Flying -Sailing - Moving in the Mind

"  8 Sept '09  Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam
Just emerged from viewing ""  The Art of Flying,"   mid-15th century bird paintings at the airport's mini-Rijksmuseum.  Inspirational enough to penetrate the fog of jet lag & sleep deprivation.  Beautiful large canvases of fowl of all kinds, some domestic, some wild, including a big work sporting colourful members of the parrot family from every continent amicably sharing the viewer's space........Pastries, heavy luggage, fish & cheese delicacies, the latest interesting paperbacks, & the Holland bulbs…..love this place! Jeremy Clarkson & Bill Bryson’s latest books…..”

…..found an unfinished scribble this morning, bringing with it a flood of cheering images and impressions from Amsterdam airport….good thoughts on a January morning!   Unseasonally balmy for January in Idaho, it is….sharp, freezing breaths give way to merely mild, cool air during  a fast walk, bringing calm sailing to mind.  

A recently completed commission for Inverness yacht

‘Moonfleet’s’owner  was painted to celebrate not only the grace and beauty of the big craft, but her dramatic Highland backdrop of Scotland’s famous Loch Ness and the ruin of Urqhart Castle on Strone Point. About two miles distant from Drumnadrochit, the castle has been standing in some form since at least the early 1200’s, and has seen an active and often bloody history.  I can just imagine floating craft coming upon the castle from this same angle, centuries ago! 

Painting Experience

One of the joys of paint is being able to create a "masterpiece" on any size substrate. I like to vary canvas sizes & dimensions with each painting - makes for challenges in the framing department, but who wants to think that far ahead???! This is a 'wee shottie' at Eilean Donan Castle on Loch Duich in the Highlands - the absolute power one wields in being able to shrink a monstrous, stately heap o'stane (stone) to a mere 4"x5" canvas!

Making one's way across the castle's stone bridge bent double to stay upright in gale force winds tips the scales in the power department. A light smattering of visitors crazy enough to attempt the bridge made for a pleasant, uncrowded opportunity to explore and contemplate life in the Highlands through the centuries. The steady buffetting of the October winds against and around metres-thick stone provided background sound adding immeasurably to the experience. How can all this be conveyed in a tiny scrap of canvas and a few gobs of paint? It can't, as far as I know, but through this and every other attempt, I learn to appreciate more and more the creative efforts of myself and others.