Original Irish Art
As I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…
May God protect me through the night, and wake me in the morning light…
Who Wrote As I Lay Me Down To Sleep ?
I do not know who to give credit for this prayer, because there are many versions some dating back to the Seventeenth Century.
Some versions are quite long and seem to vary from country to country.
As a child I said this prayer every night. It has been spinning around in my head for the past few weeks. As a result,
an image appears with it of a little girl praying with her Teddy Bear. In my minds eye, the little girl has very fine angel wings,
but unfortunately it did not look right in the painting.
I
As I Lay Me Down To Sleep
For instance in this painting I wanted the Teddy Bear to ‘POP, so I surrounded him with warm bright light and put a lot of dark green blue and red into the background as a result it becomes deeper and more vibrant. I was going to put him in the prayer pose for instance, but this just seemed to work out. Sometimes it is best to just let the painting guide you as long as its kept simple. What works best for me over and over is the simplicity of the image. Less is more… Always.
It can be difficult to walk away from a painting and leave it ‘unfinished’, but most importantly,it really helps if you want to keep the painting fresh and vibrant.
In conclusion, this will be part of my Christmas Collection 2022 along with some Robin paintings and whatever comes into my head in the next few weeks, I take my inspiration from everywhere, sometimes a title will pop into my head and as a result, the idea for a painting to match will follow soon after. All my paintings are Original Irish Art and available from me directly or some are available from the Tuckmill Gallery in Naas Co. Kildare.
