Kintra Beach, Islay Sunset Painting

Kintra Beach, Islay, oil on canvas

This painting, although quite small, took me a long time to do. It sat in an unfinished state for ages, drying, while I worked out what I was going to do with it.

After weeks, it came to me, and in a couple of minutes I completed it. The clouds had been too dark and where jumping out from the canvas - a few brushstrokes to calm them down, and it just worked, straight away.

I love it when a painting comes together like that.

Beinn Damph, Scottish Landscape Painting

Beinn Damph, mixed media on board.

I wanted to experiment with this, and combined two of my favourite materials, gouache and chalk pastel.

Vandalism and Other Irritations

It's not been the best start to the year. One of my paintings, hanging in an exhibition, has been vandalised. Somewhat upsetting as it is gratingly obvious.

Someone just decided to pick off some of the light coloured thick paint right in the middle of the canvas revealing a hole at the bottom of which is dark under paint. It was just such a pointless thing to do, and I find it distressing. What does it say about the painting, or my work, or me as an artist?

Meanwhile, I have been told that my paintings are morbid and have been asked if I could do something cheerier, like flower paintings. I was somewhat taken aback and rather upset (stoically tried not to show it) as I've never heard my landscapes and skyscapes described like that, certainly not to my face.

I find the criticism all the more confusing as the people doing the opining have my paintings in a corridor against dark wallpaper. The lighting is angled at the dark blue carpeted floor and not my paintings. I'm trying not to let it bother me, but I still find it unsettling even though the conditions aren't exactly of a gallery quality.

Here's one of the morbid ones; let me know what you think.

Image: New Year's Day, Troon, oil on canvas, 102 x 76cm (40 x 30")