Views of Dublin... and Beyond Paintings by Jean Shouldice

This book is a testament to the talent, skill and achievement of Jean Annette Shouldice.  From her early training in pen-and-ink commercial fashion sketching, Jean ventured into the world of oil, and later watercolour painting.  She has always had a tendency to sketch her observations and these random drawings would be found on the backs of envelopes, on paper receipts, embellishing the phonebook in the days of phonebooks, indeed on any surface that would accommodate the urge to flex her creative muscle when her sketchpad was out of reach!  Our home (and car) was often littered with rough drafts of figures in various poses, curious details of buildings, any new that beckoned to be committed later to canvas.  Jean’s craft was thus honed over many years.

Although Jean has painted scenes from all corners of Ireland, her signature style evolved from architectural impressions of familiar Dublin landmarks and cityscapes – in oil, pen and ink, and watercolour.  She has preserved the mood of “Old Dublin” for posterity in many of her works.

This collection is the brainchild of David Givens, publisher at The Liffey Press and Jean’s favourite (and only) son-in-law.  David wanted to honour Jean’s ongoing legacy with this book, and also to provide current and future customers with the opportunity to enjoy her works at leisure.

David quietly assembled the paintings included, hoping that the captions provided for each were more or less accurate! (It’s unusual for a publisher to produce a work without the author’s knowledge!)  The book was then laid out in roughly geographical terms, and several versions of the same scene are occasionally included to show the artist’s skill and technique.

All of the paintings in this book are original works by Jean Shouldice and are now available in the form of limited edition prints and notecards.

Darina Shouldice

June 2020