The Pirates of the Caribbean at King John’s Castle, Limerick,

acrylic on canvas, 25 x 34 cm, €150.00, framed

Last summer (end of June 2015) I broke my right wrist. About one week after the cast was off, I started painting this picture. I wanted to submit it for selection for the new calendar 2016 of the “Limerick Art Society” which I am a member of. The hand-in was in early September. That left me with only about 3 weeks and my hand was still quite sore. A wrist takes a good while to recover because of the cartilage. Cartilage is very slow to heal.

I had planned to paint my 3-master model for some time and then had the idea to place it on the River Shannon in front of King John’s Castle in Limerick. I doubt that it is possible to sail quite so far up the Shannon but, hey!, this is artistic freedom. I can make it possible. Maybe it was even possible in the Middle Ages. Who knows?

For the water and the sky I used the colours in a more translucent way to show the transparency. Boat, castle and greenery feel far more solid as the paint is half to completely opaque.

The idea to include “The Pirates of the Caribbean” only came along after finishing the painting. Looking at it reminded me of my son’s video tape and I changed the title accordingly. I was enjoying myself immensely. You cold say there is no pirate in the picture. My answer: They are all out acquiring goods.

The picture was ready in time for the selection. And I made it! It is in the calendar, on the May page. That really made my day if not my week.

Lots of my friends received a calendar for Christmas last year. No complaints there so far.

For more on art visit my website: arthenning.com