Uist House

I forgot to share a picture of this final piece that I did recently as a gift for some lovely friends who recently got married. I had previously posted the small sketch painting that I did on location and this is the resulting final piece that emerged in the studio. As usual it turned out much "tighter" than I had been planning but c'est la vie! The photos I was working from were really dark with the sun behind and the house in shadow as I just didn't get the weather to take a decent shot. So, back in the studio, I applied some artistic license to the light and colour situation but I'm pretty happy with the result.

"Uist House" oil on canvas, 24x24"

Lobster Pot Drop

This painting I did from a photograph I took whilst we were out dropping the lobster pots.  The sun broke through the cloud for a few minutes and I really loved the colours on the small island in contrast to the cloud dappled sky and deep sea around it.

acrylic on canvas paper, 16x12"

I have been having a bit of a break from painting as I've been fully immersed in researching things for our upcoming renovation project which is somewhat taking over my every waking hour! However, today I locked myself in the studio to work on a larger painting from the North Uist series and I will post it here shortly once it is finished.

Loch Maddy, North Uist

This painting sketch was done from a photo I took whilst out on the boat dropping off the lobster pots and fishing for mackerel. A bit of a departure from my usual style, but I think it works nevertheless. I really like how the rocks turned out, all it took was a few simple brushstrokes in a lighter tone to show the light shining on the right hand side and it just  worked - if only it was always that easy! 

This was the day we pulled up 2 big lobsters and something like 15 crabs for dinner!

"Loch Maddy" acrylic on canvas paper, 16x12" 

The House on North Uist

I have to admit, although we had a wonderful holiday, it is nice to be home. Particularly, as its much hotter at home than it was on our holiday! I am quite enjoying the heat and humidity of NYC after chilly Scotland.

acrylic on board, 6x6"

Here is another picture from North Uist, this is done from the beach in front of the house we stayed at. I'm really pleased with the way this turned out and I've already ordered a couple of greeting cards of this painting to use as a thank you to the owners of the house, hopefully they'll like it too! You can see the byre at the bottom of the garden where I set up a little studio in the painting on the left. I could paint those views over and over.

North Uist

We will shortly be on our way back to New York but have had a really wonderful week up here on North Uist. I have learnt a lot about how to catch and prepare various fish and shellfish and don't think I have never eaten so much! 

Here is the first little sketch I did of the view from the house we stayed at.

acrylic on board, 6x4"

Outer Hebrides

This week I have been on holiday up on the Outer Hebridean Island of North Uist, right off the very top of Scotland. I have never been anywhere quite like this place, so bleak and barren but absolutely stunning. When the sun comes out the colours are really fantastic and I am lucky enough to be staying with friends in their family's house complete with a little "byre" at the end of the garden overlooking the sea - perfect for painting. Its been a week full of fishing, lobster potting, diving for scallops and general out door pursuits, basically a week of stuffing ourselves full of the freshest seafood we can quite literally get our hands on. However, today, I finally found some quiet time to get down to some painting. As the internet connection is virtually non existent up here, I haven't managed to get images of my paintings on line just yet but will as soon as possible, for now, feast your eyes on our dinner last night!