Winter Wonderland

Not long now till the Winter Solstice.

I do enjoy this time of year, of shorter days and longer nights. A time of slowing down a bit. I think a lot of people believe we are knee deep in snow all winter, but it can be quite mild up here in the North West of Scotland with the Gulf Stream keeping us warmer than the East Coast quite often.

However we have had some welcome snow, turning the Five Sisters of Kintail, my muse on my doorstep, into a thing of beauty.

I love the challenge of painting out in the snow, seeing how the paint freezes, adding patterns of ice crystals onto the paper.

I have also been enjoying making a short film about my fellow artist and friend Nicole Stevenson as she captures the wild beauty of the Hebridean landscape on the Isle of Lewis. (Link below)

The film shows the life of a painting evolve from its flowing beginnings to defined end, accompanied by the rhythm of the waves.

As I said in my Blog about our trip to Lewis, we returned to Bhaltos, a little hamlet on the West Coast of Lewis, to spend a week painting together.

In between the painting, we try and do a bit of filming to record our experiences, although it's the painting time that has priority and filming often gets neglected.

This year, however, while I was waiting for the tide to go out, as I wanted to get to rock pools cut off by the high tide, Nicole let me film her starting a new painting.

Being watched and filmed while you work, can be a bit intimidating, even by a friend, so I tried to be as invisible as possible.

I'm really happy with the end result and hope you will enjoy the 5 minute watch. It might even slow your heart rate down and bring a wee sense of calm.

film.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW8Q9rOPDMw

Until next time, thank you for reading and thank you for all your support.

I hope you have a peaceful Christmas and here's to a Happy and Healthy 2026 for everyone.