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

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
private collection

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
private collection

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.

'Plunge Pool'
oil painting on Indian Khadi paper 2022
36cm x 36cm

'Rockpool'
oil painting on Indian Khadi paper 2022
36cm x 36cm
private collection

'Last of the Light'
oil painting on Indian Khadi
paper 2022
17cm x 17cm
private collection

'Winding Burn'
oil painting on Indian Khadi paper 2022
17cm x 17cm
 

'February Frosts'
oil painting on Indian Khadi paper 2022
17cm x 17cm
private collection
 

'Rock pools na Maol Bharogaidh'
charcoal and graphite drawing 2022
90cm x 90cm

These rock pools are just 300 meters walk down the meadow from home. When the tide is far enough out, it is a truly wonderful experience to walk through them to the quiet and private little bay of Maol Bharogaidh. The colours and textures on the rocks are incredibly tactile and echo the rhythmical patterns of movement from the Atlantic tides. When the sun is out and depicting the pinks and oranges of the rocks with a range of purple green kelps draped across them, dripping down into the beautiful jade turquoise, waters collected as the pools, this little place magically sparkles.
 

'Lichen Rock'
Oil painting on Indian Khadi paper 2022
36cm x 36cm
private collection

'Mesmerising Waves'
oil painting on Indian Khadi paper 2022
17cm x 17cm
private collection

'Clach Innean Forsnabhal'
charcoal and graphite drawing 2022
90cm x 90cm

Forsnabhal is an area of moorland just above our home at Cliff, I walk up the peat track to this point most days and enjoy the changes in the season and atmosphere. Clach Innean is Gaelic for Anvil Rock. I don't know if this boulder is an erratic, but it holds a powerful presence on top of the moor, looking towards the hills of Suaineabhal and Maelaisbhal. The growths of moss and lichen are dense and rich with age.