Walking on Water?

Two pictures on a cold, icey morning

Red Sea Painting and Drawings - August 2010

New Oldies from the Archives

Cottage, Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, 1996

Royal Scottish Academy of Art, Edinburgh, 1999

Canal & Bridge, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 1999

Ramsay Gardens, Edinburgh, 1999

Leith Docks, Edinburgh, 1999

Tree, Princes Street Gardens, 1996

Meadow Buildings, Christ Church College, Oxford, c.1993

Scientific Masters

A pair of pictures of two famous scientists, Dmitri Mendeleev and Ernest Rutherford (sadly no relation). These pictures were drawing exercises I did in the late 1980's using photos from an encyclopedia. The photos had a particular, old, grainy quality which worked with the style of drawing. The pictures are done in pencil.

Imagined Places

Looking through some old drawings and paintings I picked out four small sketches (each is less than 7cm across) from the period 1997-99. I can't tell you what they are of as they are all imaginary views and three of the four were done on some lined paper I had to hand.

A Real Dutch Master

This painting is from 1999. It is nominally a canal view in the Dutch city of Utrecht but of course it is another "view through the trees". With this painting the idea I have been exploring is begining to come together. The tree is really starting to obsure what is behind, while the background is still appealing (at least to my mind). Also this painting seems to have a more accomplished feel to it, not too uptight, good depth, good treatment of water, nice focal point. Really quite pleased with it!

Two More Archived Paintings

The upper painting is a view in North Berwick, a popular seaside location in Scotland. This was painted in August of 1988. I quite like it, especially the dark wooden outcrops from a pier that is submerged when the tide is in. Which surprised me at the time when in the middle of the painting a rather large pier emerged from the water and I had to consider whether it should become part of the picture. This was in my "Literal" period. Fortunately, sense prevailed.

The lower painting is a companion piece to the painting of the Lille Opera House in the previous post. This time the picture is of the Lille war memorial. The writing on the monument can be read, if you can read French. I found this memorial fascinating, as it was built into the fabric of an old church and I felt it had a commanding presence. But as I painted this, I was asked by a watching local why I was painting the ugliest thing in Lille. C'est la vie!

Two for the Archive

Two paintings of mine, one from 1990, the other from 1991, so not exactly current pieces!
L'Opera, Lille, was painted on location in front of the Opera house in Lille during a holiday. As the street was quite busy and the seat I had found was not ideal, the painting is little hurried.
The second painting I originally took a photograph of the cottage during a short stay in the Lake District and then worked it up into a painting when I returned home.

Me Old Dutch!

Found a photo of another old painting of mine. An old dutch masterpiece! Well, old anyway, and painted in the Netherlands, in situ! Problem is, to be honest, I can't quite remember which city I was in, or when, or who now possesses the original...and the photo is a bit shaky, but I think it gives the general idea.

Those of you paying attention will note that this is also through the trees.

Through Snowy Trees

One through the trees. Out of season but you'll soon forget.

Two Churches Through Trees

Two churches viewed through those winter trees I like so much. One is a photo from Meissen in Germany, the other a painting of mine from a few years ago of St John's Church in the centre of Edinburgh.

Boat, Train and Aeroplanes

Three modes of transport - I noticed all three had a grey feel to them and seemed to sit well together.

The yacht was racing with about 20 others in the harbour of San Francisco, under the Golden Gate Bridge. The train was an enormously long car transporter in the Bay Area near Oakland, California and the planes were practicing for an air display above Tucson, Arizona.

Misanthropic?

Those of you familiar with my work know that I don't often make pictures of people. Just to demontrate that I am not entirely misanthropic here are some photos of street performers...on fire.




Of course they are just playing with fire in these pictures - but you never know what can happen!

Semper Opera House, Dresden

Getting my hand in with a pen drawing from a photograph. Never sure if drawing from a photograph is somehow "cheating" but it's a good exercise and I didn't overlay the paper on the photograph - honest!

The "Loullia"

A new painting after some years - a 30 minute effort while sitting on a diving boat in the Red Sea in July this year. This ship, the "Loullia" sits stranded on a reef in the middle of the Straits of Tiran off the Sinai Peninsula. The Panamanian registered ship "docked" here safely in 1981 with no loss of life and it's super structure was more even complete until it was struck by a second boat in 2000, detaching the stern and susequently increasing the rate of deterioration. "Lucky white heather" as we say in Scotland.

Cactus Juice

Recently went to Tucson Arizona - they sure have a lot of cactus out there! Here are a couple of images I took, one big picture, the other fine detail.

Berlin

Three from a recent visit to Berlin. The first picture, of the Park Inn in Alexander Platz, is a favourite, just taken with my trusty Sony, but this camera has the ability to take a cracking picture in the most tricky of light conditions. The two others are separate views of the impressive TV tower in central Berlin, a really useful landmark when going round the city and with a great view from the top.

The Red Sea Blues

Some wonderful colours from the Red Sea. These photographs were taken on diving trips off the coast of Egypt.

Prague

Four pictures from Prague in the Czech Republic, an astonishingly beautiful city in parts. Included is a quick snap of a palace guard, looking like a pastiche of a South American Dictator. Better pictures are one of the Charles IV Bridge and two different views of Prague Castle and St Vitus' Cathedral.

Colours and Textures

One of my favourite themes in photography is textures/colours. My friends get a little concerned when they see me photographing a blank wall but I think the results can be worth it.