John Short: Dalkey Visual Record & Other Works: Dalkey Town Hall

4 - 6 December

Following on from the success of artist John Short's Dalkey Visual Record series of watercolours and prints, Solomon Fine Art is delighted to announce that the series will be on display for one weekend only at a solo exhibition of the artist’s works in Dalkey Town Hall from 4-6 December next.

As soon as the strict COVID-related travel restrictions were introduced in Ireland on 29 March 2020 John Short began using his daily 2km permitted walk to make a visual record of his neighbourhood under 'lockdown'. Luckily for Short, his house and studio lie in the picturesque and historic town of Dalkey in Co. Dublin, known for its many medieval castles, grand Victorian architecture and superb coastal vistas overlooking Dublin and Killiney Bays. Using both sketchbook drawings and photography, Short made quick observations on his walks and then returned to his garden studio to paint the watercolours.

John began sharing his daily paintings via Instagram and on the wildly popular local community Dalkey Open Forum Facebook page. The response was overwhelmingly positive from both locals and ex-pats worldwide and Jamie Gill of Gill's Opticians generously offered to hang a selection of works in his shop windows. When lockdown travel restrictions were lifted the series was postponed but with the introduction of a second lockdown in Oct/Nov, the watercolours started to appear again! To date, John has created 35 original watercolour paintings and 15 limited edition prints.

The forthcoming exhibition in Dalkey's Town Hall will include the Visual Record series, plus a number of larger paintings of Dun Laoghaire, Sandycove and Killiney also painted this year. All works will be for sale, with unframed prints also available for shipping worldwide.

Due to Government restrictions, a day-long opening reception with the artist present will take place on Friday from 3pm to 8pm to allow for social distancing. Throughout the weekend we will most likely have to restrict the numbers of guests in the hall, so we kindly request visitors to prebook a timeslot via Eventbrite to avoid disappointment. You can book your tickets online here (free, up to a max of 4 per person)

Alternatively please phone us at the gallery to book a time that suits you. This will ensure that we can maintain small numbers of guests in the hall for your comfort and safety.

For further details please telephone +353 1 6724429 (or call 086 8142380 whilst the exhibition is open). If you would like to receive an invitation for the opening, please subscribe to our mailing list via the link above.

Dalkey Town Hall, Castle Street, Dalkey, A96 DE61, Co Dublin

John Short exhibition opening hours:

Friday: 3pm to 9pm

Saturday: 10am to 6pm

Sunday: 10am to 5pm

"Since March this year I have been using the opportunity to work on a project creating a collection of watercolour drawings of views of Dalkey. Very quickly it turned into an attempt to lift the mood during lockdown. I have Dalkey Open Forum on Facebook to thank as it became the platform to show these works, often in daily posts, and I was delighted that they stimulated quite a positive following both from residents of Dalkey and surprisingly many Dalkey ex-pats around the world. In all, my ‘Dalkey Visual Record’ consisted of thirty watercolours and such was the response that I published a series of fourteen of them as a range of limited edition prints which are available to view below.

I’m including in this exhibition some other locally inspired larger works which I have been working on during this year.

Among others who live in Dalkey whom I have to thank are Tara Murphy, Director of Solomon Fine Art who is hosting this exhibition, Barry Dunne and Ken for picture framing and Jamie Gill of Gill’s Opticians who generously displayed a mini exhibition in his shop windows."
ORIGINAL WATERCOLOURS
Click for prices & 'View on a Wall'
- John Short
  Lighthouse, East Pier, Dun Laoghaire 2
  Watercolour and ink
  100 x 73cm
  
  € 5,250.00
  
  View more details
- John Short
  Forty Foot Bathers, Morning
  Watercolour and ink
  46 x 60cm
  
  € 5,250.00
  
  View more details
PRINTS
LIMITED EDITION PRINTS
Click for prices & 'View on a Wall'
FRAMING

Framing of prints is available through Barry's Art & Framing Service in Dalkey. Depending on size, the cost is approximately €140 + VAT. We can deliver unframed prints directly to the workshop if required.

More details: Barry's Art & Framing, Rere 2A St Patrick's Road, Dalkey / tel: 086 6860510

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Dalkey Town Hall
Directions

Dart / Train to Dalkey: 30 minutes from City Centre

By Car: Dublin City Centre: Dalkey is 12.8km south on N31 or N11.

M50 Motorway: Exit 16 (Cherrywood). Follow Signs for Killiney/Dalkey.

Parking: See Map of Dalkey
BIOGRAPHY

John Short is from Fife in Scotland and is a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art and the Royal College of Art, London where he was awarded a travelling scholarship, the Berger Colour Prize and the Royal College of Art Drawing Prize. He worked for many years as a freelance illustrator in London and Ireland for various publications, including commissions from The Sunday Times, Harpers & Queen, Vogue, The Irish Times and The Sunday Independent. He has also had his illustrations published by Walker Books and Random House Group. A former Senior Lecturer in Drawing and Imagemaking at the School of Creative Arts, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, John recently retired from third level-teaching in order to concentrate on painting from his Dalkey-based studio full-time.

He contributes his paintings and prints to many gallery group and solo exhibitions including the Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, the Irish Watercolour Annual Exhibition, The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, Solomon Fine Art, Dublin and V Gallery in Shanghai, China. Short’s distinctively joyous and highly original watercolours have earned him multiple Irish & international awards, including the prestigious 2012 Artist Prize at the Royal Watercolour Society in London and the Arnott’s National Portrait Award here in Ireland. His work can be found in numerous public and private collections such as the Áras an Uachtaráin, Department of Foreign Affairs, Bank of Ireland, the Shelbourne Hotel and Berger Paints. Most recently he completed a specially commissioned suite of prints for the King’s Inn Law Library in Dublin.

He is currently working on a collection of drawings, paintings and sculptures for a solo exhibition at Solomon Fine Art, Dublin in July/August 2020.
John Short NEWS