'Boulder Valley'
charcoal & graphite drawing  114cm x 114cm

We walked to Boulder Valley in the New Year, it was blowy and damp but non the less a typical Hebridean day. The light was low and subdued, generating a tight, enclosed atmosphere among the magnificent giant boulders, some the size of black houses. 
I was twitching to start this composition after a long break from drawing because of cataract problems last year, which prevented me from seeing well enough to work. All fixed up... loved scribbling away on this big piece of paper for a month.

'Spring Tides'
charcoal & graphite
29cm x 29cm

'Spring Storms'
charcoal & graphite
29cm x 29cm
private collection

'Black Rock, Cliff'
charcoal & graphite
29cm x 29cm
 

'Sand, Sea & Rock'
Oil Painting on Indian Khadi paper
36cm x 36cm
private collection

The lichen on this boulder just above Cliff beach was amazingly rich in colour and texture this spring. The tides were powerful and sweeping right up to the machair. Magical place.

'Fuaigh Mor Machair'
oil painting on Indian Khadi paper
36cm x 36cm

Fuaigh Mor is an island that we sometimes kayak to. There is an old settlement in the background of the painting, but the island is uninhabited now, hence the machair was dense with colour.

'Spring Tides'
oil painting on Indian Khadi paper
67cm x 67cm

Around the Spring equinox, from the kitchen window I could see the tides slamming high above black rock. There was plenty of moist sea spray in the air, diffusing the bright clear morning light.
David and I had to walk out to the rocks and just sit and observe the mighty force of the waves leaping beyond 20 feet high. We thought we were safe sheltered from the wind and the waves behind the boulder in the foreground, which was so tactile, I thoroughly enjoyed manipulating the paint to suggest its rich colours and textures. However, whilst lost in visual aesthetic appreciation, a massive salty down pour of a wave heaped itself right on top of us; completely soaked through, back home for towels and tea. 

'Cliff'
oil paint on Indian Khadi
17cm x 17cm
private collection

'Reef'
oil paint on Indian Khadi
17cm x 17cm
private collection

'Tidal Observations'
oil paint on Indian Khadi 
17cm x 17cm

'Forsnabhal'
charcoal & graphite 90cm x 90cm

Forsnabhal is a high viewpoint on the moors above Cliff, on route to Aird (Gallan Head)
I walk up the peat track to just below this point most mornings. From this point you can see across the peat dug plots, which are now covered in sphagnum moss and low vegetation rather than raw open black peat. Looking out across the sea to the islands opposite Valtos. One morning the light opened up briefly for me to experience this special haunting mood, before I walked back down the rock seam to Cliff Studio, with the hope of developing this mood in the drawing.