An Irish Dancer.

This is part two of the Myerly Family request: Irish Dance. This one is for Sophia Myerly who is very much loves traditional Irish dance and studies at the Rince Na Chroi school in St. Paul, MN.

Unfortunately, don't know much about anything Irish. However, years ago, I used to frequent Kieren's Irish Pub where I would often order chips with curry and a Guinness after getting off work (which sounds delicious right now). Sometimes I would stay late with friends and listen to the Irish bands that played there. I also saw a great number of Celtic knot work tattoos in the early nineties and have always liked the Pogues, but somehow I feel these things don't give me a true understanding of Ireland.

She sent me a link to the Rince Na Chroi website and I checked out several galleries of photos of dance performances. I was immediately impressed with how amazing every one's hair is. (Then I got suspicious and googled "Irish Dance Wigs". That explained it.) The effects of hair bouncing up and haloing the head is quite stunning. It made for an interesting visual image. Because of the nature of Irish dance, in photographs, the performers appear to be standing still, levitating while their hair is going crazy. I consulted some You Tube videos to understand exactly what was going on in those pictures. It looks like magic.

I made this painting as a composite of several dancers. After trying more elaborate backgrounds, I decided to go simple and abstract. There is a tiny hair of mine stuck in the lumpy white of the background that I left. It was hard to get out and not very noticeable. So, if I ever get lost and someone needs a DNA sample of me to reunite me with my people...

As a side note, I've recently become aware that the subject matter of the paintings here seem to be changing. This is the third painting in a row with a human figure. Where have all the animals gone? I'm not sure if it is the requests or how I'm relating to them.

Check out:

http://www.rincenachroi.com/