A Host of Golden Daffodils

          I wandered lonely as a cloud
          That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
          When all at once I saw a crowd,
          A host, of golden daffodils;
          Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
          Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

          Continuous as the stars that shine
          And twinkle on the milky way,
          They stretched in never-ending line
          Along the margin of a bay:
          Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
          Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

          The waves beside them danced; but they
          Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
          A poet could not but be gay,
          In such a jocund company:
          I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
          What wealth the show to me had brought:

          For oft, when on my couch I lie
          In vacant or in pensive mood,
          They flash upon that inward eye
          Which is the bliss of solitude;
          And then my heart with pleasure fills,
          And dances with the daffodils.

-William Wordsworth (1815)

A new painting in my Look Up! series. The daffodils almost appeared to be sojourning toward a lovely church sitting above a bus stop near the Morrison's parallel to King Street. 

12"x16" Original Oil on Canvas

Autumn Vines

And this, friends, is how Aberdeen does October.

My fourth painting in my Look Up! series.

16"x12" Original Oil on Canvas

In The Edinburgh Light

In the golden Edinburgh atmosphere, the castle (which is made out of numerous stones, including old red sandstone) was bathed in an orange light, and cast an almost supernaturally red glow. I may paint a more realistic version at some point, but this is how I remember it hitting my eye.

This is the third painting in my Look Up! series, depicting point-of-view shots of majestic (and sometimes imposing) architecture. I hope you like the series so far!

30x30cm Original Oil on Canvas

Elgin Cathedral

Even after nearly 800 years, this Cathedral in Elgin still has a magnificent presence. The light filters in at such an amazing angle, I'm almost glad that there aren't any windows to get in the way.

This is the second painting in my Look Up! series.  I imagine you're getting the gist of it by now. :)

12"x16" Original Oil on Canvas

For Birds and Kings

 

Pardon that this picture was taken in the field. It was SO lovely out by King's College!

This is the first in a new series entitled "Look Up!"; if you don't know what it means yet, you will. 

10"x12" Original Oil on Canvas

Bonnier With Wear

Tyres have worn grooves into this unfurled road over years and years of travel, pressing the adjacent grass into a permanent reverent bow. The sun has bleached the wooden fence posts and the tall rushes have enveloped the long-opened gate. I wonder how many sunsets this golden hill has seen.

16"x12" Original Oil on Canvas

Scots Pine

Fresh off the easel, a painting dedicated to a beautiful windy day we experienced on a road trip right on the cusp of Autumn last year.

12"x16" Original Oil on Canvas

Fortress

Had to photograph this one on the easel before the light faded.. I love how Dunnottar Castle is protected because it is surrounded by water, and still, in some areas it appears as though the water is also protected by a womb of tall grassy cliffs.

What a wonderful place.

16"x12" Oil on Canvas

From the Castle

Tiny cubicle painting (small enough to be hung up on a thumb tack) of the spectacular view from Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven. These little guys make great gifts and great escapes on those days where you'd rather spend the day inside a painting than inside a cubicle!

Thank you guys for all your support; I wouldn't be doing this without you. I'm definitely hoping that I can send a few of these off so that I can continue making more!

10x10cm Oil on Canvas

Coo

An itsy bitsy cubicle painting (small enough to be hung from a thumb tack) homage to that happy little Highland Cow in Drumnadrochit.

10x10cm Oil on Canvas

Kyloe

Fell in love with this lone happy Highland Cow enjoying a perfect day in Drumnadrochit. There is something about that whole area that just sings.

10"x12" Oil on Canvas

You're Home Now

Not much that I care to say about this piece (it's deeply personal to me), suffice to say that I needed it. Welcome home.

12x16" Original Oil on Canvas

Perfumed by Furze

And now back to our regularly scheduled programme!

..Well, almost, anyway. I will be spending the rest of this month working different sizes than I did in January, oscillating between much smaller (10x10cm) to much larger, such as this 12x16 beast.

I very vividly remember taking an early, early train ride from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, and looking out the window to see these beautiful cows (I cannot not be 100% certain, but in my head they were best friends) chilling out and relaxing near this immense cliff covered in gorse flowers, leading all the way down to the water that looked downright purple in the semi-cloudiness. I don't know if you've ever smelled gorse (otherwise known as furze) before, but it's almost a cross between coconut and plumeria. If you see these little yellow flowers (growing on dark green prickly bushes), please don't hesitate to smell them; that scent is downright intoxicating!

12"x16" oil on canvas

Loch Laggan

Nothing helps doldrums quite like a cycle-break. I have a tendency to get caught up in cycles and general ennui this time of year, and this morning I felt that usual lethargy creeping in. Rather than bracing myself for a gloomy week lacking productivity and full of sleep imbalances, I'm attempting to nip it in the bud and counteract it as best as I know how. So naturally, I drank an utterly unnecessary amount of tea, picked a few colours that neutralise one another nicely (transparent oxide red and ultramarine blue) and experimented.

This week may end up being full of such experiments, at least until I can get back into my cheery regular routine. Apologies for the poor quality of the photo; the daylight was gone by the time I finished. I'll do my best to take a better one tomorrow and replace this one.

Mental health takes a fair amount of work sometimes, but it is always, *always* worth it.

12"x10" Oil on Canvas

Take a Deep Breath

Took a break today and painted a landscape. It's been a rather arduous few days and I needed to make myself a little retreat. Who wants to set up a picnic here with me?

12"x10" Oil on Canvas

What did I do this week, anyway?

What did I do this week, you ask?


Oh, a little of this...

Blue Lemonade

Little Palette Cleanser Demo (it looks much more green and orange in real life)

... A little of that...

Flow Drawing at the Aberdeen Wellbeing Centre

And even a little bit of this!

Oil Painting Fundamentals at the Rosemount Community Centre

So I may have been absent, but I've been just as busy as ever. New paintings will be coming soon! I hope to get 4 paintings done this week. Wish me luck!

Orange Orange Moon

So last night's moon was absolutely RIDICULOUS. Hubban and I decided to take the long way back (along the beach of the North Sea) after picking up a few groceries and things (finally got the cat a scratching post).. Turns out, the moon was both enormous and absurdly orange. It was reflected on the water so very clearly along the waves, and the ships out on the horizon almost looked like a little city. So tonight's fun little painting is an homage.

20x30cm oil on canvas