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| storm in a teacup 5x5" |
This painting was inspired by recent cold winters here in Ireland. Irish people love to talk weather. Any snow and frost can start us off but in reality we don't get the severe winters of northern US or mainland Europe, However we do like to boast that we are on the same latitude as Newfoundland , Canada's Hudson Bay, Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and southern Alaska. Ireland has a temperate maritime climate. This is caused by the "Gulf Stream" - a current of warm water and air that flows from the Gulf of Mexico towards Europe. It is this that allows people in western Europe to live more easily in these northern latitudes. Without the Gulf Stream, Ireland's average January temperature would be around 15ºC cooler than today - between -10ºC and -15ºC.