My plans to visit the West coast of Ireland began in 2016. I happened to mention to most visitors to my studio during Dorset Art Weeks that it was my next project. As sometimes happens the best laid plans don’t always work out. However, I never gave up on the idea and made the crossing in early June.

My initial itinerary would take me to Galway on to Connemara and then down the cost to Dingle, Kerry and Cork. A good friend of mine had for years been telling me to visit a place called Brandon. By the time I left the ferry at Rosslare I decided that this would be a good place to start, so I headed for the Dingle peninsular.

To my delight it was the perfect, ten-mile-long beaches, surrounded by blue mountains with the Atlantic Ocean crashing in. What could go wrong? Of course, the weather went wrong. For the first few days the sea mist completely obliterated the views. I could have been anywhere. It was very frustrating but eventually and very gradually the landscape was revealed. From then on it was a case of experiencing and trying to capture the raw beauty of this place. Brandon kept me captivated for my entire stay with future plans to return in the Autumn.