28 Jan 06. Decided it was time I posted some of my earlier paintings. Below is a selection of some from the last few years, in no particular order.
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i was quite pleased with this one. The view is from the marina at Dunstaffnage, north of Oban, looking towards Ben Cruachan. It was an evening in May 2004 and the class had gathered at Dunstaffnage Castle, but the midges were ferocious and we retreated to the shoreline. By setting our easels up on the jetty we found some relief from the constant biting of the midges. So no castle views were painted but various scenes across the marina. I chose to ignore the boats as once again the sky attracted me. My colour-blindness has probably made things a bit unreal - but, who cares, I like it!
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My attempt at copying from a Monet. It was the colour which attracted me to this picture. Acrylic on board. Late 2004.
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Photograph with ironic text :)
An evening in June 2004. Our class set up at McCaiag's Tower, Oban. The tourists were taking pictures of us - the view (below) is much more interesting!
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Photograph from McCaig's Tower, Oban. This was the view the tourists were photographing that evening. Below is my painting from earlier the same evening - I was looking to the left of this view, which is why they don't match properly!
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Oban Bay and the hills of Mull. Gouache on board, June 2004. Painted while sitting at the viewpoint at McCaig's Tower above Oban town. (See picture above.)
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Saulmore levels, near Oban. Looking north towards Benderloch. Not very happy with this one - I nearly left it out, but I promised myself I'd include pictures of which I didn't feel particularly proud! Next, please ...
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From Roybridge, Inverness-shire, June 2004 Looking towards Aonach Mhor. The snow on the summit is at the top of the winter slopes, where I used to ski. The peak just visible on the right, is Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain. Painted from outside a cottage where my sister and her husband were up from England, having a holiday.
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One of my first efforts. Cottages at Selma, Benderloch - snow in March 2003.
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Low tide at Tralee Beach. Looking to the cliffs on the south-east coast of Mull. May 2004. Gouache on paper.
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Tralee Bay. Late evening, June 2004 - just about to rain! Charcoal on board.
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Rain shower at Tralee. Same evening as the charcoal sketch above.
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French countryside. An attempt at impressionism. I used gouache, applied with a knife, on board. Winter 2003.
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I saw this picture in a newspaper article about Ireland. I guess this wave shape has been done a bit too often by others, but I fancied the challenge of trying to get some depth into the scene.
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This was done in a rush at the end of a class. It was about 9pm and from the college window I could see a fascinating sky above Ben Cruachan. The inital sketch was done with charcoal and chalk; the colour was added later (using pastels) along with the imaginary foreground. The view of Ben Cruachan from Glen Lonan looks a bit like this.
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Castle Stalker at Appin, around 7pm. Looking over Loch Linnhe to Kingairlochhills. I'm not very happy with the foreground, but have to confess I was more interested in the sky. March-April 2004.
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Venice. Copied from part of a Cannaletto. Summer 2004.
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Thats the end of the selection of my earlier pictures. Below is some recent work from a new art class.
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