Emerald Valley by Thomas Kinkade ~ My family heralds from Ireland and I’ve long had a romantic attachment to the Emerald Isle.

In Emerald Valley I paint an ideal vision of the “auld sod” that I like to believe could still be found, if you knew where to look. God’s heavenly light pours from the skies, illuminating a landscape so verdantly green that it suggests the bounty of nature unspoiled. It seems in Ireland storms are eternally either passing by or
roaring in.

In Emerald Valley I create a village scene that suggests a timeless way of life. Here dirt farmers haul a freshly harvested load of hay for the livestock; here grannies take over the child rearing, while mothers tend to the domestic chores essential for survival in the rugged terrain.

Rocks are ripped from the earth to build roads and fences, the stone bridge heralds this rustic heritage. Waterways fill the valleys, making for a play of light between lakes and sky.

Key Points

1. Thom has placed a total of 15 N’s in Emerald Valley as tribute to his wife Nanette.

2. Did you know that Thom’s family heralds from Ireland? In his first visit to Britain, he had the chance to visit Ireland and was amazed by its beauty.

3. Thom has recreated an imaginary rustic village in Emerald Valley. Here, the dirt farmers ply their age old trade, eking a sparse existence out of the rough terrain.

4. The village featured in Emerald Valley extends along a ribbon of stone roads that seem to crisscross everywhere in Ireland. The waterways fill the valleys making for a constant play between the light of sky and the reflection in the lakes and streams below.

5. The stone bridge in this work suggests the heritage of Ireland. Here the stones were cleared to make fences and boundaries as well as roadways and bridges, and the ever present stone cottage.

6. In Emerald Valley, grandmothers tend the children as mothers are tending to the household chores of the day. Here the farmer makes his way with freshly harvested hay ready for his domestic animals.  -Thomas Kinkade