Moonlit Loch Ness

What to do with an old frayed linen tea towel? Wash, stick on canvas and paint.

Lovely textures and patterns appear. This was painted in acrylic, mostly Prussian Blue which I hadn't used for a while.

The painting is to be exhibited in the Art Society of Inverness Annual Exhibition, held in the Eastgate Centre, Inverness, from Monday 15th July for 2 weeks.

Art around the Firth 2012

Where did the last five months go? Good things, holidays, sad things, family stuff, so not a lot of painting but just enough to keep me going, and almost sane.

The Water's Edge exhibition moved from Edinburgh to Beauly Gallery where it did very well but now that summer is here, in theory anyway, it's time for Art around the Firth. Various Highland artists exhibit annually in galleries around the Beauly Firth.

I have a number of paintings which continue to have a watery theme in Beauly Gallery throughout July and possibly into August. Above you can see an oil painting, "Remains of the Day" and a mixed media work, "Ridge Walking". The latter evokes a tremendous day on the Five Sisters ridge in Kintail.

On the Wall

Water, Water, Everywhere - my big canvas on the wall at the Cameo Cinema Bar in Edinburgh. The paintings look great in this lovely intimate space and the opening last week was a lot of fun.

Loads of family and friends came and big thanks are due to them all. The exhibition lasts for a month and then will move to home ground in the Highlands.

Meanwhile I am about to embark on a new theme, an exploration of parts of Assynt and in particular the  beautiful island of Tanera Mor.

Art at the Cameo Cinema, February 2012

Here are two more paintings from the Water's Edge exhibition.

"Wreck" began life in Cromarty where I chucked ash, sand and various other unidentifiable bits onto gesso on board. The image was developed with oils in the studio.

"Beach" is painted with oil on a small box frame and includes random bits of rusty and burnt stuff, and the odd sparkle. I like a bit of sparkle.

Water's Edge is on at the Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh from February 7th till March 5th 2012.

Water's Edge

An exhibition of my paintings is about to open in Edinburgh. Exciting and scary! The opening is on Tuesday 7th February 2012 between 7 and 9 pm in the Cameo Cinema Bar near Tollcross.

The theme of the oil paintings is "Water's Edge" and is the culmination of several month's work. Inspired by time spent pottering along the shores of the North West Highlands and also Cromarty, the artworks explore the impact on the senses of sun, wind, waves and gusty showers.

As always, I like using texture and pattern. Many of the paintings incorporate bits and bobs from the beach, sand, ash, rusty metal, bits of feather.

Some of the images are recognisably landscapes, others not but they try to capture the feel and emotion of being next to the sea.

This piece, "Out of the Fire" developed from time spent scavenging in old fire pits on the beach. I loved the blackened sticks, the melted glass and plastic, and rusty bits of metal.

Blustery Day

 
This year I have worked on a whole series of drawings and paintings based on a visit to Orkney.

The beach combing at Warebath Bay is fascinating. I just love the Orkney flagstones which form a pavement on parts of the beach.

This small oil painting, Blustery Day, is in the annual art fair at the Strathpeffer Pavilion. The preview is on Wednesday evening, 23rd November 2011, and the exhibition runs till Sunday, 27th.

Nodding off

This image of a sleeping woman is inspired by Picasso and features on advertising material for an event in Edinburgh at the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.

On Friday 21st October 2011, a conference, "Making a Difference" will explore memory, dreams and sleep through literature and film. If you are interested, check out the website, www.MHFESTIVAL.com