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

A Work In Progress

A Work In progress

Well I wonder what it was about yesterday that was so different from other days. I ran in one of the heaviest downpours I haver ever ran in, that was one thing. But having got over that, I got back to writing a blog, something I have not been able to do in ages.

More importantly, I managed not only to put a canvas on my easel I managed to throw some paint in its direction.

I began on this painting, today I hope to complete it.

While in france I ran every morning. On these morning runs I saw vineyards, wild flowers especially poppies. In the distance was always the imposing Pyrenees with little villages at the foot of them.

This painting tries to capture those memories in one painting. Early morning runs always give me solitude and peace with the added bonus of natures beauty, I hope this painting will capture this.

This blog is linked to my other blog. The inflatable Boy