National Drawing Day has come and gone, but its a concept that never gets old. Started by the National Gallery or Ireland, its a day to inspire and motivate, from kids young to adults that are old, to create, good or bad. Art Galleries and museums all over Ireland had drawing events for everyone, led by artist. In Kilkenny they tied it in with The Breadwinner National exhibit, having artist and animators out mixing it up with everyone, all on the grounds of Kilkenny Castle. Events like this, and Sketch-A-Day are wonderful ways for people to get out and be creative. Break away from their phones, and just have fun.
Now I was not around to celebrate at any museums, because I had bigger fish to fry on this day, long before I heard of National Drawing Day, Yvonne and I had set up our boat trip to Skellig Michael in the ring of Kerry. Famous world wide because of the latest Star Wars, before that little movie there is over a 1000 years of history there. Not only was I excited to climb Skellig Michael, but I had planned on doing some drawings while up there. Unfortunately, I was unable to get on the island, due do adverse weather conditions. I.E. huge waves and swells, but I did get to circle the island, in a hair raising adventure that left me soaked. No chance of drawing on this boat, my shoes are still soaked. I did get to see the famous huts from a distance, a ton of my favorite gannets, a dozen puffins, and plenty of other birds. In fact, on one of the Skellig islands, there were over 70000 breeding gannets, all territorial as hell.
Now on the ring of Kerry, you need to make sure to hit up the atm, because everyone wants cash. So I had an hour detour, taking me away from the most gorgeous part of the day, sun shining and all, to the end of the day, which, well, in typical Irish fashion, was foggy, rainy, misty, and well, very little visibility. So after all the excitement, I did not get to my spot on the beach till after 8, with very little to see except a small castle ruins and some water. But hey, its was still National Drawing Day, and I was going to get a drawing done. With a spitting of rain, a very cold wind, and a near mauling of an over enthusiastic dog with nibble kisses, I was able to produce this.
Plus, lets end this blog with a small teaser of my Art Show coming in July at the Gold Standard cafe. It will be showcasing my en plein air Pen and Ink illustrations from Ireland. More info to come.
michaelbencik.org 