Back in the Saddle.....Sort Of......Frogs at Hastings!

    I'll never understand how a person can live most of their life in one place, and find they're drawn, pulled and pushed towards another thousands of miles away......yup, it's reality for me, and has been for years.....I'm sitting in my studio in Coeur d'Alene, going through the motions of a frenetic daily routine, but countless times a day the brain strays to Scottish shores and subjects.....c-r-a-z-y.  The uplifting experience of Perthshire Amber, Dougie and Jenny Maclean's wonderful celebration of Dougie's music and so much more has definitely left it's mark....may I never recover!!!  Working on learning some of Dougie's haunting fiddle tunes will definitely be a part of this winter's regular activity.

    The Toadage! series of bullfrog posters is up on display in the Coeur 'd Alene Hastings coffee shop,  along with a selection of my mum's paintings.  Posters are available for purchase either flat on cardboard or rolled in a tube for $15 each.  An extensive selection of cards and mini-giclee's of my Scottish paintings can also be found in the card section next the coffee shop.  My sincere thanks to Simone and Kathryn for giving them a try!

   


  

Post Created Nov 12, 2010 2:32:15 PM

It's the final evening of another wonderful visit to Ross-shire's storied Black Isle. Stunning views south and west across Beauly Firth from where I stay. Oh to have enough time to do a couple big canvases of this dramatic area on site one day. For now, am deeply grateful to have landed, however temporarily, in this magical place.

Post Created Nov 9, 2010 1:31:55 PM

It's two days since Perthshire Amber came to a close,and the heed's still in a warm fuzzy fog from all the music, wonderful surroundings and connection with good souls. An experience of deep value to me personally, and I hope to my fellow participants in Butterstone Studios Musical Assault Course!

It's over the sea once again for this wandering creative. Heartfelt thanks to my supportive family and friends!!

Highland Games.....and So Much More

Late summer weekends in the open air speaking with others of Scottish/Celtic affinity and interest..... listening to pipe tunes and the clack of dancing shoes....playing a few tunes myself during quiet moments in my booth....and exposure first hand to brilliant Celtic bands such as Wicked Tinkers.....such a gift!!   It's a given I'd prefer to be in Scotland proper, but the ever-constricting rope of family responsibility that keeps me US-side loosed just enough to allow participation in Highland Games in Spokane, WA, Hamilton, MT and Kelso, WA.  Uplifting experiences, all!

Having turned away from the summer art show circuit after 9/ll, it's a bit surprising to find myself once again on the road a with a pickup full of gear and carefully wrapped paintings a decade later!  It was fun then, but it's absolute heaven now....getting to spend extended time discussing the specific things I love best, the landscape and culture of Scotland and the Celtic countries, and encouraging that interest in others.  Not to mention meeting fascinating people from all walks of life and levels of awareness...simply awesome! 

Late Summer Highland Games

Another page has turned on the calendar and my favourite time of year is upon us.  In an ideal world, I'd be spending waking hours exploring (personally) uncharted territory in Scotland.  Such as things are, participating in the Spokane Highland Games, Spokane, WA, and Bitterroot Valley ScottishIrishFestival , Hamilton, MT have been incredibly rewarding, uplifting experiences and excellent excuses to spend time outdoors and a welcome break from routine demands and labours.  I cannot thank the organizers of such events enough for all the time and energy they put in to bring these valuable celebrations of culture together!  Luckily, I will also have a vendor booth at the Kelso Highland Games in Kelso, WA this coming weekend, 11 and 12 Sept., so one more good chance to enjoy one of Scotland's great traditions, the Games, as Autumn advances.

Hardback Cafe Opening!

So much activity this month!  I will be at the Coeur d'Alene Hastings Hardback Cafe Saturday, Aug. 21 from 4-7 to chat with passers-by about my current exhibition there.....hope to see some of you CDA locals!  The exhibition runs through 31 August. 

Celtic Challenge - the Cross

Simplify....that's what this painter strives towards - simplify the scene before me and distill it to it's most meaningful parts......so heck, let's get rid of one of the most important buildings in Scotland - it's blocking the view!  (I mean no disrespect - I look forward to painting the Abbey and surrounds!)

This is a wee study of the high cross, also known as a Celtic Christian cross, to be found standing outside Iona Abbey.  Interesting to learn that if it was lacking the connecting circle, it would be a Christian cross.  At any rate, it's a good exercise in perspective, texture and dimension, and represents to me the incredible strength of character it took to survive in the beautiful, yet austere lands of our ancestors, whatever their belief systems.

6"x4" oil on gallery wrap canvas (covers all sides - no need for a frame!)

Highland Pastorale

4" x 6" oil on gallery wrap canvas
This is a wee landscape of the lovely fields & firth outside Muir of Ord on the Black Isle....I love the dramatic skies and scudding clouds above the peaceful scenery!  This view looks south across Beauly Firth to the hills west of Inverness.

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!)