Friday 31 August 2012

Isle of Iona

Isle of Iona

I lived on the beautiful island of Iona for a year as I got my life together and tried to catch up on all the studying I had not done while at school. In return for giving of my labour I was allowed to have a room in the Abbey you can see in the painting. I was also given food  and more importantly the abbey had a library where I could sit at nights on my own and read.

One of the things I did on the building that year was to help in the construction of a circular staircase. So under the bottom stairway in a bottle lies concealed a message from myself and something of my hopes and dreams.

I loved this island, all 3 miles by 1 mile of it. Its beaches and coves. The abbey and its inspiration. The daily acts of worship, in the summer with a great many visitors in the winter just the eight or so of us who continued to live in the abbey.

Do I like the painting? As usual I am very unsure. Am I happy? The answer to that is on my other blog.

My other blog can be found here.   Chasing Happiness

Friday 24 August 2012

Millport

Millport

I was asked to do a painting of a place I had never been to, Millport.

I learned a great deal from this experience. The first thing I learned was that in spite of all the walking I do there are still little hidden gems of my land , Scotland  I have yet to discover.

As an artist who paints from the heart, more about the atmosphere and the feeling of a place than the reality of the place, this was a real challenge. I spent ages looking a pictures of Millport trying so hard to get a feel for the place.

I learned that here was a place I so desperately need to visit.

I took all the picture I had seen and let them sink into my inner being. This is what I painted.

I have been shocked to discover that the person who asked me to paint it wants to own it. But more than that I have had more than four other people from all over the world wanting to purchase it from  me.

In the light of my other blog that is linked to this one this is a joy and an uplift. Why Do I Care

Monday 13 August 2012

Along the Firebreak.

Along The Firebreak Newer Version


Along The Firebreak before Retouching. 

As a walker and runner I often walk and run along the firebreaks of the forest. here where the light can reach the earth nature takes back its own and the grasses and the flowers reach to the light. Refracted and direct light create differnt feelings colours and moods. This picture was taken with a light in the room, without the light we have another painting all together with cooler feelings and moods, so two paintings in one. 


Those who have followed this blog over the years will have seen this painting before. I was going to overpaint it but instead decided to make some changes. I hope you can see the changes in the two paintings above.



I may yet over paint it but in the meantime I am going to give it one more exposure.



Painted on canvas 16" x 20" and framed. 


This blog is linked to my other. Sadness and Joy

Sunday 5 August 2012

Homeward Bound.



This painting is one of the nine that last week I hung in the local inn after the repainting of the dinning area.

I remember saying at the time that I was somewhat nervous about having so many of my paintings in one place and no other artist but me for people to view and critique.

In the first week I have had interest shown in this painting and positive enquires about two others. I have also had an email from Australia about a fourth of the nine.

This on is painted on a fairly large box canvas the painting carrying over the edges.

So it seems that maybe this little venture was not a meaningless one after all.


See my other blog for the import of the above statement. Chasing Meaningless Goals

Thursday 2 August 2012

Summer Evening France



This is another of those painting inspired by my time in France. I ran early mornings and late evenings when it was cooler. So often I ran and never met another human being.

This allowed me to just draw in the beauty around me in the silence of nature.

How I wish I could describe this in words or in paint. I try but never ever feel that I manage.

But this is yet another painting that tries to do just that.

This is a very large painting almost the largest i have ever done.

This blog is linked to my other Finding Silence