Winter Grass

 One of the things I like about winter in the western highlands is the growth and colour of the wild grasses.

 There are many different types of grass.  There is the deer grass in the hills and on the moors, sending out its delicate spikes in December. There is the untidy grass on the shores that lies flat over pebbles, combed by the sea into swirls and waves.  And there is the thick grass that grows in woodland clearings and morrland - it turns into clumps of pale ochre curls and sends out delicate tall spikes.  Close by Lochcarron there is an area which was once a plantation woodland of sitka spruce trees.  This ground is now in community ownership and the trees were cleared a few years ago, leaving rough ground with a few residual native trees.  Significant replanting with little tiny trees - native species - has already been done in places. I think of it as a “recovering landscape” and I like to go and sketch there – I particularly love the wild winter grass with the backdrop of the hills around.

I've done several sketches of the grass and trees and I was determined to develop the sketches into a painting or two.  I started out on a scene looking towards distant hills, flanked by trees.  

This was a large square painting.  I quite liked the simplicity of this, but at a large scale I was not satisfied. I continued to develop ideas, adding different textures and got to this point.

I still wasn't happy, so I altered the composition slightly and added more spectral greys.

However, I felt that this was a bit dumbed down....not very exciting....it had lost its freshness and drama.  So I put it aside and reached for a fresh piece of paper, to start again.   This time I did a landscape composition rather than a square one.  I focused much more on the grass rather than any other element within the composition.  Looking at it now, I see a hint of Paul Nash's "Wood On The Downs" in the composition, but these, of course, are Birch trees, not Beeches.

It is now finished and framed - title "Wild Winter Grass, Kirkton Woodland" - and I've just heard that it'll be in the RSW open exhibition in January/February this year.  Delighted!

As I quite liked this composition, I've been back to sketch in the same place from time to time.  It looked different in summer colours, in strong light.   I thought I'd try a wee acrylic painting of a similar scene.  Thia one is also framed - "A Delicate Light" - and it was in the Gairloch Museum Winter Show.

I'm continuing to make paintings of grass (winter and summer) and some of these will be ready for an exhibition in Gairloch Museum in May and June this year - "Our Fragile Land".  Here's a work in progress....

It makes me think of the Three Graces....but I don't think that's a good title...is it?

Fresh Start

The start of another year always seems like an opportunity for a fresh start and this year is no exception.  Last year was just a bit too busy and this blog has definitely suffered.  And the blog is important to me/my work as it helps me to reflect on what I'm doing (and not doing!). Ah well...

I've been very distracted by the snow - we've had so much of it - and every time I pick up a brush, I just want to use black and white. Perhaps this is a good thing, a good restraint. I sometimes use a little bit of colour - as in this one, which is a view of the bay and shore near where I live.

I quite like the looseness and lack of detail I've managed to achieve in this one.  Perhaps it's looser because this started out as a larger pic and I've cut it down.  It's a much better composition now.
I did this pic at the same time, using the same palette of black, white and some blue and brown.

I think this one is just a bit too studied and static, but then it was on a very cold still day.  The thing about snow is that you get these heavy dark lines appearing and this helps me to focus on the structure of a landscape. I've been thinking about this more in snowy studies I have done over the last 2 weeks.  Here's a charcoal drawing which is based on a sketch  - I loved the lines of the shore disappearing into the sea.

  Then I tried it in ink and acrylic with a little gold oilbar.  But it's not nearly as satisfactory as the charcoal drawing, is it?

I think the angles of the shore are not quite right and this is because I did it sitting down, not at the easel - should know better!  I also thing the hills look a bit boring - a slab of white.  However I thought the gold oilbar was a good idea, so I used it in this view which I did last week too.

But I'm not very satisfied with this - I think it's a bit woosy, trying too hard to be realistic, but being neither one thing nor another in style.  I had another go at it today, with this result.  I find this much more satisfying, being bolder and bleaker.  More graphic, I suppose.  And the composition perhaps works better (for a mood of bleakness).

I did do one other woosy one last week, which is this one of the path alongside the shore.  Again it looks overworked and scratchy, but some of the inky marks are quite good, and the light is not bad.  I was getting a good effect by mixing yellow ochre with white.  I haven't re-done it as I'm not sure if this composition really works.

I can only conclude that although I have made a start to the year, there's a lot more work to be done. Choice of materials is so important, and I need to focus on the materials which produce the best results for me.  Boldness with charcoal or graphite usually gets me off to a good start, I think.  The challenge is always there.

Re-booting the Blog

Hi there!
Gosh, it's a long time since I did a blogpost. A sure sign of life getting in the way of art. Been busy painting walls and doing DIY in order to get the Musselburgh flat up for sale (sadly!). But I think the hard work is done now so I'm trying to get back into work.

We're back up north for a brief week before we're tied to Musselburgh for viewings. My discipline of a sketch a day is working, getting me back into a work habit. And it's New Year: an appropriate time to take stock and re-focus.

Did a few charcoal/pencil sketches at Fisherrow - mostly boats! Good to get the drawing going, helping me to think about composition.

I also feel both energised and challenged by my recent trip to London when I went to exhibitions of work by Lanyon and Auerbach. I'm definitely in the Peter Lanyon camp on the importance of observation to inform my drawing and painting - there's a great quote of his which I can't lay my hands on at the moment - and I think both artists worked hard at expressing their feelings for places (and in Auerbach's case, also people) through their work. I did particularly love Auerbach's charcoal portraits. I suppose this type of work is 'experiential observation'. So...I think this gives me a signpost...I observe and draw quite well but I need to work at the emotional side in order to enrich the drawing/painting. I suppose that even in coming to this conclusion I have developed a bit! And I know that I must 'practice' to improve my technique and the quality of my painting and printmaking.

So far in January I'm continuing to focus on sketching to renew my interest in subject matter and draw myself back into work. Also I do find that the longer I am away from practice the worse the critical nagging voices get - the ones that say 'why are you bothering to do this?' (like Oor Wullie's devil on his shoulder). However, even through doing this Blog I am trying to counteract the nagging voices - there is something worthwhile for me to do; there's a challenge for me and there are ideas to explore.

My one-time tutor, Matt Storenstien, once advised me to go back to doing a few simple watercolours in order to get my head together. So this month I see it important to 're-boot', to go back to first principles and rebuild. I'm trying to sketch as much as possible. Here are a few from the last couple of days.

Across Loch Carron (Sketch)

Slumbay View (Sketch)

Sgorr Ruadh and Fuar Toll (Sketch)

And now I'm thinking about a little colour but with restraint. Using acrylic inks to supplement the graphite. I quite like this approach - I feel it's appropriate for this time of year.

Across Loch Carron (Study)

Sgorr Ruadh and Fuar Toll (Study)

I'm aiming for that zone where the painting is easier and things flow better, when you find unexpected good things in the paintings you make. Wish me luck this year....

Year End Thoughts

This will be my last blog post of the year. I have let the blogging lapse a bit this year, so my resolution will be to get back to some regular postings in 2015. Apart from anything else, I think blogging helps me to reflect on my work, to give consideration to what is good and bad about my painting, and to develop as an artist. Here's a few pics from 2014, some finished, others maybe not...

I'm coming to believe that focus is one of the most important elements of being an artist. There are so many things that grab my attention in the world about me, and a part of me wants to try and capture them all. But that's a sort of scattergun approach and I don't think it will allow me to develop in a meaningful way. I find that when I spend time painting 'distractions' it makes me feel dissatisfied. I realise that I much more satisfied if I focus on a few themes in greater depth. But what are these?

Shed with Green Roof - currently for sale as unframed pic

Fishing huts and sheds is one theme. I keep coming back to these rickety buildings: they excite and fascinate me, their individual histories and how they stand up to the elements. I want to continue to explore them as a theme. Linked to this are old pieces of machinery like petrol pumps, and walls and piers. Machinery as a subject is more of an exercise for my drawing skills and probably a good challenge for next year.

Red Roof - now framed.

Sheds at St Abbs - not sure if it's finished yet

I continue to paint sea scenes, but sometimes my beach paintings bore me, so I think I shouldn't overdo this theme.  This (below) is one scene that excited me in Lewis. The exposure and feeling of being on the very edge of habitable space.  I wasn't surprised to learn that there's a bit of surfing done on this beach.

Stormy Beach, Lewis - now framed - one of my favourite pics!

Applecross is a bit closer to home....

View from Applecross Bay - restricted palette holds the interest (not framed)

Maybe I'd be better to focus on hills. I've definitely not done enough hillwalking in 2014 and I so want to get back up onto the high tops. 

Beinn Damph and Upper Loch Torridon - not sure if it's finished yet

 I feel that I want to explore landscapes which are more complex and seek out the abstract patterns in the world around me.  This next view is perhaps not complex enough?

High Riggs, Summer Morning - now framed

Whereas with this other pic I made a real effort to capture the essence of the moorland by focusing on the ground cover....that beautiful 'deer grass' which you find in the hills up here in late autumn.

Deer Grass Above Achintee - a WIP

However, while I want hills and landscapes to be my focus next year, I know that inevitably I will come back to the sea, its moods and patterns and the challenge of portraying the movement of the waves.

Dark Island - Charcoal and ink and conte to reflect the moody day - now framed

Loch Carron in stormy mood - a WIP

And then again, I do like to draw faces – they are all so different – and I wonder about doing some portraiture. I don't think this would ever become a main theme, but next year I'd like to draw and paint more figures and faces. One possibility is putting figures (or animals) into landscapes and urban scenes – this is always a challenge. Perhaps I should do a few more drawings of Ness the wolfhound and see where it takes me.

Ness - a drawing recently exhibited at St Margaret's House

 See what I mean.....this is already quite a diverse mix. When you add that to my thoughts about media – how much printmaking?...should I make a serious attempt at oils next year?....Or should I focus on working with graphite and pigments? So many questions to be addressed. One thing I think I've learned is that it doesn't pay to be too serious in one's approach. It's important to play with materials and concepts. Whilst I know I must be disciplined and work hard, this does not mean that I should be dull and heavy-handed. Enthusiasm, energy and exploration shall be my themes for next year!

Nothing Is Easy

Happy New Year! (or is it?)
I seem to recall a track by Jethro Tull - 'Nothing Is Easy' and that sums up my mood at present.
The excesses of New Year are finished and I've had a clear run to get on with some painting. But am I happy with the results? ....NO....it's been a struggle this week.
I thought I would start with my pencil sketch of Slumbay....

Reflected on the composition - looking for connections and abstract values. 

 Continued working in ink and graphite and white acrylic.

I set this aside - not entirely happy - I think a landscape composition might be better.
Another day this week I wanted to try out some eggy paints, but was distracted by the stormy weather. I did a pencil sketch of the waves that I could see out of the window, and then I found myself doing a pic of the stormy sea in 'glair' - ink made from pigment and white of egg.

Stormy Sea (1)

I was surprised about how good this looked and I decided to try doing the same image again on a smaller format.

Stormy Sea (2)

What do you think?  I really liked the way the eggy ink moved around the surface. It was very fluid.
I also tried out some home-made tempera paint and finished this little pic in a mixture of tempera and glair.

Coral Beach, Applecross in egg tempera and glair

But these little pics were the best of the bunch this week....I'm not so happy about my bigger pics..for the next post.

Sketching out the Old Year

Well, the weather hasn't been great so far on this trip up North.  Here's a flavour of that recent storm that blew for two days....

December Storm, Lochcarron, Sketch

In fact it was so bad, I could hardly see out of the window.

Cottage Window Sketch

As soon as the rain stops, I rush out and try and do a little sketch before it rains again...

Lochcarron Corner Sketch

And the other day it was dry enough to get the pastels out. Briefly.

Snow on the Tops, Strathcarron

Yesterday........ 

Loch Torridon Sketch

....yesterday it was a bit better - we had a walk along the shores of Loch Torridon, with great views of the Torridon hills.

Two Pines Sketch

I was determined to sketch some of the beautiful Torridon pine trees.

 

 

Slumbay View Sketch

And today I did a couple of sketches in and around Lochcarron again. It was a bit gloomy!

 

 

 

 

 

Defiant Cherry!

Finally, can't ignore my favourite Cherry Tree.

So...here's to the New Year!  Hope 2014 is a good one for us all!

A Few New Sketches

Up north this week, trying to get a few new sketches, hoping for some fresh inspiration from Autumn colours. However, the weather hasn't been that great.
Tried to do a little sketching over in Applecross. When we arrived (after driving over the Bealach) I was very taken with the look of Rona (the island!). I tried to capture the ephemerality of the light in this sketch - difficult - it was changing all the time....

One of my favourite views is the view of Skye from Sand. I tried to capture the atmosphere...

I was also taken with the view looking east from the Applecross Inn. The sunlight caught the colour in the hill!

But it was really a bit of a black and white day, with very atmospheric views of the Hebrides. I stopped the car and dashed off a very rapid charcoal sketch. (It was very, very windy).

We continued on to the villages. I love this stunted Crab Apple Tree in Fearnbeg, so I had another go at sketching it.

 Back in Lochcarron, I've been sketching too. Just caught this corner before the light disappeared.

And here's another sketch done from a similar spot - but with a broader outlook.

And here's a view from Ardaneaskan - this is another favourite place (just along the road from Lochcarron) - did this sketch in charcoal.I love the shape of the hill on the RHS. It's my 'Dark hill above Strome'!

So I'm pleased I've managed to do a few sketches. Can I use these to develop paintings from them? I'm not sure. Only time will tell....