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 […]
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.
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 […]
Dusk at Findhorn Marina
After I did this same scene Plein-Air, I took the sketch and some photographs back to the studio and did this larger painting. It helps to have the color reference and be able to recall the sounds and feel of the breeze. Which one to you like better, this one or the one I did on location; Findhorn Marina […]
A Staircase to Ideas
As many of you know I rented an art studio in Scotland for a few months. I got the keys Friday July 31. It’s at the Moray Art Center on the Findhorn Foundation property about five miles from the town of Forres. Forres is a town of 12,000 residence about 20 minutes east from Inverness. The […]
What a HOOT!
On my travels with the writing group we spent a day in Inverness. Inverness is the governing body of the highlands and where the River Ness begins. Laura and I walked along the river to the botanical gardens, where because of the cooler weather in the highlands, the azaleas and rodidendrons were still in bloom. After […]
I’m Feeling a Little Pictish
For the two hours Calum Mc Williams was inking my tattoo, he killed time telling me about the Pictish people who inhabited Northern Scotland. The Picts were infamous marauding tribe named by the Romans because they had pictures (tattoos) on there skin. They were a dominant force in what is now Scotland for at least […]
Findhorn Stone
I see three grey stones laying at the base a fir tree. They are resting in pine needles. The needles on top are green, then yellow and then dark orange needles at the bottom. The middle stone is the most interesting to me. It is cow-patty flat like the ones I saw this morning in […]
Logies Steading
Yesterday my new pal Dave and I went for a hike in Logies Steading along the Findhorn River. It rained off and on and bounced off birch leaves then trickled down around us. The river is wide and rock lined. In several spots it narrows and rapids roar past. The trail follows the rivers edge and […]
Coo’abungah
Ayrshire cattle /ˈɛərʃər/ are a breed of dairy cattle originating from Ayrshire in south west Scotland. The average mature Ayrshire cow weighs 450 to 600 kilograms (990–1,320 lb). Ayrshires typically have red and white markings, although the red can range from a shade of orange to a dark brown. This heardy bread is known for […]
Kelpie – Scottish Water Spirit
A Kelpie is a Scottish water spirit with the ability to shape-shift and is often depicted with a horse head and dragon body. The myths say that Kelpie preyed on and devoured humans. A folk tale from Barra, the Hebrides island where my mom’s family is from, there is a story about a lonely kelpie […]
Fiona
Fiona is a hairdresser in Keith Scotland. Her husband Gaff is a farmer. They have two children, Sean and Megan. “I dun know why me children both have Irish names,” she laughs. She was born in Keith and has never been to the US and didn’t seem interested in going although, she said she wants […]
A Place that Felt Like Home
After the distillery tour we went to dinner at the Craigolicky Hotel and then I checked in to the Ugie House in Keith for the night. It was a modest room but clean and had a nice view and a working window. Of all the towns I’ve visited so far this was the first one […]