Plein Air Studies
During Ying Li‘s The Figure in Landscape workshop we spent one day doing quick studies of the trees around the Ah Haa School for the Arts. Below are two plein air pieces done that day. The painting below was the third and final for that day. Ying gave us more time so the final painting is more complete. […]
Village Bridge Stop
On my first day in Telluride we rode the tram up to the Village. From the tram we had a glorious view of the aspen. Vibrate orange and deep yellows; they were at their peak. We walked through the town in a yellow wonderland. Village Bridge Stop is my first attempt to capture the magical feeling I had that day.
Among the Aspen
On our hike to Bear Creek Falls, we came across this little pine tree. It seemed be dancing up the hill, illuminated by white aspen trunks.
Telluride Hiker
On Sunday they rested. Not really, since we took a two hour hike instead. At least we took a break from painting. I didn’t do this painting in Telluride but rather from a photo I took while hiking back along the Bear Creek Falls Trail. When I started to draw this out in charcoal on my canvas, I […]
Bona Lighthouse
Ever since I saw this tiny lighthouse from the window of the Jacobite cruise ship, I wanted to paint it. Once the smallest manned lighthouse in the UK, the Bona Lighthouse on the Caledonian Canal kept ships safe with a single paraffin lamp in a bedroom window. Today the building has been restored and converted into a holiday house, room here […]
Pillboxes Roseisle Beach
Along the northeast coast of Scotland many of the beaches are covered in so many pebbles and empty muscle shells that you can’t really layout on the sand. Roseisle Beach just a few miles east of Findhorn Village is a lovely sandy haven. The Germans must have noticed this sandy shore too. To prevent foreign […]
Ruda
Ruda is the Gaelic for Ram. This rock cliff overlooks Neist Point Lighthouse on the Isle of Skye off the western coast of Scotland. The day I was there I saw goats and sheep grazing on the hillside. I also discovered a yogi sitting in the lotus position at the base of the ram horned […]
Findhorn Bluffs
I rented a room in a flat in Findhorn Village so I often walked around the horn, past the bay to the open ocean. This is the view looking back at the marina from the bluffs. The bluffs provided a wind break and a nice place to set up my easel to paint.
Abandoned Bridge
This abandoned bridge was off to the side A82 on my way to Oban. The road ran over it before they upgraded to a steal bridge.
Findhorn Marina – Plein Air
In September we had the first day of sun with no rain so I gathered up my easel and headed down to the Marina. I walked around to the far side of the horn so I could capture the marina behind the mored boats. I had a few visitors walk by. All were very respectful […]
Upland Stream
This is a small painted sketch I did in preparation for a larger painting, Badlands. In some ways I prefer this looser rendition to the more details version. Which painting would you rather look at; Badlands or Upland Stream?
Suidheachan
Suidheachan is Gaelic for Bench. This bench is outside the walled garden at the Boath House in Nairn, Scotland. Gardens were originally enclosed by high walls to protect plants from animal and human intruders. But just as important the also protect sensitive plants from wind and frost.
Lone Tree
The country roads of Scotland are full of photo opportunities. The only problem is finding a safe place to pullover. Usually by the time I did the view I wanted to capture was a hike back in the opposite direction. I tried to take some while driving but those never turned out. It was tempting […]