Spott Parish Church, East Lothian

Just south of Dunbar is the village of Spott and this sweet little Church.

Barns Ness Lighthouse

Barns Ness Lighthouse is set just to the east of Dunbar.

Sailing in the Highlands

This is actually an older painting, but it’s an interesting one in terms of the colours being used. If you’ve been following my recent paintings then you may have noticed a slight change in the way I’ve been using light, contrast, warm and cool colours. 

I feel that this is a good example of colour and of using an “effect” as the focal point rather than an object as such.  I felt it an interesting comparison to my latest work which is of higher contrast, but maybe doesn’t use such vivid colours.

The journey of discovery continues!

Dunbar window

Dunbar town centre is full of small flats, quiet courtyards, staircases and funny shaped flats.  Many of them look out to the High Street at the front and to the sea at the back.  One of the things that I enjoy about this is the way that the sea and houses below at the back of these flats is framed by the windows like a landscape painting that changes all day every day with the light, weather and seasons.

Red Deer, Torridon

A few years ago a great friend of mine visited me in Gairloch and we went walking in the Torridon mountains. We scaled some pretty steep and craggy slopes and marvelled at the vista below the sheer face we were on. We saw grouse and deer that day. This image is inspired by that walk and thinking about the young deer in this inhospitable landscape.

Kerrysdale, Gairloch

Every time I drive past Kerrysdale I think of the Lake District.  There is something about the little lumpy hills and the tightly packed clumps of trees that reminds me of the Lakes, or the area around Aviemore where the farmland tumbles down to the Cairngorms.  This little bit of West Coast paradise never photographed well for me, but I could see and feel the shot I’ve been wanting to capture for years.  So I’ve painted it instead.

With the mountains rising up behind it, Kerrysdale’s little field often hosts a bright sunny area where the background mountains shrouded in mist or clouds.  The grass dazzles in vibrant lime yellow as the sheep or cows munch on the lush grass and the burn gurgles behind the viewer.

Loch a Bhraoin, Wester-Ross

Mid-afternoon on a cold November day I got out of my car in the low light of winter.  I put my photography gear on my back, and walked away from the car in the complete stillness of this cold Highland season.  I had duffled up warm and I was glad I had, as the ice on the small dirt track was a sure sign that it was going to get cold as what was the last light of day faded.  I slipped and regained my balance a number of times as I walked, fog breathed, to the edge of Loch a Bhraoin. 

I arrived at dusk as the last sun of the day painted her rays onto the side of the distant mountains.  Complete silence surrounded me other than the deep and eerie cracking coming from the ice that was fringing the loch.  I stood for a moment in awe.  My breath taken by the rugged beauty of this place. 

I’ve always loved the way that the heather gradients into the hillside in a Scottish winter providing a soft play between the warm colours of autumn and the harsh cold white of the snow.  In this light the otherwise harsh white of the snow covered hills somehow blended so seamlessly into the sky that this icy wonderland somehow felt welcoming.  I had to resist the urge to just stand and absorb the scenery as I knew very well how Scottish beauty can turn to tragedy if not respected.

I unpacked my camera, loaded the 6x17 film, set up the shot, spot metered the exposure (compensating for the white of the snow), calculated the exposure time and aperture, set the camera lens and pressed the button on the end of the cable.  Zzzzzzz click sounded the mechanism in the lens and the shot was exposed.  Two more shots were taken on that roll of film, one over exposing, one under exposing and one at the correct exposure again….just to be sure.

I removed the film, placed it back in the bag and taped around it to show it was exposed and stood up.  20 minutes had passed and the light was now starting to fade.  I’d made it just in time.

I spent a few more moments just absorbing the vista before picking up my gear, taking a deep, fulfilled breath and walking back up the little track to the car.  The light fell away within minutes and soon I was walking in darkness.  I’d forgotten my torch (rookie error), but could see enough to walk the fourty-five minute ramble back to the car.  I could see my breath in front of me, hear my lungs wheezing slightly as the cold air hit them.  Otherwise, all I could hear was the crunch crunch of my walking boots on the ice.

As I reached the car I turned back to see where I had come from and could see nothing of the loch.  I looked up at the clear night sky though and was treated to one last moment for the day.  A canopy of magnificent stars was covering the sky now. 

One last breath of cold air made me shiver.  It was time to go home now, but it had been an experience that will stay with me forever.

Boats, Orkney

Every corner you turn on Orkney presents yet another wonderful view.  Low lying hills submit to wide open bays.  This understated landscape presents big skies and shallow beaches.  This is a spot I feel sums up the peaceful surroundings of Orkney in summer.

Suilven from Knockan, Highlands.

In my humble opinion, the further up the North West coast of Scotland you go the more beautiful it gets.  The landscape widens and the vistas get wider and deeper with knife edge mountains rising from wide glens.  This is the remote and stunning Ross-shire and Sutherland.

One spot that I noted particularly as I travelled up the coast from Gairloch on day trips was this view from Knockan looking across the moorland to Suilven.  With the depth of the views in this area often comes a combination of sunshine, rain, hail and any other kind of weather you might want, all layered over each other to give wonderful light, rainbows, “god rays” of light and pools of light picking out parts of the landscape.  A truly stunning area and definitely one to have on your bucket list.

Lammermuir livery from Yester Castle, Gifford

We went for a walk with a childhood friend and her kids last weekend.  We’d heard of the goblin castle at Yester before, but hadn’t known where it was or how to get there.  We were very grateful for our guide as it was quite an expedition!  Mud everywhere, dogs running off, 6 kids between us and a whole load of inclines, burns, drop-offs and even an underground hall.  All in all, a great day out!

Amidst all the excitement of our castle conquest I noticed a lovely view from the base of the castle looking up to the Lammermuir livery and stables from the castle. 

Coming Home

Living on the coast there is always a sense of tension when the weather comes in.  You cross fingers for all those out on the boats and hope on hope that they all make it back safely.  There is always a sense of dread when we hear the rescue helicopter going out as if the whole community whispers “Please come home” in unison.

Hillside in Verdon, Provence

I used to spend a fair bit of time in the South of France in my late teens and early twenties and have very fond memories of Provence.  One place that I loved to visit is the Gorges du Verdon.  This painting is done from one of the photos I took all those years back.

Sunrise over Holm Point, Bay of Firth Orkney

Somehow Orkney just gets under your skin.  I don’t believe that it would be possible to visit Orkney and come away unaffected by its raw beauty.  Especially if you spend a bit of time at dawn or dusk on a still evening.  The light there is special.

Sands of Evie, Orkney

One of those wonderful summer days when the sun is warm in the sky over Orkney, the water is calm and just gently laps on the white sand beach.  Seagulls fly above and the gentle breeze cools your face. 

Sanday Croft in Storm, Orkney

When our youngest child was newborn we travelled extensively around the UK.  We spent a month in Orkney and I have to say that it was the most wonderful experience.  If you ever get a chance to go there then I have no doubt that you will come away moved. 

It’s a wonderful combination of farmland and highlands.  Deserted white sand beaches, seals and windswept moorland are mixed with crofts.  The weather moves fast on the Orkney isles, a feature those familiar with Scotland will understand.  Often you can literally see the wall of rain moving across the landscape and the sheets of water plummeting from the dark clouds.  This is most impressive when it’s mixed (as often it is) with paler and warmer skies behind it.  These storms can turn water gun metal grey and heathland to a moody bluey brown. 

Of course you can feel the atmosphere on the skin, but you can also somehow sense it within your whole body.  There’s an intensity, an excitement, an anticipation in the air when a storm like this passes through.

Cement Plant, Dunbar

Near to our house is a walk that we frequently do.  In the distance one can see this cement plant with its long plume of water vapour.  I’ve been interested by the way that the plume of steam changes with the wind.  On a really still day it just goes vertically upwards.  It’s a strangely beautiful contrast of industry in this otherwise very rural setting.

Loch and Croft, Isle of Harris

Harris is one of those places where the light is everything.  It changes as fast as the weather around it and you have to be quick to capture it.  It takes some planning to be in the right place at the right time. 

We arrived quite by chance at this little loch on the Isle of Harris as the low winter sun was low in the sky casting long shadows and transitioning the sky from bright white to a gentle blue.  The soft yellowness of the winter light it wonderful up here and makes up for the short days.

Torridon from South Erradale, Gairloch

If you take a drive down to Red Point from the main road you pass Badachro, Port Henderson and Opinan before arriving at South Erradale. Looking inland from that spot you see the Torridon mountains in the distance and a large expanse of moreland. A hamlet of little croft houses sit in the shallow dip that is South Erradale.

Winter Croft, Isle of Harris

When our youngest child had only just been born we were still travelling permanently.  We spent a couple of months on the Isle of Harris.  As with all our travels, we did a lot of driving around.  This idyllic spot really caught my eye.

Loch Tollaidh, Gairloch

Until recently we were living in Gairloch on the north west coast of Scotland.  This wonderful place will always been home in my heart and I go back frequently to visit my mother and friends who still live there.  When the kids were small we used to take them to Poolewe swimming pool every Saturday to learn to swim.  We passed Loch Tollaidh on the way and every time we passed it the light and atmosphere was different.  It’s a little elevated and so has a slightly different climate to the villages that are at sea level.

A good friend of mine took a photo of the loch the other day and I just had to paint it.