A Paint-Splattered Weekend at Mount Congreve

This past weekend I packed up my paints, umbrella, and plenty of snacks and headed to Mount Congreve for the Art in the Gardens event – a plein air paint-out with artists spread across the gardens, capturing the beauty of this incredible place in real time.

Mount Congreve is the kind of garden that feels like it’s constantly shifting – full of winding paths, tropical surprises, quiet views, and borders in full bloom. The weather, true to form, gave us a bit of everything: sunshine, lashing rain, wind, more sunshine. All of it part of the experience.

 Lilies and Palms

My first painting of the day began at the pond. What caught me initially were the reflections – tall trees, palm fronds, and a walkway in the distance, all mirrored on the still surface. I set up and got to work… just as the rain rolled in.

It wasn’t just a soft mist – it was a full-on downpour. I held my umbrella in one hand, brush in the other, while rain ran down my back and pooled in my collar. At one point, the water from the umbrella was dripping directly onto my palette. But somehow, all that weather made the painting feel more alive.

I’d planned to follow the vertical line from water to walkway, but it was the lilies – calm, floating, unbothered – that took over. They became the soul of the piece.

 The View That Waited for Me

Later in the day, I moved to a view that had caught my eye from the start – the house sitting quietly in the distance, framed by tall trees, with a white bench and a little polytunnel adding just the right touch of charm. I was sure someone else would grab it, but to my surprise, no one did.

What really pulled me in were the planted borders in the foreground – soft purples and creamy yellows, full of irises, geraniums, and thalictrum. I painted it vertically to give space for all those gentle layers, from bloom to sky.

At the end of the day, we brought our work over to a pop-up “exhibition on easels” by the café – a lovely way to share the day with visitors and fellow artists.

 Paint Waterford – Exhibition Opening

That evening, we headed over to the Stables Café gallery for the opening of Paint Waterford – an exhibition of plein air and Waterford-inspired work. My painting “Lakeland”, painted earlier this year in Tramore, is part of the show.

This year, I was delighted to return to Mount Congreve as one of the invited artists. And because I was last year’s winner, I also had the honour of being one of four judges who selected this year’s winning painting. It was a joy to see the gardens through so many different eyes, each interpretation bringing something fresh and personal to the place.

The exhibition runs all summer – well worth a visit if you’re nearby.

Thanks for following along!