Atmospheric Landscape Paintings by John O'Grady

This is my first post so I’ve decided to talk about three landscape paintings I particularly like and created by John O’Grady, an Irish artist who lives in Provence.

John O’Grady relishes the process of painting from memory and capturing an atmosphere that can take you right back to the place you have a special connection with even though this place in the artist’s head may not be specific.

His choice of colours and tendency towards abstraction give the work a sense of the magical tinged with melancholy.

Murmur in the Trees, 2012
(5" x 7", oil on panel)

When I get up at dawn, it’s a joy to see the sun rising and bathing the medieval stones of the village I live in with a honey glow while blue-grey shadows add drama to the setting.

Shapes and forms are not quite in focus yet and this in-between stage suggests possibilities.

This time of day has a fleeting quality and a quietness John O’Grady captured in Murmur in the Trees.

This painting of an Irish pathway dappled with a cool light carries the first feelings of warmth.

When viewing the painting, I am transported back to Ireland on an early morning walk when the air still carries the dampness of the night and I start feeling the first rays of the sun on my arms and face. My eyes blink when they catch the bright light peering through the trees, blinding me for a moment or two and it feels good to be in the countryside, close to nature.

Blue is the dominant colour, ranging from cool blues to warm violet-blue shades that accentuate the solidity of the trees lining the path to bring an atmosphere of ease and comfort while the yellow of the sun peering through creates a delicate mosaic on the lane.  The other yellow marks brighten the painting and balance the result.

Murmur in the Trees III, 2014
(10" x 10", oil on panel)

This is another Murmur in the Trees painting though the feel is different from the first one. 

The tall dark trees with a spooky blue otherworldly mist in the undergrowth dominate the painting.

They make uo a dense forest but the light, well- trodden path running alongside and the brightness of the skyscape dispels any hint there is something ominous about to happen.

 It’s magical, ready to use as a backdrop to a fairy tale.   

Clouds in the River Rhône, 2014
(10"x10", oil on panel)

This painting with a gorgeous turquoise colour was triggered by a memory of a trip that the artist took to Avignon when the Rhône river’s glassy still water provided the perfect mirror effect to reflect the skyscape.

It’s a fun painting that plays with notions of reality and perception. What do we see, is it real?

The artist  says in response to a comment on his blog:

“Reality is often doubtful for me and probably for other people too. Except maybe I spend everyday exploring visual realities. Perhaps the reflection is another reality within the one painting.”

When I first saw this, I thought it was an abstract painting.

It’s a bit of a disconcerting perspective that felt disorienting. And then you realise what you are looking at and you are filled with awe.  The high horizon line and the bronze trees frame the front part of the painting while you feel as if you are in the middle of the river, almost eye to eye with the water so you can see the large cloudscape before you.

It’s a rather small painting and I’d love to experience a version of it in a large format.

To see more work by John O’Grady, please visit his site www.johnogradypaintings.com

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Please leave a comment.