Jason Eldredge, GALWAY, IRELAND, oil on canvas, 31 x 37.5 inches framed, $2,600
While on a trip to Ireland with his family last year, Cotuit artist Jason Eldredge found time to sit and sketch at an outdoor cafe on a corner in Galway. With an abundance of street performers, somewhat cock-eyed architecture and Irish flags flying, the downtown area felt festive. “The place reminded me a bit of Provincetown,” he says.
In “Galway, Ireland,” many of the sights he saw create a kaleidoscope of memories. Jason calls it an “emotional composite,” because, for him, conveying the impact of an experience is more important than realism. For example, a few rivers do run through Galway, but not in the streets, as the painting might suggest. However, the device of flowing water unifies the elements and creates a feeling of movement throughout the painting.
At left, a musician sits on a bench, playing his guitar between bronze statues of Oscar Wilde and Estonian writer Eduard Vilde, just as he was when Jason saw him. The artist and his daughter Cassidy tipped many of the performers. That’s her in the yellow slicker she wore throughout the trip, putting some coins in a guitar case. The hexagonal stones she’s stepping on were inspired by the Giant’s Causeway, a natural wonder in Northern Ireland. “They aren’t actually in Galway, but it seemed like a good way to get her up above the water,” Jason says.
Cassidy also made friends with the dog — though he was in front of a shop rather than in a boat. No matter. “The border collie/sheepdog is sort of ubiquitous in Ireland,” Jason says. So, of course, are pubs, like the checkerboard building on the corner. Another key aspect of the painting is the row of houses along the harbor in the background. They weren’t visible from where Jason was sketching, but — as “the most photographed street in Ireland” — they certainly help identify the scene. See more paintings by Jason Eldredge
P.S. HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!