Snow Falling ThroughTrees

 

What a busy time of year this is! Does much painting get done I wonder?

I had the best intentions to make some hand painted Christmas cards but it didn't quite happen. However, inspired by the snow laden trees and Ingeborg Smith's lovely quirky paintings, I produced several little works like this one above.

This wintry weather can cause total chaos but the landscape can be starkly beautiful, especially in our low northern light. I haven't quite managed to make the most of it by painting outside. Memory and imagination in a warmish studio do me just fine.

A couple more days till the winter solstice, then roll on more hours of daylight.

Sometimes I think I am blethering into the ether , but if anyone is out there, have a good mid-winter and all the best for 2011.

Strathpeffer Art Fair

 

If you are interested in art and live in the Highlands, then get along to the Strathpeffer Art Fair.

Hundreds of artworks, large and small are exhibited in the Strathpeffer Pavilion from Thursday till Sunday, not forgetting the convivial preview held tomorrow night (Wed 17th) 7 tll 9pm.

This mixed media painting takes a low flying bird's eye view of an Orkney sea shore. Now there's another place I'd highly recommend. Perfect for blowing away the cobwebs.

Autumn Exhibitions

 

I'm gradually getting back into some serious painting, not that serious, it's still fun, especially this painting which has gone through many incarnations. The Autumn/Christmas exhibitions are looming so my little attic studio will be well used this month. My head is buzzing with ideas. It's just a matter of translating that into some good artwork. Not always easy.
So, come November, there will be new exhibitions in Beauly Gallery, Tore Gallery and Inchmore (under new ownership)and the splendid Strathpeffer Art Fair runs from 17th to 21st November.

Guess where I've been!

 

Just back from Canada where I travelled from Calgary to Vancouver and Victoria.
The journey from Canmore to Jasper lives up to it's reputation as one of the best drives in the world. The views were absolutely astonishing, scenery on an epic scale. The landscape wasn't the only eye opener. There is a rich and vibrant history of Canadian First Nation art. This is the Thunderbird House Post, a replica by Kwakwaka'wakw artist Charlie James erected in Stanley Park, Vancouver. I didn't visit the museum with the original house post but I can thoroughly recommend the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria for it's First Nation collection.
First Nation art seems to be alive and kicking with lots of galleries and shops dedicated to selling good quality work.

Art at Beauly

 

Today I spent another day as artist in residence, along with Eileen Addly, at Beauly Gallery. The gallery is part of an Art around the Firth trail for Highland Open studios week. Lots of fellow artists, friends and holidaymakerscame to see the exhibition so there was plenty chat over lunches and coffees. I was billed as a mixed media artist so I had my table littered with papers, scraps and work at different stages. The "Mountain with Linen" featuring the defunct teatowel was of much interest! All in all, a convivial couple of days. The exhibition runs till the end of the month.

Wrecked

 

Came back last week from a wee holiday on Tanera Mor in the beautiful Summer Islands. The idea was to paint but walking and relaxing were also high on the agenda. This is a stunning location with views across to the iconic Coigach hills and south across a scatter of islands to more epic mountain ranges. There's lots to paint here, sea, sky, mountains, piers, boats and a cracking wreck which is submerged daily. Painting outside is a challenge, the eye does funny things with distance, scale and perspective. Stac Pollaidh was tantalising, appearing and disappearing but always spectacular, except of course when the mist came down. Now I'm home I hope to weave my sketches and images into some new paintings.
Meanwhile, I'm at Beauly Gallery for a couple of days as artist in residence. More later....

Mountain with Linen

 

I had a favourite old linen tea towel which faded and began to fall apart. So I ripped it into pieces and stuck the largest chunk onto paper to form a textured base for a painting. It was fun to paint on and Mountain with Linen is the result. This artwork is one of a number in the exhibition at Beauly Gallery. The Gallery is one of a number of locations taking part in Highland Open Studios week, from 24th till 31st July, with "Art around the Firth"

Strike a Pose

I like using old found materials, giving them a new lease of life. My father was a photographer in the pre-digital age and I used some of his discarded stuff to create mixed media pieces. Old photos tell a story regardless of whether one knows the people in the pictures.The women posing here remind us of times past. "Strike a Pose" is on display along with "Happy Days" at Iolaire Photo:Graphics in Nairn.

4 Square at Nairn

 

The Nairn Book and Arts Festival opens next weekend, Saturday 5th June. Apart from all the booky events, there are a number of art exhibitions. The main one is the Nairn Open and sadly I wasn't selected this year. However I have 2 paintings including this one, entitled Meandering Landscape, at the 4 Square exhibition, and 3 at The Baker's Dozen exhibition.

West Coast Magic

 

At the end of June last year I spent a wonderfully sunny week in the far North of Scotland. One morning at Oldshoremore, the sea was the most amazing green and the cliffs warm in the early sun. Just magic. This acrylic painting of the scene is in the new exhibition at Leakey's in Inverness. Runs till August.

Mud Painting

 

And then there was the mud painting.... I just love rock! it's textures and patterns and colours. So I spent a bit of time grinding down weathered rock in various earthy colours, mixing it with water and PVA, and then painting with the goo. Some ready pulverised rock was collecting on a river bank so I used some to make this piece. All very satisfying till I found some tiny wee wormy creatures in it, so I let the rest away. The things I do for my art! (Buyers note, I don't sell work with wee wormy bits in)

olive groves in Spain

 

Just had a week painting in Spain with some fellow artists. The landscape was beautifully green with running water and wild flowers. The area around Fuente del Conde where we stayed was covered in olive groves and I did this piece in oil pastels.

a fabulous day until.....

 

This is the fabulous snowy view of Baosbhein and the Torridon mountains on Easter Sunday. Fabulous until I flipped backwards on the squelchy grass and broke my arm. The good news is that it's the left one and I paint with the right. Could be challenging opening the tubes of paint and I might have to resort to pastels etc. Scunnered.

Abstracts at Inchmore

 

Today I also delivered some wee abstracts to Inchmore Gallery just outside Inverness. With a bit of luck some of these will be exhibited as from this weekend. This abstract is called Eroding Landscapes

Wee Red Box

 
So, I experimented with adding colour to the monoprints. The trick was to find a medium that didn't dissolve the ink on the prints, not easy! Some coloured inks created glowing hues and I used cut outs of these to add interest to some of the monoprints. There are ten of these artworks in various sizes in the Beauly Gallery as from Easter weekend.

Monoprints at Beauly

 

I am busy framing a series of monoprints for the new exhibition at Beauly Gallery. The series of black and white abstract prints are the result of an exploration of patterns and shapes inspired by landscape and maps. Taking colour out of the equation was an interesting exercise in composition and tonal value. However I am continuing to play with the "rejects" intoducing small areas of colour. I have about four days to resolve this and complete the collection for delivery to Beauly.

Colour Study

 
I like the idea of blasts of colour on a monochrome image. Here I have taken a reject monoprint and am experimenting with adding colour in the form of scraps of cellophane.

Abstract Landscapes

 

I recently attended a course, called Abstract and Colour, at Edinburgh College of Art. These courses are always stimulating, challenging, frustrating and rewarding in equal measure but every piece of work is part of the learning process.
My abstracts usually have an underlying theme and feel of physical landscape but it's almost impossible to say what makes for a successful abstract painting. So much is down to individual perception.
This wee abstract, as yet untitled, is an example of the kind of work I am presently producing.
Is it an abstract or a landscape? Are they mutually exclusive? Does it matter in the slightest?

Through the Trees

This painting lay unfinished till this week. A layer of sand created a lovely textural quality and I was very happy with the final piece. An artist friend liked it too and snapped it up unmounted. Result!
Must try a bigger version.

Hidden Landscapes

I started this box canvas as an abstract, working in acrylic on a base of texture created with bits of map, gesso and PVA. Like many of my paintings, the piece went through several stages but gradually morphed into a landscape of sorts. In fact the viewer can interpret the painting from a variety of perspectives.

The painting will be in Leakey's Bookshop and Gallery as from Monday 22nd February 2010. Leakey's is a quirky and atmospheric second hand bookstore in Inverness. Inhabiting an old church, Leakey's has a huge woodburning stove downstairs and a cafe and gallery upstairs where members of the Art Society of Inverness exhibit and sell their work.

Entering the Black Box

 

"How It Is" by Miroslaw Balka in the old turbine hall at Tate Modern is hugely impressive. I was lucky enough to arrive before anyone else and experience it alone. Walking along dwarfed by the massive metal container there is a sense of foreboding. It has the feel of a giant cattle truck.
At the far end, one walks up the ramp and enters the structure into a space of total darkness. It's weird to walk forward, eyes wide open but no spatial dimensions visible. Heart rate goes up. Eventually and unexpectedly my foot hit the back wall.
Later I revisited and this time it was a different experience with ghostly figures in the dark interior and the black silhouettes of small children entering. Spooky.

Abstracts at Beauly Gallery

The title of this mixed media painting is Rock Solid. It's one of 4 small abstracts in the current exhibition at Beauly Gallery near Inverness in the Highlands.

 

First blog

So I finally created a blog....what now? A big step for a technologically illiterate artist, so you have to bear with me.