Homeland Art

Even though there is turmoil in the financial markets people still want to buy beautiful works of art to hang on their wall. Managing director of Whyte’s Art Auctioneers says that people are turning to art as a means of investment. According to Whyte, there are two reasons why people are turning to art:

“Art doesn’t necessarily fall as badly as property because people don’t get as desperate about selling art. People don’t take out a mortgage on a painting, as with a house or a piece of land, so there generally aren’t any forced sales. Even during a property slump, art remains steady.”

The second reason, Whyte explains: “People say they feel safer when they invest money in a painting. They like the fact that they know exactly where it is and that they can look at it hanging on the wall where they can enjoy it. They’ll never have to face the prospect of going down to withdraw their investment one morning only to find that the doors of the bank are closed.”

Whyte explains buying a piece from an established artist versus an up and coming artist: “From an investment point of view go for safe, established artists but oif you want to take a flutter, up and coming artists are the ones to watch.”

An Irish Art auction will be hosted by Whytes on November 24th.

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There is a proposal in the pipeline to merge the three main State galleries in a cost cutting exercise. The three main State galleries are: The National Gallery, The Irish Museum of Modern Art (I.M.M.A.), and the Crawford Gallery, in Cork.

Correspondence from the Department of Arts disclosed that as a result of the “brainstorming exercise” to amalgamate government departments. State art galleries are on the list.

Officials in the Department of Arts said that the proposal still has to be looked at in detail and that nothing has been decided.

Crawford Gallery director, Peter Murray doubted if there would be any economical advantage for the merger as members of the board are not paid for their services. He did say that the galleries could work together in other ways such as combining bargaining power when advertising or when launching campaigns.

The directors of Irish museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery are away and were not available for comment. 

If I was a director of a museum and there were rumblings that “my” museum was going to be merged with two others, I don’t care if I was on holidays on Mars, I would make sure to send some sort of comment supporting the case that there was no need for a merger instead people writing “not available for comment”.

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Ah, “them were the good old days”, back when the Guinness barges would trudge up and down the River Liffey, when you could have a game of football on Collins Avenue without being “interupted” by passing cars for up to 20 minutes,
when you coal would be delivered by horse and cart with the coalman covered from head to toe with the black stuff (and I don’t mean Guinness!), when hats would be tipped to passing strangers.

This month Dublin City Libraries, in association with the Heritage Council, will open their extensive archives of the life and times of the capital in an extensive series of talks, films, exhibitions, walking tours, and boat trips as part of ‘Our Heritage - All Our Yesterdays Today’.

The week long trip down memory lane will feature events highlighting local history, architecture, and inland waterways.

Cabra library will host one of the highlights of the week.  A commerative exhibition of the North Strand bombings in 1941 when 4 german bombs were dropped on the area killing 28 people, injuring 90 and destroying 300 homes.

There will be a number of commissioned photographs on show of the damge of the bombs and the major clearance operation that was required.

There will also be an oral history talk in Cabra Library of women’s experiences living through World War II.

For lovers of nature there will be a talk by Eanna Ni Lamhna in the Central Library on the wildlife of the time in the River Dodder, and other parts of Dublin.

There will also be a series of films taking place in the Central Library. Titled ‘Dublin in the Rare Oul’Times’ viewers can enjoy a number of films put together by the Irish Film Institute using the Irish Film Archive of the life and times of our capital city from the 1920’s up until the 1970’s.

All events are free. For more information visit Dublin City Libraries website.

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A collection of etchings by Rembrandt went on display in Dublin today. The world famous etchings are expected to draw huge crowds to the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle.

Along with his extensive collection of paintings, Rembrandt was not just a great painter, he was also a graphic artist of outstanding ability.  He produced approximately 290 prints and he is considered the world’s most accomplished etcher.

The 75 prints on display include portraits, self-portraits, landscapes and biblical scenes. Charles Horton, curator of the library said, “the quality of the etchings is superb. Anyone who thinks of a print simply as a reproductive work will be amazed when they see these prints. It is like looking over the shoulder of a master”.

The library will also host a series of events, including demonstrations with print artists from the Graphic Studio, Dublin.  For more information look at Chester Beatty Library website.

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Well, this has been a very interesting experience of building a website dedicated to irish art and developing it.  If you are thinking of going down this route (I mean any type of website) I have a little bit of advice:

Hire good people. The two areas I’m talking about are:

Building Your Site

Building the actual website is easier said than done and off course it’s easier to comment on it looking back than it is as you are about to jump into it. Dan from Impact Design built my site and I have to say, he was fantastic. I would highly recommend him and his company. Excellent knowledge and response time was second to none.

Web Development

I wouldn’t wait until after your site gets built before you think about web development and Search Engine Marketing. I have used a few web development companies and you have to be very careful in this area. Go with the wrong crowd and they could do serious damage to your site’s future prospects. If you want to use the best in the business talk to Aaron Wall. He runs a company called SEO Book. There is no one better.

There is my honest opinion and by the way I’m not paid for this. If anyone was starting out I would these are the 2 points of advice I would give them.

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Art lovers in Dublin were excited on Thursday night with anticipation of the unveiling of Ronnie Wood’s pieces of art at Gallery Number 1 on Castle Street, Dublin 2.Some people were disappointed that the Rolling Stone didn’t show up to unveil his “Paint it Black” series but people were really impressed with the works of art.

Not to worry, the show went on with David Douglas, the gallery’s owner, announcing Ronnie’s work. “The reaction we’ve had is amazing. People love Ronnie” David said on the night.

 While Ronnie is best known for his musical abilities, he has been painting since he was 12 years old and his latest collection is a series of prints of the Rolling Stones on tour. Prices started from €460, climbing to over €41,000. In total the 40 piece collection is valued in excess of €650,000.

Ronnie told the gallery that he will pop in at some stage before the event closes on July 6th. That shouldn’t be a problem for him since it’s not that far from his plush Co. Kildare stables where he breeds horses.

You can see Ronnie’s work on display at Gallery Number One’s website after the exhibition is finished, so if you want to see the work now, go to the gallery on Castle Street, Dublin 2.

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As you may have heard, Ireland voted “no” to the Lisbon Treaty. It has really upset the politicians from the mainstream political parties in Ireland and members of the European parliment. All of the other European countries were expected to pass the treaty (because the parliments in each country were to vote on it rather than putting it to the people in a referendum). It was expected to pass easily in all the countries, including Ireland (up until the last few days before the irish referendum anyway).

Why did the people vote “no”?

1. The Lisbon Treaty is a complicated document. Apparently it’s more interesting to watch paint dry than to read the treaty. Even our Taoiseach (Prime Minister) admitted he didn’t read it. They gave it to a bunch of lawyers to break down and summarize the main points. I started to read that broken down version and frankly I decided I needed to go to the shops before I finished. So, people decided to vote no because they did not fully understand what they were asking to endorse.

2. The Irish population did not like being told what to do by an out of touch, arrogant government.

3. There are a lot of things the population are unhappy with (including health care, our justice system, transport) and they wanted to send the governemnt a message.

So, we are entering “unchartered territory”, as the government puts it. By law the Lisbon Treaty is dead if it is not ratified by all of the member states. So they are all busy scratching their heads in Brusells. The Irish people are not anti-Europe by any means. We have benefited greatly from being part of the EU, arguably more than any other member state, but in my opinion the campaign by the goverment to educate the people was a disaster. They were over confident and complacent.

So, we are entering interesting times. Tired of reading about politics? Check out some great Irish Art!

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There are two main areas in Dublin’s city centre where people come to shop for Irish gifts. One area, on the northside of the River Liffey is Henry Street and it’s surrounding streets and the other area is Grafton Street and Stephen’s Green. The two areas are quite close. It is about a ten minute walk between both. The easiest route to take is over the Ha’penny Bridge, which crosses the River Liffey.

Northside
Henry Street has apartment stores such as Arnott’s aswell as an assortment of popular clothing and footwear stores. The Ilac Centre and the newer Jervis Street Centre are both here. The traditional Moore Street market is also here where fish and vegetables are sold daily from stalls with sellers announcing their presence regularly. The sellers have great voices and you will hear them before you see them as they nearly sing out: “ten for a fiver”. Nearby, Dublin’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street is just around the corner. Clerey’s department store and Eason’s book store are located here.

Southside
Grafton Street is the main shopping area on the southside. Located between Trinity College and Saint Stephen’s Green. Brown Thomas is located here. It caters to many designer showcases both international and local. Bewley’s Cafe is also located here. Every time I am on Grafton Street I stop on for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. The exclusive Weir’s jewellery store is also here. The nearby Powerscourt Towncentre is a very unique, small shopping centre is located just around the corner.

After all that shopping there is nothing more you would deserve more than a thirst quenching pint of Guinness. I recommend McDaid’s pub. You can see it from Grafton Street. Half way up Grafton Street, walk right onto Harry Street and i’s just there on the left. There is a great bronze statue of Phil Lynott just outside.

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Incredible scenery, challenging championship courses and legendary hospitality make Ireland one of the best places in the world for a top-quality golfing holiday.
Ireland is one of the top destinations in the world for golf. Fringed on all sides by the sea and with a landscape that is spectacularly varied, this small island on the edge of Europe boasts incredible championship golf courses designed by some of golf’s most revered architects and players.
From lush, green parkland to wind-lashed rugged coastal dunes Ireland is unbeatable in terms of choice, quality, and awe-inspiring scenery. Clubs like the Old Head of Kinsale in Cork, Carne Golf Links in Mayo, Royal County Down, Ballybunion in Kerry, Doonbeg in County Clare, Druids Heath in County Wicklow and Rosapenna Golf Links in County Donegal offer thrilling and dramatic vistas that will blow your mind.
If it’s a top luxurious resort you’re after, then make sure to try some of Ireland’s top spots like Adare Manor, Dromoland Castle and the K Club – host of the Ryder Cup 2006.
And with legendary hospitality, fascinating sightseeing opportunities, gourmet pubs and restaurants and some of the best craic around, a golf break in Ireland is one you’ll never forget.

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The Irish coastline is one of the most prolific and beautiful surfing backdrops in the northern hemisphere, if not the world.. For the past few years the world’s amateur surfers and best professionals alike have flocked to surf the secret emerald coastline and enjoy the hospitality of the Irish. Ireland is blessed with a huge variety of quality surf spots and some really uncrowded areas - meaning that you will get the best out of your surf trip.
The best time to surf Ireland is during the period from September to May each year when the swells are plentiful. The only real drawback to the Ireland surfing experience is the cold water, but if you are prepared to overlook this little problem you are in for a treat.
If you are considering a trip to Ireland then start out by heading to Donegal Bay - it is like a swell magnet and there are spots dotted all over. There really is a wave for everyone, with a huge variety of uncrowded reef and beach breaks with predominant offshores. If you are into big wave surfing there are also some spots that will hold up to 20ft+.
Don’t forget to sample the Guinness and the legendary hospitality of the locals, and don’t leave without surfing Lahinch, Easkey and Portrush.

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