The Source

Two years ago, Jacques Descoteaux, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, Jennifer Gunlock, Alan Keane, Autumn Richardson, Jean Sanders, and I were resident artists at awe-inspiring Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat. Inspired by our studio crawl on our last evening, Alan began The Artist’s Well, a series of virtual studio visits taking place over the past year out of Dublin, Ireland. These weekly visits kept me inspired and connected from across the Atlantic!

Now I am delighted to receive my copy of The Source by Alan, sharing my work among 50 artists who were featured in The Artist’s Well, with a foreword by the Irish Minister for Arts & Culture, Catherine Martin, TD. I loved to see the remarkable work of my dear Cill Rialaig friends Autumn, Jacques, and Eoin included as well as my brilliant friend Vincent Giarrano. And Alan’s heartfelt foreward and group photo of us in my Cill Rialaig cottage makes me miss everyone even more!

The book is available for purchase from Alan Keane at aka.ie and select galleries and shops across Ireland.

You can see my Artist’s Well studio visit in episode 12 here: Colleen Blackard – Artist Well

Cill Rialaig Sketchbook

Reflecting on my two weeks at Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat in Co. Kerry, Ireland, I created a visual diary of my journey in a 5×7 inch sketchbook for the Brooklyn Art Library. This library of artist sketchbooks is located in Williamsburg near my Brooklyn studio.

Plein Air Paintings of Austin, TX

While spending time with my family in Austin during this pandemic, I have been studying the landscape in my childhood greenbelt trail. These plein air paintings investigate the light, color, and spaces reflective of long Texas summers. 

Select paintings available to collect on Saatchi Art.

Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat

In October 2019, I was an artist in residence at Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat in County Kerry, Ireland. Staying in a pre-famine, slate-roofed, stone cottage, I spent many afternoons watching the wild weather sweep across the bay. In the howling wind and white rain, punctuated by bright moments of sunshine, I painted the changes as best I could and listened to the rain pounding on the roof above. I saw rainbows every day, and on my last days I watched the rain turn to sleet in the patches of sunlight. I rolled acrylic paint on Yupo, using the color of the waves below, and left them outside in the rain, creating rain imprints. I called them “Clagarnagh,” the Irish word for the sound of pelting rain on a roof. While hiking around the area, I learned about the gorse and bracken in the hedgerows and hills. I listened to the choughs (sea crows) as they soared above the hills dotted with sheep. While climbing, I startled Irish hares from their hillside homes and watched them dart away. High above the sea and in the shadow of the mountains to the west, I discovered ancient stones. In this hermitage on the edge of the world, I learned more of who I am. In the silence I could hear my voice the loudest.

Below are the artistic imprints of my time there. I hope you enjoy the echoes.

Studio Wall Storm Mural

When moving on from my studio of 4 years, I painted this storm mural in four days on my free-standing studio wall before it was demolished.

This last moment of artistic expression was the celebration of the joy and freedom that this beautiful studio gave to me, and with its destruction I let it go as I move into a new studio and begin the next chapter.

Paintings

During this Pollock-Krasner Grant year, I have translated my focus on light into both oil and acrylic paintings.