Three At Beauly

Lemony Light

I seem to have been in the blue zone lately so my 'three' at the Beauly Gallery Winter Show are several watery shades of blue.

However the autumn colours have been so fantastic this year that the work in my studio is all reds, yellows and greens.

What's going to happen when the snow comes?

Winter Exhibitions

This small painting is titled "Mountain Blues" and is part of the Winter Exhibition at Inchmore Gallery near Inverness.

It has a textured appearance as I've recently discovered how to use beeswax to give a nice yummy surface. I really should label the jar as it does look good enough to eat.

The exhibition includes masses of tiny CD case sized artworks from lots of Highland Artists.

Here is one of mine, called "Squall". That cloud sure has a malevolent look!

Blown Away

Many of my paintings in the September exhibition at Beauly Gallery are mixed media with a theme of wild weather.

I build up a surface using a mix of materials, sand, scraps of maps, bits of scrim, corrugated cardboard, all bound together with PVA and/or gesso. Then paint is applied, usually acrylic to start with and sometimes continuing with oil.

This painting, Windswept Shore, creates a feeling of being caught in a huge gust of wind, the kind where you have to shut your eyes to keep out airborne objects.

Wild Weather at Beauly Gallery

How the weather preoccupies us in Scotland, and there's no better place to view the ever changing skies than round the coast.

A few stormy days in Durness inspired a whole series of paintings where the clouds are the main focus. They are such fun to paint and inevitably end up either darker or more colourful than the real thing.

This oil painting, Rain Sweeps Through, is on exhibition at Beauly Gallery during September.

Colour Blast

Earlier in the year, I had a fabulous walk in Glen Torridon, way round the back of Liatach and Ben Eighe. It was one of those chilly but gorgeously sunny days of March.

The mountains and valleys here are on a grand scale which is always emphasised when the tops are snow covered. The views were absolutely stunning and, after my sojourn in epic New Zealand,  reminded me of how great our Scottish scenery can be.

This bold painting is a contrast to the monochrome series that is showing in Beauly Gallery. It was painted in acrylic immediately after my return from  Torridon and tries to capture both the joy and the icy nature of the day.

The painting will be in Leakey's Bookshop and Cafe in Inverness till mid August.

Light and Dark

I always like to use a limited palette but recent work has explored a very limited palette.

These small, 20 x 20 cm canvases are painted with acrylic on a gesso ground.

Some simply use Paynes Grey, Cerulean and white, then with others, I splashed out and added some Alizarin. (Aren't these colour titles just delicious at times?)

These landscapes try to capture the feel of the North West Highlands  in the intensely bright light that breaks through from time to time.

Five of these small paintings are in the May exhibition at Beauly Gallery.

Bonjour La Baule

La Baule in France is twinned with Inverness, Scotland, and is about to host an exhibition of artwork that features artists from both towns.

The ASI, Art Society of Inverness, sent over a selection of members' work, including the painting above. This is a mixed media piece showing a stormy sea, something those in La Baule are probably very familiar with.

The exhibition opens in La Baule on 10th April and runs till the 23rd April 2013. Bonne chance!

Arty Applecross

One of my most favourite places is Applecross, a wee village in Wester Ross.

To get there the journey is epic, either over the highest pass in Britain, the Bealach na Ba, or by the long and winding coast road from the north. Both have the most stunning vistas on a clear day, and last weekend was perfect, give or take the odd moor fire.

Applecross is worth it for the sea views alone but there are other good reasons to go there.

The Applecross Inn is justly famed for its food, beer and welcome. Take your drink outside and take in the fabulous sight of the Cuillins.

However this is not a travel promo, I'm here to talk art. The artwork in the photo has been produced by pupils at the local primary school and decorates the Applecross community petrol pumps. Surely the most novel gallery in the Highlands.

Across the road is a The Coal Shed, a little art and craft shop. It's run by two local artists and stuffed full of lovely things.

There's loads here to inspire me. I've come home with sketches and photos and lots of ideas buzzing around my head.

Back in the Studio

Have been below the radar for a bit. So low that I've been upside down in Kiwi land where some of my family live. I had a fabulous couple of months there and despite being surrounded by incredible scenery did very little art work. It's all simmering away in the brain though.

So now I'm back in the studio and  searching for a new direction. 

Having gone through my "dark period", not universally loved, I'm now exploring colour. I continue to love texture and general messiness.

The painting above, entitled "Raindrops keep Falling", was mostly executed during a very wet day on the north-west coast , and through the mucky window of a garage. A few finishing touches and it's now on the wall in Leakey's Bookshop and Cafe. 

If you haven't been to Leakey's in Inverness yet, it's a great second hand bookshop that usually has a roaring fire in the woodburner. Perfect for this time of year, or indeed any other season in the Scottish Highlands.