| new paintings updated, oct 2008 |
|
Progressive
Rock", Bruach-na-Frithe, Skye, 2008
This was by far the most exhilarating mountain I have ever climbed, the sense of exposure on these jagged peaks was almost overpowering. The urge was to get down on all fours and crawl so as to feel less precarious. Twisted monoliths of gabbro and basalt confronted me with unknowable expressions, it was hard not to anthropomorphise their presence and feel an intruder among the ancient cosmic grandeur. This is from the summit looking back along the ridge towards 'the executioner'. |
 |
" |
|
Allt
Dearg Mor, Black Cuillins, Skye 2008 (sold) Not the name of the peak but of the lively stream that cascades down the mountain and accompanies the walk to Bruach na Frithe. High up on the hillside is an isolated cottage looking so vulnerable against the backdrop of shattered volcano. The challenge was to capture this sublime setting and reflect it in the calm pools, and as ever to leave little trace of my passing in the paint. To be more painterly would be to litter the setting with urban artworld concerns and distractions. It is how nature actually looks in its infinite detail that excites me, not how I can then distort or reduce it. |
 |
"The
Quirraing", Skye 2008 oil
Watching the opening sequence of 'The Wicker Man' as Edward Woodward steers his seaplane towards Summerisle he flies over some spectacular spires of basalt, the weirdness of these forms creating an ominous mood to the film even before events unfold. This alien landscape is found at the Quirraing in NE Skye. Columns of basalt are slowly cleaving from the mountainside and slipping downwards in enormous sections leaving a maze of spires and paths between. I had read there was a large flat field in amongst it where cattle were kept secret from enemies and after some exploring we discovered exactly that; amid this chaos a flat pasture the size of a football pitch. It is a truly numinous location which the artist could spend his life depicting all the possibilities. From here you can look across the sea and see the highest mountains of the mainland nearly 80 miles away. |
 |
Headland
composition, Loch Bracadale, Skye, acrylic 2008 |
 |
Bealach
nan Lice, Skye, acrylic 2008 |
 |
"Holiday
in cyclopea" Bealach nan Lice, Skye
Another painting inspired by my climb up Bruach na Frithe. This is the view, long anticipated when the ridge is at last gained, looking over into the wilderness of Corruisk. |
 |
"The
Quirraing", Skye acrylic 2007 |
 |
"Goats
of Carsaig" Mull
Skye is truly magnificent but no longer an island now it is connected by a bridge to the rest of Britain, lorries thunder around its roads. Mull on the other hand is still an hour on the ferry from the mainland and it feels wonderful to be so isolated. This is Carsaig on Mull's south coast, some hours walk from the nearest road along a very rough 'path' one comes upon the fantastic basalt structures of the Carsaig arches. The coastline here is such a mix of geology, sandstone riverbeds, studded with boulders are sandwiched between hexagonal columns of basalt. It is easy to understand how early Christians were drawn here; was not this regular geometry proof of a creator? Yet ironically it was geology that demonstrated the vast age of the Earth and thus accomodated the theories of Charles Darwin. Indeed there is a natural selection of rock taking place here; survival of the vertical, that which was not absolutely upright is now boulders. Here also goats have made their home miles from the human world, it is theirs and I am an intruder again. Maybe they just like to shelter under the rock but as I considered the form of the arch it struck me that it was very roughly goat-like, a horned form on legs. Do the goats see it so? Are they also drawn to the geology? |
 |
Celtic
sunset, Fionnphort, Mull, oil 2007 sold |
 |
Dear-bought
tranquility, Ardalanish, Mull, oil |
 |
Ribblehead,
Langstrothdale, North Yorkshire Have been meaning to paint this for a few years now. North of Ingleton above the waterfalls one emerges onto a plateau of limestone, fluted by wind and rain, stranded boulders here and there, sinkholes, and strange plants. Ancient tropical sea-beds end up here in north yorkshire and suddenly it is plain to see that all human life is a tiny and temporary interlude. We may not survive but the Earth will, the only evidence of us will be a seam of exposed strata millions of years hence, a fossil viaduct. Such are the strange voyages of thought that solitude in this place inspire. |
 |
Ridge
composition, newlands, cumbria oil 2007 |
 |
Swirral
Edge, Helvellyn, Cumbria, oil 2008 I have climbed Helvellyn several times, firstly aged eleven with the family and friends. Later on an art college field trip I could persuade only one other student to climb it with me, the majority opting for an afternoon smoking roll-ups in Glenridding. We caught the light perfectly and I did two paintings based on that climb, sold one of them to a dog-walker who used to pass by my studio window at Loughborough. Climbing hills was always easier after that, I was getting paid for it. This picture is painted from a climb in late october as the low sun bursts under the clouds, thoughts turn to getting down before darkness. I think next time I will take a tent and stay up there for the full show. |
 |
Sunbeams
over Hella Point, Cornwall , oil 2007 |
 |
Wireless
Point, Porthcurno, Cornwall, oil 2007 |
 |
Porthcurno
beach, Cornwall , oil 2007 |
 |
Nocturne,
Mousehole, Cornwall, oil 2007 |
 |
Winter
sun on Catbells, Cumbria acrylic, 2007 sold |
 |
A
deluge, Malham, Yorkshire oil, 2007 |
 |
On
Barrow, Newlands, Cumbria oil 2007 |
 |
Sky
is a landfill, Guisborough oil,2007 |
 |
Guisborough
from a distance oil, 2007 |
 |
|
|
|
