Exhibition

My artist friend Tamsin and I had a joint exhibition in October in a wonderful space deep in the rural countryside of Moray here in the highlands of Scotland.  It was an exciting time for us as we had to man the exhibition ourselves with the help of Louise a friend of Tamsin who came in for a few afternoons to help.  It was a very tiring but rewarding experience and also successful in sales too.  For me personally it really did encourage my confidence in my work and I have now booked another exhibition for next September of which I am very much looking forward to.  The other important thing for me is to have solo exhibitions so I can see my works as a collection and in many ways to be able to see where I am going on my creative journey.  The feedback from the visiting public was so positive and it was really interesting to hear and see people engage with the works.   I am still trying to achieve a goal of finishing two paintings a month, just to keep me focused. The works take a long time to build up with all the glazing and I do want to keep working in oils.  This way I feel connected to the landscapes and the process of nature gradually changing with the seasons and the weather that comes in.

At this busy festive time it can be hard to take a step back and look out to the landscape and see all the beauty it has to offer us, most of all the deep inner peace that we receive from it whenever we wish it.

I wish you all a Happy Festive Holiday and all the best for 2017! Happy Painting!

Atmospheric Sky

'Atmospheric Sky' 20 x 16 inches.

I had started this oil painting a little while ago and it got forgotten. I was trying to have a more interesting foreground yet when I made changes it was taking distracting the eye from the sky and the drama that was present there.  Finally I put the painting back onto the easel and decided to simply focus on the sky and let the work be about the atmospheric sky. While we have been fortunate for a while not to have many storms there was a spell of moody weather about a week ago that brought in lots of nice skies especially in the early evening when here in the highlands it is still light.  There have certainly been some beautiful skies.  As I type here tonight it is after 8.30 pm and there is a soft pastel blue sky with apricot clouds that have grey and soft edges which threaten rain.

The cherry and the lilac trees are in full bloom and everything looks a lush green elsewhere in the garden. There are many birds too, blackbirds, robins, hedge sparrows, woodpecker that flies in from the pine forest close to our home and finches. There have been other visitors that fly in for the day and then seem to disappear, perhaps they stop here on route to somewhere else.

My art room needs another tidy up, it never seems to stay tidy for long, then I find I need something and then out comes everything!  I am busy tutoring before the holidays begin and then there is a break during July and August with just two afternoons being held for a summer class. I have plenty of paintings to finish, like the 'Atmospheric sky' painting it is time I got them all finished!

I wish you all a happy Spring time and happy painting!

Evening Sky

12 x 16 inches oil on linen canvas. 'Evening Sky'.

Greetings to you all, I have been very busy working towards exhibitions and also tutoring. Spring is here yet once again we have snow forecast for the weekend, fortunately the snow does not lie for long. Spring lambs are enjoying the moments of sunshine and do indeed leap for joy when they see it! 

Happy Painting to you all!

Shelley

I arise from dreams of thee
In the first sweet sleep of
night, when the winds are
breathing low, and the 
stars are shining bright.

Shelley.

We are all getting impatient for Spring to arrive, I have spring bulbs that have bloomed on my window sill in my kitchen, just to brighten up everything. The wild garden we have looks forlorn and forgotten though the snowdrops are out beneath the cherry tree. The weather keeps changing from the storms of January to February's sudden snow showers, cold days and then milder wet days. But on the whole things out there look grey! This grey isle! But suddenly around tea time the sky will clear for a short while and such a lovely sky will appear, all blue with gold and everything is full of light, as if the sky is smiling down on us!

I have been getting paintings ready for an art exhibition in one of our Aberdeenshire galleries it is not always easy to make your own decisions on your own paintings but I think I have got there and am satisfied that the works are looking acceptable and pleasing to the eye. I have now chosen five new works. There are other artists that have been invited from the borders so I am now aware of the kind of work they do too, it is always interesting to see new artist's work. The art exhibition is about the Sky and the Sea so I was pleased to come across this poem by Shelley that while it is from a long time ago, another age it is indeed a lovely poem to read. My painting 'Early Evening' is still waiting for the right frame to come along! I tried it in a gold frame which didn't really suit it, so for now it is without one and will wait in my studio until another time. This painting is not going into the exhibition but I thought it went well with the poem!

Clearing Sky

'Clearing sky' oil on linen 30 x 40 cm.

'There is a society where
none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music,
in its roar.

Lord Byron 1788 - 1824

The quiet and grey days of January make one inclined to stay indoors and keep warm. The studio becomes a place where I can gaze out of the window and watch the birds soaring up into the wild sky, notice the garden birds searching for food and even playing in the trees especially the chattering sparrows. It seems as if time is standing still, so quiet are the days, but it is a good time, a time to be still and to simply be, to understand that each season has times to be busy and outside and times to be quiet and more contemplative.

Wishing you all happy painting days this January.

Towards the Hebrides

Hebrides

Staffa is an organ
Thrown overboard by giants long ago.

Jura is a beast with its head down, sleeping,
Its back volcanic, its winds eroded.

Tiree is a gust of fields and houses
Low in the water on the world's rim.

Lewis is a congregation of juddled srmons
Battened-down hatches in a mist of whisky.

Eigg is one milk tooth biting the sky
Searching thirstily among sagging clouds.

by Kenneth C Steven.

Poetry inspires my paintings. I have recently come across the works of Kenneth C Steven he captures the beauty of the Hebrides in his writing. My painting was inspired by the wetlands of Lewis and is titled 'Towards the Hebrides' oil on canvas 60 x 60 cm.