Thinking aloud .... when I start a new series of paintings I reach for my sketch book. I make thumb-nail sketches of ideas for paintings which take into account the size and shape of the canvas, the colour palette and composition. I also think about what the painting is trying to communicate - my experience of the Isle of Skye or West Coast.
Looking at the photos and thinking about the impressions left in my memory; the Isle of Skye is all about black mountains, shimmering ocean and lavender distances. The sea surrounds and enters the island in the form of mysterious lochs, there are also whitewashed cottages, dry-stone walls and countless sheep. A vast vista of ever-changing sky - bright and clear one moment, and then in the turn of a head filled with great leaden clouds.
I'm replacing the people in my paintings with a lonely croft or forlorn dormer bungalow to give a sense of isolation - the telegraph line ends at the door.
Paintings of the Isle of Skye
Pints of Scotland
