A recently completed commission of Staic Pollaidh, a mountain on the West Coast of Scotland.
Based on the photography of renowned photographer, Chris Rutter (permission given for use), this painting was my first use of Aluminium as a surface.
Painted mid 2020, inspired by recent sunsets, this painting captures the depth of colour and warmth of summer evenings on the Moray Coast.
Painted in 2016/17, this diptych has now been framed. Depicting the sunset near the mouth of the famous River Spey, I wanted to use two canvasses to illustrate the separation and connection between the air and the water.
Painted mid 2020, I am always falling in love with the evening skies over my home, and wanted to share that with this painting. The vivacity and warmth of the sunsets in summer is sometimes bewildering.
Living on the coast exposes you to extremely variable weather, with moments of quite dramatic light. This painting captures one of those moments when the sea seems to become leaden with the weight of the sky above.
At over 1.5m wide, this panoramic painting encapsulates the heart of one of Moray’s most vibrant Whisky Distilleries. Sweeping from the Master Distillers home, through the Still House, Grain Store and Visitor Centre to Warehouse 1, this commissioned piece now hangs, as part of a set of 5, in the Tasting Room of the Distillery.
Sometimes the space around you seems bigger, the horizon further away, and this can often be the case on the beach. This framed mirror of water seemed to illustrate that.
Inspired by both Colins amazing music and BBC Radio 6 DJ Mary Ann Hobbs, I created this, whilst listening to a broadcast in 2017. Once a year the show focuses on Art and its relationship with Music. Listeners were asked to create works during the show, and this was born.
A revisit to a previous work inspired this reworking. This is the view from a nearby hill, looking west toward Lossiemouth, over the intervening coastline.
A reworking of an earlier piece (of the same name), this lonely tree stood stoically in the absence of what had been a thick wood.
I have travelled around Scotland but never had my breath taken so often as I have in Mull. It may be a small island but it is shamelessly dramatic and wild.
Sunrise behind the now demolished shipyard in the fishing town of Buckie, Moray. Once a thriving industry it stood only as a sombre memory.
Holding against the Sea, the harbour wall stands silent and resolute
Ever welcoming, and stoic, the Harbour shelters and nurtures our embrace with the Sea.
70cm x 100cm, acrylic on canvas
Based on the work of a good friend and creative photographer, this interpretation echoes her image of waves rolling ashore at Lossiemouth.
100cm x 70cm acrylic on canvas
A painting of the view at sunrise looking from my campsite on Mull.
Painted as a private commission. 2' x 3' acrylic on canvas
This was a small painting I completed just to warm up, as it was 5am, and the morning coffee hadn't been drunk yet, so I wanted to do something while it was brewing before working on my next commission.
It shows the early morning sun above my house as it emboldens a passing cloud with a fierce glow.
Depicting my home town of Portgordon, this painting is looking away from the setting sun as it catches off the high clouds and the facing houses along the sea front.
This energetic and bold style harnesses the vital character of my youngest son, Callan.
Commissioned as an anniversary gift for her Husband, showing the beach they were married on, looking across the water to Jura.
Trying to loosen up my brushwork, i produced this view from half way to Buckpool looking back at Portgordon at dawn.
Based on a few sketches I painted on the same evening I painted Cinder Tide, this painting explores a greater range of colours and depth of space. Looking across the bay with my back to the Harbour, this view looks toward the setting sun as it drifts down behind the hills to the West of my home.
Based on a leaf I found recently while walking my Dog, I intended this to be a revisit of the painting I'd created for my Wife, in 2003.
This painting is based on a photograph I took 3 winters ago, while walking our dogs. I loved the way the evening sun was casting through the trees in a way not dissimilar to the way light casts through a stained glass window in a church.
A sketch that ended up being a freeform painting created during a stormy night, with the wind whistling in the door of the studio.
Based on my photographs that inspired Golden Dance, this smaller painting broadens the focus on the sky of that distant Autumn evening. The painting can be viewed at Leap Gallery, in Rothes, Scotland.
A recent vigil at my local Harbour began this painting. As the sun cooled below the horizon, its fire burned on the sea and in the sky above. SOLD Prints available.
I've been down the beach most evenings recently, and caught this beautiful contrast of colours and depth. It was impossible to resist.
This painting was created for the Moray Chamber Of Commerce, to be auctioned at a recent Business Awards Dinner. The painting sold at auction. Prints available.
Violet Gold seizes a moment in Autumn as the sunset begins. The view is from the area near Fochabers called Ordiquish. This stands above the famous River Spey as it makes its final turns before meeting the Moray Firth. 200mm x 200mm Canvas. Original SOLD
Painted as a private commission to celebrate their wedding anniversary, this composition was developed by riffing on my interpretation of their characters, and how they are as a couple. It also drew inspiration from their memories of their honeymoon in Majorca.
The first canvas sets the tone for the triptych. Showing the shore, the cool sky and warning of the intense sun. SOLD
The second and middle canvas in this triptych warms you as the sun cascades through the veil of clouds. SOLD
The third canvas in this triptych allows the eye to cool and rest SOLD
The storm has passed, and the clouds part to allow the breath of the sun to bring calm.
The rising sun obscured behind the morning clouds as I lift off toward Norway from Aberdeen. Available for viewing at Elgin Marble Workshop, or through Leap Gallery, Rothes.
Evening light filters through the clouds, burnishing the North Sea as I return home, leaving behind Norway to land in Aberdeen.
The end of a hot summer, and the sun touches fire to the clouds as a finale to its day. Available for viewing at Elgin Marble Workshop, or through Leap Gallery, Rothes.
Sometimes the clouds thicken and seem to collect themselves as if ready to pounce. In this painting I've sought to seize this feeling of building tension and power. Painted in acrylics on 200mm x 200mm canvas. Original SOLD
This painting illustrates all I find bewildering about clouds. The way they create a sense of mass, how they change the light,, and how they change our perception of the landscape. This is a view of the hills near my home, as they are passed by this silent leviathan. 200mm x 200mm canvas . Original Sold. Prints available.
This painting shows an area of coast near my home. on the Moray Coastal Trail. The skies here are anything but dull, and this captures some of that drama.
200mm x 200mm Acrylic on framed canvas. - SOLD Prints still available.
This painting is from my Whiteash Hill series, showing a lone tree amongst the remnants of the harvested or storm damaged trees it once stood with. I admire the optimism and tenacity of him, despite his solitude.
Acrylics on Canvas 200mm x 200mm - SOLD
This painting is a view atop a local hill, looking across the hills, inland, from the Spey River, Moray Firth coastal region of Scotland. The nearby Pine forest stands in shadow, as a heavy mask of clouds struggles for dominance in a sky lit by the setting sun.
900mm x 900mm Acrylic on canvas - Available for viewing at Elgin Marble Workshop, or through Leap Gallery, Rothes.
This painting is taken from the same area as Golden Dance, but shows a view flowing up the Spey Valley. I love the way the light bathes the hills, and everything seems to shine at the last sigh of the day.
Acrylics on Canvas, 200mm x 200mm - £85
A painting created for my Wife, based on a leaf she found while sharing some leaf kicking in her favourite season.
1000mm x 1000mm, Oil on Canvas
This is a recently completed commission, based on a painting I originally completed for my Parents. The Customer had remembered seeing that painting 12 years ago, and was delighted to be able to commission me to complete another.
900mm x 900mm, Acrylics on framed canvas. (SOLD)
This shows a local bridge, crossing over a now disused railway line, which forms part of the Speyside Way, a coastal Tourist walk route that passes through my village.
90cm x 140cm Oil on framed canvas
Private collection