Out Standing in Their Places

The Standing Stones at Callanish on the Isle of Lewis, are a fascinating and mysterious link to our Celtic past.  These huge rough monoliths could still be approached and touched in '05....I was amused to round one of the larger stones near the visitors' center to discover a camper's pop-up tent erected within  a meter of it!  Add to that an inquisitive ewe nosing about the mushroom-like object and it's contents with intense concentration......! 

This wee painting is of the series of stones set along the ridge of a low rise, a bit of a walk from the main configuration.  I am deeply grateful to the locals who put up with all of us sassenachs who troop through their lands and lives in search of various and sundry goals and experiences.

4"x6" oil on gallery wrap canvas (painting extends to all sides so no need of a frame!)

Iona

I was fortunate this weekend to hear an uplifting talk by Coeur d'Alene's Unity minister Deirdre, sharing insights gleaned from a retreat at Iona, a wee isle off of Mull, famous for being the site of St. Columba's establishment of Christianity in Scotland.  Her infectious enthusiasm and lovely photos had my eyes watering as images of my own visits paraded through my mind's eye.  Not a place to be easily forgotten.   I hope to return and wander at length, at a slower pace than the scheduled tour allows....maybe get in a few sketches!  On a visit in '05, I landed not at the ferry landing, but at the pristine white beach a bit south...in the wee dinghy of the sailboat "Dutch Courage," with a group of friends on a sailing holiday.  A singular experience in itself, arrival on an anniversary of Scottish Labour Party Leader John Smith's passing made it even more so.  Trenchcoats on legs were everywhere.....we were eyed suspiciously and our group carefully watched during our entire stay....a number of political figures one normally sees on BBC News were there to pay their respects, and it was quite an experience to stand in the same line for tea and cakes in the local tearoom!

This is a partial view of the remnant stone walls of the Nunnery on Iona, their austere and often violent past softened by the flourishing multicoloured plantings. Literally dripping with history, this tiny Hebridean island has been the scene for many important events in Scottish and Celtic culture, and has been for centuries the final resting place of many clan chieftains and Scottish dignitaries.
oil on masonite, 9 7/8" x 5 7/8" $165 unframed, $285 framed

Celtic Music Festival Blues

It’s Folk Festival time in Stonehaven next weekend – I imagine most of the usual charismatic suspects plus a whole lot of new faces will be attending, with wee sessions going on ‘roon’ the toon’ and harbourside…. the eyes water as I think of the fun I’ve had trying to keep up with hard-driving tunes and jam-packed time schedules, so as not to miss a performance or chance to sit in on a ‘crackin’ session!’ Am very thankful for help staying focused on the positive in a wee monthly gig downtown at Art Spirit entertaining Artwalk attendees – a brilliant opportunity for exposure for my work and to share some of my favourite tunes.

Music-oriented as I am, I’ve done a small series of paintings celebrating Celtic music, my long-suffering fiddle being the subject! It’s a Sanctus Serafini copy, ca. 1823 (I know, by rights I should’ve painted a fiddle made by a Scots luthier, but had none handy here in Idaho!) By appearance it’s either been well-loved, or had rather a hard life depending on one’s viewpoint, having undergone some extensive reparations. Plays a fine tune, though, depending on the player(!), & is a treasured companion.

The images are meant to go beyond the music, to invite the viewer into a more intimate aspect of a musician’s experience, the sheer pleasure of the beauty and form of our instruments. Thus, you see the fiddle depicted in multiple perspectives and angles one wouldn’t normally see unless working with the instrument personally. I created the series in a more anal phase of my painting career, trying to get every dot of paint just in the right spot. The dark backgrounds suggest our murky past – for the most part undefined and undiscernable, yet full of everything (all colours combined makes murk!) that makes Celtic culture what it is today. Celtic knotwork, composed of several colours (cultures) and populated with many, many ‘wee blobs’ (people) is placed behind each fiddle image to represent a flexible, yet extremely strong grounding in the music and heritage of the Celtic countries.