This is Irish Countryside

While the bulk of Don's paintings depicted California, his home for the last 46 years of his life,  he made a point to travel all over the world and produce paintings of scenes which interested him.  This particular painting is rather special as it is both a scene of a far away land and a painting represents a scene from Don's heritage. 

This is Irish Countryside

You can see this print directly on our online store at http://www.dononeill.com/irish-countryside/

Don traveled all over the world during his career,  Ireland had a special place in his heart as it was the home of his grandfather, a man who actually passed away over 15 years before Don was born.   He was visiting Ireland in his late 70s looking for information of his family history and specifically was trying to track down the birth records of his grandfather.   This painting is fairly special in contrast to the life Don lived, this painting told the story of his heritage.

Usually with paintings I have to a fair bit of detective work but this particular piece my grandfather left some notes which were used in his book "Don O'Neill Watercolors"

"Country Bridge was painted on my last trip to Ireland.   Painting trips to Ireland have always been most fruitful.  The land to the west being a treasure trove of scenic delights for any artist.  The green hills are old and well used for centuries.  It tells of unspeakable hardships the Irish endured, especially in the 19th Century.   This country bridge caught my eye along with the small dwellings on the hillside.  A pub not far away served a hearty late lunch after a long morning of paints, paper, and brushes. "

 - Don O'Neill

This painting is dominated by the vibrant greens and Don used warm earth tones for the shadows of the bridge, trees and ripples of the water.   As a lesson my grandfather would frequently give demonstrations of painting between contrasting cool and warm colors.  Despite being a painting of lush green hillside, and composed of mostly green paint, there is almost no neutral green anywhere in this painting.  Most Don O'Neill paintings are known for their avoidance of neutral colors as he would always prefer to use warm and cool versions of a color instead.


You can see this print on our online store at DonONeill.com and we produce it in four different sizes with each one individually printed on archival grade watercolor paper.  When properly framed the print will look nearly identical to the original painting and will hold its vivid color for decades.  Every painting has a story behind it.  This one I was thrilled to have my grandfather's notes telling me the story as few paintings he wrote down the story.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly at my contact page

Riley O'Neill