Introduction:

"This blog is not necessarily for lovers of art, it includes a variety of topics and whatever. I'm a painter who likes to know what's really going on in the world today. So you might find anything from Shamrocks to Salmiakki mentioned here on my blog. There will of course be some boring, factual and informational posts, but I'll keep them to a minimum, I promise!

And I might get a bit nostalgic now and then.

So you have been warned!"


- Alan Hogan



Showing posts with label artist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artist. Show all posts

Thursday, November 5, 2020

Calendar 2021

https://youtu.be/qLubDlKPFw0

Here's a preview of my Art Calendar 2021, which is available exclusively from the ArtWanted website. I've collected twelve of my most suitable works for this calendar which focuses mainly on nature and the country of Finland where I live. 

The calendar can be found at this link here: https://www.artwanted.com/alanhogan/calendar

Find more of my art on Instagram: https://t.co/4BAsNay9BQ 

or on my Facebook page:
https://m.facebook.com/hoganfinland

#artist #new #calendar #preview #new2021 #artcalendar #arts #artiste #konst #kunst #taide #irishartist #irishinfinland

Monday, February 12, 2018

Holy Redbreast! ..just sold my Robin design!







Sold!!!... thanks to the person in North Carolina USA who bought this 'Robin' chiffon top design from my Redbubble webstore. This is the first time I've posted details of an art product sold by an online webstore. I hope to do it again. I would be very pleased if buyers could send me photos of my artwork or products so I can share on my blog or facebook. If any of you have anything simply contact me through my Facebook page 












































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Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.








- Alan











Sunday, December 17, 2017

My Finland 100 : 61- 70







Finland became an independent state on 6 December 1917. Already there have been numerous events staged throughout the country to celebrate this centenary year. The theme of the centenary year is ‘Together’. 


As I have been a resident of Finland for the past ten years I wanted to do a little something. For this I decided to post 100 images to my Instagram account on social media with the hashtag #finland100_igchallenge .




Anyone familiar with the Instagram application will be aware of the vast amount of wonderful photography posted every day online. There are so many amazing images to be found featuring Finland's stunning nature and landscapes. I imagine my photography may be lack lustre in comparison and as a result may not be noticed. So I decided to simply look closer in and around my new home for another approach. I have posted a variety of images found around my own house and neighbourhood. I didn't know much about Finland before I moved here, so I view this as an opportunity to show others a few things I discovered about or associated with Finland and it's culture. I have included everyday items, nostalgic items, locations, food and also some Finnish-themed artworks which I painted myself while living here. In other words, a bit of everything!!




The images are in no particular order of importance or preference, so I'll continue with 61-70...






61/100
Big rocks like the one shown here are a common sight in Finland. They were left over from the ice age. In fact the rock shown here is one of the smaller ones.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on





62/100
...'Thoughts of summer' (acrylic on canvas). a finnish summer house in Prästkulla Finland which i painted in a dreamscape of summer colours.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on





63/100
.. If you ever visit Helsinki check out the city's superb Jugendstil architecture. My favourite area is Katajanokka where I took these photos. (click on left of photo for more images)


A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on






64/100
...the small town of Ekenäs in Finland has a pole where they lock the necks of any Irishmen who don't pay for their beer, as demonstrated here by myself and my cousin on a recent visit.🍺😄 It's called the 'Shame Pole'. ..It was once used to punish criminals in the old days.
A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on


65/100
...flashback friday, hanging out with football fans from local Karis club BK-46 during the summer. The best of Finland! ⚽😎👍 

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on






66/100
.... 4 words: Finland, Metal, Cello, Apocalyptica!
A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on




67/100
.. a glowing Helsinki Cathedral overlooks the Christmas market in Senate Square this weekend.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on




68/100
... wall tapestry from Finland,... red christmas lights from Dunnes stores (switching on shortly)

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on



69/100
..'just had a night visit from this little guy asking me to put up my Christmas tree and some lights asap.🎄 He's called a Tonttu/Tomte here in Finland and he's a wannabe mythological creature from Nordic folklore who appears every Christmas. I tried to keep him quietly in the kitchen as I have another small mythological creature from Irish folklore hidden in the livingroom. He's fast asleep now and won't wake up until mid-March. So, i'd better get moving and keep this Tontuu happy or he might wake up old grumpyhead! 😯

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on









70/100
...'travelling by boat from Dublin to Liverpool I once found myself surrounded by young Irish football fans with bleached hair and this guy's name on their jerseys. Probably the first Finnish name many Irish people will mention when asked to name a famous Finn. Absolute legend for Liverpool and Finland! ⚽😎👍 (click right side of photo for more images) #samihyypia

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on




Click below for more:

1- 10

11- 20

21- 30

31- 40

41- 50

51- 60

61- 70

71- 80

81- 90

91- 100

















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- Alan









 

Monday, May 11, 2015

Two Landscapes and a Council of Trees!






Here's two paintings I made a few years ago.



'Sophia's Landscape'

The first here is called 'Sophia's Landscape' and it shows a typical summer scene from western Finland. This particular painting was from a photograph taken near the town of Nivala in the province of Oulu. The original painting is now owned by a private art collector in Helsinki.


This original photo from Nivala/Finland
was inspiration for 'Sophia's Landscape'







'Fourteen Angry Trees'

The second painting is made up of four individual frames each sized 70cm x 50cm. I decided to call it 'Fourteen Angry Trees', but I might be willing to change the title if anyone has a better suggestion. It depicts an imaginary landscape behind fourteen distressed and bitter-looking trees with a lot on their 'mind'. To achieve the image above I photographed the four original paintings and joined them together using image-editing software on my computer. The original painting or tetraptych (size 70cm x 200cm) can be seen in the video below.

    





Prints of 'Sophia's Landscape' are available here!




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You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.


- Alan 

    

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Abbey Theatre revisited

'Old Abbey Theatre' 
- illustration Alan Hogan, 1998.


I recently received a request from Freya Smitha MPhil student at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. It concerned my illustration of a famous old building called the Abbey Theatre. The student has been constructing a visualisation of this theatre as a module for one of her college assessments, and chose to use my image as a small backdrop on her presentation blogsite. I gladly agreed for my illustration (above) to be used.

"The Abbey first opened its doors to the public on 27 December 1904 in the former Mechanics’ Hall, also known as the Hibernian Theatre of Varieties. Prior to opening as the Abbey, the interior was remodeled by architect Joseph Holloway. He reused the existing structure of the auditorium and balcony, but he completely remoulded the proscenium arch, created a new entrance on Marlborough Street, introduced a substantially different seating arrangement, and changed every aspect of the décor, fixtures and fittings.




Despite losing its original building to a fire in 1951, the theatre was rebuilt to a design by Michael Scott and reopened in 1966. After the demolition of the Mechanics’ Hall facades, the stonework was rescued by Dublin architect, Daithi Hanley, who intended to preserve it." 


- above text by Archiseek, Computer reconstruction imagery of the interior as it was in 1904, courtesy of Hugh Denard and Noho.



As a Dubliner born and bred, I am very familiar with the location of the Abbey Theatre. My grandfather worked for the Irish Press and my father for the Irish Independent, two newspaper companies situated only a short walk from the Abbey theatre. I myself used to meet friends quite often after work in The Flowing Tide pub which sits facing the Abbey Theatre. At the time it was no surprise to see familiar faces from the theatre occasionally dropping in for a drink. Another pub situated nearby was Sean O'Casey's Bar which was named after the famous Dublin playwright who's name and plays are synonymous with the Abbey Theatre. I used to drop in to this pub occasionally for a chat after college. An annex of the D.I.T. College of Marketing and Design which I attended is conveniently located next door. This small area of Dublin city is full of history and stories that still live on through the people, the shops and the pubs. And when you least expect, some of the best and most theatrical performances can be found right under your nose!




Above is a video by British Pathe featuring Irish President Eamonn de Valera arriving at the site where the new Abbey theatre was built - historic Abbey theatre was destroyed by the fire in 1951.
From an architectural point of view I have never been a fan of what was constructed in place of the old Abbey Theatre. While it was unfortunate that the old building was destroyed by fire, for me it was equally unfortunate to see such an ugly replacement. On the bright side however, there have been welcomed modifications in more recent years making the new building more aesthetically pleasing.



An impression I made showing how the old Abbey theatre (bottom) would have looked in comparison to it's replacement in the 1960's (top).
Click on image to enlarge.


I also created this quick videoclip with my drawings and old photos of the Abbey Theatre through the years. 









'Old Abbey Theatre, Dublin' - Alan Hogan, 1998


The illustration above is the second drawing I made of the theatre. I haven't made any ink illustrations such as these for many years now, but I think I may have another attempt having received some positive feedback. Maybe something from Finland where I now live. 
Here's a few more samples of my old ink illustrations. 




A section of the old George's Street Arcade building
owned by The Grafton Hotel.





'The Four Courts', Dublin - 1988






'John Kehoe's Pub'
- South Anne street, Dublin - 1990




My illustration of the Abbey Theatre can be seen as a background image on Freya Smith's Old Abbey Theatre BlogAlso, don't forgot to check out some of her wonderful 3D digital models.




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Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.


- Alan 



                     




Monday, October 7, 2013

Art and the Autumn fair.

Autumn in Finland

The autumn market is popular here in Finland and I will be going to my local one here in Karjaa/Karis this coming weekend. The market takes place on Saturday (12.10.2013, 9am-4pm).
I recently went to another autumn market in the nearby town of Ekenäs/Tammisaari, which is a much larger event with more stalls, a beer-tent and a fairground (video below). 






I managed to pick up a few items including some berries and liquorice. I also got the chance to catch up with a few friends for a chat in the beer-tent. I'm always curious to see if there's anything new when the market begins, but I usually end up seeing the same products and features every year. I suppose it's good to know what to expect sometimes!



Autumn market advert in local newspaper (Finnish and swedish text)

This year's autumn market in Karjaa/Karis will I imagine be somewhat the same as last year, with all the old favourites such as long string liquorice/candy, Dutch cheese, makkara (Finnish sausage) and of course a selection of thermal clothing for the coming winter, brrrr!!! As well as taking a look around the stalls at the market this Saturday I will also attend an art exhibition I am currently taking part in at Galleri Fokus which is situated near the market stalls in the centre of Karis/Karjaa. I have five paintings on display alongside work by several other local artists.  

Paintings at Galleri Fokus, Karis/Karjaa, 2013


On Saturday I will have a few more samples of my art in a small book that visitors can look at and also a few postcards and Christmas cards for sale. The gallery is open at 10.00-14.00.



I was very pleased to notice a few newspaper articles on this exhibition which mentioned my name and my paintings in a good light. 
In the Etelä-Uusimaa newspaper the text read "Irlantilaissyntyisen Alan Hoganin pointilistiset maalaukset ovat jännittäviä varsin suurikokoisine pilkkuineen. Ne ovat myös jollain tavalla iloisia maalauksia. Aiheina on perinteistäkin perinteisempiä suomalaisaiheita, kuten maalausten nimistä voi päätellä. Kannattaa käydä katsomassa, miltä näyttävät Raaseporin linna, ”Piilopirtti” ja Ahvenanmaalainen maisema pilkutettuina.", which basically means that my paintings reflect traditional Finnish image subjects in a positive and happy manner. Iso kiitos Etelä-Uusimaa sanomalehdelle!!

clipping from Etelä-Uusimaa newspaper 6.10.2013
(click image to enlarge)



Here in the Länsi-Uusimaa newspaper I also got a few lines!

clipping from Länsi-Uusimaa newspaper
(click image to enlarge)


And lastly in the Västra Nyland newspaper for Swedish speakers here in Finland, I got a special mention for which I am most grateful. The full article can be found on the Västra Nyland newspaper website.

clipping from Västra Nyland newspaper
(click image to enlarge)


So if any of you are planning on going to the Karjaa/Karis autumn market this Saturday, you are welcome to drop in to the exhibition at Galleri Fokus (under the town library). It's open 10.00-14.00, 12.10.2013.

Instrument of reflection I-IV
2013, acrylic on canvas


I am also involved in a group art exhibition in Helsinki at the moment. It's entitled 'Reflections' and it ends this coming Sunday, 13.10.2013. I have four paintings on show here called 'Instrument of reflection I-IV', which I made especially for this exhibition. More on these paintings can be read on my last post called 'Eyes without a face'. Myself and the other artists all had a great opening night at the Stoa cultural centre, with many visitors enjoying and commenting on the artworks. Here's a short video featuring my own work and the venue. 






Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends. Have a nice Autumn! ....(or Spring if you're in the southern hemisphere!!)






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- Alan 



                     
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