and working as a studio based artist in Germany. Eventually, realising that a lot of his painting involved the Irish landscape, he decided to return to Ireland.

Once back home, he fully immersed himself in the Irish landscape through working exclusively en plein-air for a full year. The benefits of that experience became quite evident when we watched the artist at work. The ease with which Rod interpreted the view, mixed colours and put shapes on the canvas, was truly amazing. Bold and decisive are definitely the keywords here; it was fascinating to see the landscape slowly emerging from the bold shapes. Rod used acrylic paints during this demo as it allows fast drying, but he also works extensively in oils.

Rod opened the Avoca Studio Gallery in 2003, followed by the Avoca Painting School in 2010, where he teaches hands-on. The amazing Avoca setting allows students to appreciate the therapeutic nature of painting whilst allowing a state of mindfulness at the same time. Further demos and workshops can be found on the website.

Having such an experienced and accomplished artist for the evening in the Kilcoole Community Centre (May 29, 2023), gave the members plenty of opportunity to ask questions and discuss various approaches, hugely beneficial for all who attended. An enjoyable, informal and informative evening, hopefully to be repeated.