Painting in far Western Places
I'm finally getting round to writing again.
The summer has flown by and it's been a very damp one up here in the West Highlands of Scotland.
Apart from, that is, a week in July when the sun came out transforming the grey landscape into technicolour.
I saw the forecast, so packed my art materials and jumped on a ferry and headed to the Isle of Canna, the westernmost of the Small Isles archipelago.
It was so tranquil, like going back in time. No visitor cars are allowed on Canna, and measuring roughly 4.3 miles long and 1 mile wide, it is the perfect place to just walk. In the heat of the sun, we walked slowly, taking in the incredible views and soaking up the history.
We stayed in a little cabin, our view was the Cuillin Ridge on Skye, and the Isle of Rum.
4:40 am Sunrise over the Cuillin of Skye from the Isle of Canna
I feel so lucky to be an artist. To be able to find and paint some of the most beautiful places on the planet. It is a real privilege to look and absorb a place, then interpret it onto the paper. And when that painting resonates with people, that is such a thrill.
Trying to capture that delicious turquoise sea.
Not a bad day at the office!
These are two small mixed media paintings that you can find on my website.
I am just back from a week painting along with my fellow artist friend, Nicole Stevenson. We stayed in Portuairk on the Ardnamurchan peninsular, the most westerly settlement of mainland Britain.
We experienced every season in a day, with moments of welcomed sunshine to dramatic skies with torrential rain.
High tide in Portuairk, looking to Sanna Bay
The wild beauty of Sanna Bay appearing as we walk from Portuairk
Another incoming shower
I do love the challenge of capturing the scene before you, before it completely changes. It forces you to work quickly, looking intently, keeping the marks and brush strokes full of life and energy. This feeling can't be replicated back in your studio. There is nothing quite like working out in the elements, both helped and hindered by whatever the weather throws at you.
Loving the contrast between the dark background and the light turquoise sea, just beyond the sandbank.
I became captivated by the line of houses, clinging to the land above Sanna Bay in the distance, the dark patches of seaweed swaying in the sea.
Ardnamurchan lighthouse, a pillar on the distant rocks from Bay MacNeil, on a kinder day.
This video is a little look into my sketchbook from our trip.
I use a sketchbook to quickly map out compositions before working on paintings.
I also experiment with different media, using things like Artgraf a rich, intensely pigmented block shaped like traditional tailor's chalk, which can be used dry or with water to give ink-like washes.
I have also stuck in some experimental monoprints. These etched like images are made by inking up a sheet of glass, placing paper on top of this, then drawing with a biro, picking up the ink, to give a really lovely soft, smudgy line.
I also had some offcuts of paper, I folded these long strips and turned them into little concertina booklets. These were really lovely to use, mapping out the panorama before me. I added gesso for texture, which was great for capturing the frothy texture of the waves.
I love to go out looking, walking and making marks on paper as you move through the landscape. I don't look at the paper directly, but feel my way around an object with my eyes, as my hand responds with the pencil. I cropped some of these and combined them with fragments of monoprints, finding echoes in shapes and lines in both media.
NEW GALLERY
I have been very kindly invited to exhibit some paintings with the Perthshire Gallery in Pitlochry. These three wee Mixed Media works which I did in Ardnamurchan, will be on display there shortly and can also be seen on my website now.
Thanks for reading and see you soon,
Helen
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