Cairngorm Prints for sale

I've just added two giclee prints to my etsy shop Lochaberart. They are very different pictures of essentially the same mountains. The first is a coloured pencil picture of the CairnToul / Devil's Point ridge in winter with the sun low in the sky. The second a watercolour focuses on Devil's Point with all but the lower slopes of Cairn Toul to the right of the picture. It is an area I love dearly. Many times I have done the complete circuit of the 4000 foot mountains on both sides of the Lairig Ghru. The bleak stony plateaus lend themselves to long distance running although the ascent of the Braeriach after Ben Macdui and Cairngorm would turn my muscles to jelly. Sitting here at home still suffering from a chest infection I long for those wild, windy uplands where the weather can change from benign to ferocious in minutes but the vistas are huge and majestic.Should the time come ( which it surely must) when I'm permanently physically unable to return to the tops, I will at least have a feast of memories; of days battling the elements , of incredible views, of sleeping under rocks and seeing dawn break over the peaks.
 I feel so privileged to have had those experiences.

The Ben

My chest has slightly improved since the weekend but I'm still not up to running  . Last night I used the car to get home and stopped off to sketch  Ben Nevis . It was a glorious evening and the mountains were simply stunning . I painted this from the car park of the local school - what a view for the children to have! A sketch does little to convey the grandeur of the scene or show the richness of the colours . In the evening sunlight the hues were changing from minute to minute as well. Still a sketch in my opinion is far superior to a photo as it necessitates connection and involvement with the scene, one has to really look, rather than just clicking a shutter passively.I have thousands of mountain photos on my computer. For speed and convenience a camera cannot be surpassed for recording beautiful views yet for  many of those pictures I would struggle to name the location yet alone the time and circumstance of the photo. With a sketch I can always remember the day and place and my mood when I executed it, even if that sketch was done 30 odd years ago. Today we are so tuned in to film and photos as conveying true reality that we don't realize what they miss out. How many times whilst running to work have I been overawed by the beauty of morning sunlight on the snow clad slopes of the Ben, whipped out my phone to snap the scene and been disappointed by the tiny sliver of light representing the mountain and dark  foreground devoid of detail. In reality on such an occasion the Ben explodes on your consciousness with stunning beauty, in the photo it is nondescript. In a painting you can attempt to express that impression of the scene and even if you lack the time or skill to do so you still have the memories of the attempt. Even a brief shoddy sketch actually records more information for the sketcher - by being a link to those impressions and memories- than the photo does.

The Highland Fling Race

On Friday, I took the train to Milngavie for the Highland Fling Race. Train journeys are great for surreptitious people sketching as the passengers often remain stationary for long periods. I did two quick watercolour sketches.

Unfortunately for the previous few days I had a mild sore throat. Now traditionally running a race with a sore throat has been an absolute no-no. However before most of the ultras I have ever done I have had a sore throat and have often felt ill before the start. I have come to believe that there must be a psychological element involved .So I was on the start line at 6 AM  on Saturday hoping that I would feel better once I started running.Within the first mile I felt really bad and resolved to drop out at Drymen - if I could get that far. I jogged slowly along feeling a bit down, but chatting to friends as they overtook  cheered me up. The Highland Fling is one of my favourite races; it is very well organised, has stunning and varied scenery, and is a really testing route.

 At Drymen (13miles in)  I decided to see if I could get over Conic Hill before dropping out. I was boosted to hear  a cuckoo in the scrubland before Conic; every time I have done the race I have have heard my first cuckoo  of the year just at that point. Conic Hill was a struggle. I had a hacking cough and felt breathless but I enjoyed the views from the top. I really should have dropped out at Balmaha but I had overtaken some people on the way down the hill  and persuaded myself I felt a bit better. So I continued on to Rowardennan. Despite my compromised lungs I overtook quite a few people. I realize now that it is actually very hard to pull out of an ultra . There is the support and goodwill of spectators and runners encouraging you to carry on, but also one expects to feel ill during an ultramarathon. Normally I feel  bad at Rowardennan whether on the Fling or the entire West Highland Way Race. Because I had gone much more slowly this time my legs were fine and despite the cough and breathlessness I actually felt better than normal. It was also hard to pull out when I was steadily overtaking people at that point.

Sketch from a photo that I did a few years ago showing Loch Lomondside

View of the route just before the Doune Bothy that I painted several years ago.

Beyond Rowardennan the route is quite technical; lots of rocks and tree roots to clamber over. It is incredibly beautiful, lush undergrowth and huge trees which grow out of the hillside at weird angles. There are rocks, caves ,waterfalls ,lots of wild garlic, feral goats and of course the ever present loch itself which seems go on for ever. Despite the fact that the main road is just the other side of Loch Lomond it is really a  remote area with next to no vehicular access apart from at Inversnaid. For me it is a chance  to relax , accept one cannot go fast and enjoy the scenery. Just beyond Rowardennan  I had  a tremendous runners high , I felt so happy that I was able to run  and for the first time felt I had a chance to finish .

 I stopped for a few seconds at Dario's post and looked back down the loch. Dario organised the West Highland Way Race for many years and was sorely missed after his untimely death on Lochnagar . Friends erected a West Highland Way  marker post in his memory at the end of the loch which was his favourite view on the whole route.

I enjoyed myself all the way to Beinglas Farm but at the checkpoint I had a coughing fit which went on and on. Afterwards I found that I couldn't run , as soon as I broke into a trot I became breathless, dizzy and had to stop to cough. Again I should have baled out at Beinglas but with the finish only twelve miles away I thought I could walk to the finish as long as I had enough time to catch the train. I was overtaken  by loads of people but had to accept that any finish was a bonus. It developed into a lovely evening so walking was no hardship.

I could only manage a bit of a jog over the finish line but was really happy to get there and to have completed the 53 miles. I'm not sure what my time was except that it was at least 31/2 hours slower than my best time! In retrospect it was a  mistake to run as I was risking my health and couldn't stop coughing and wheezing at the end. Once home I felt really rough and went straight to bed . However I really had a great time during the race and enjoyed almost all of it . J.K. very kindly gave us a lift up to the upper station- I think I would have really struggled to carry my kit up the hill.

Hills beyond Roy Bridge

Back in Lochaber. After last nights' rain it turned in to a fine day.I went for a jog in the evening. The shadows were lengthening and the golden light  accentuated the colours of the hills. I stopped to do this watercolour sketch but then had the normal problem of the paint taking forever to dry, in the end I ran holding my sketchbook open to prevent smudging.

Woodland Gate

I've added another print to my etsy shop Lochaberart. It is one of my favourite 'paintings' executed in coloured pencil of a woodland gate. It is copied from a photo I took in Strathdon several years ago. It was early summer and the sun was shining through the new leaves creating dappled shadows on the leaf litter.

Holiday at Alnmouth

We have just spent a relaxing few days holiday on the Northumbrian Coast .We spent most of days on the beach walking or running, and the evenings reading. I'm enjoying Mark Hines' book on the 430 mile ultramarathon he did in the Yukon ( at least I'm hoping he did it - I haven't got to the end of the book yet) I did quite a few sketches of varying quality.

Above  two views from our rented house at Alnmouth.

Craster harbour from the Jolly Fisherman pub.

On Monday we jogged  along the coast to Craster. Spring was much further advanced in England compared to home . The hawthorn was in bloom , cowslips and primroses were in abundance, we also saw sand martins, we didn't hear any cuckoos though .We had lunch in the Jolly Fisherman a wonderful pub overlooking the harbour . The food was excellent .Adjacent to the pub a smokery  produces delicious kippers  After lunch we continued to Dunstanburgh Castle an atmospheric ruin on a promontory , and then ran back to Alnmouth. It was a lovely day and an easy way to cover 18-20 miles.

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My sister's partner has a spaniel that loved the beach and came back each day wet through and covered in  sand

'Hub' worn out after a long day chasing balls on the beach.

The weather was great except for late Tuesday and early Wednesday when a dense fog enveloped the beach

The coast on Tuesday morning with the tide in.

On Tuesday we went in to Alnwick the nearest town. There was an impressive castle and lots of old buildings, including this archway which is very picturesque but not conducive

to efficient traffic flow . I found a secondhand bookshop and bought far too many books.

Above the main street at Almouth

Oak tree at Spean

Very rough sketch of an oak near Spean Bridge - not my best effort. I would really like to do a proper study of some of these magnificent trees - the more you look the more detail and different colours you see . There were many more greens than browns in the bark. Maybe the most important aspect of sketching is that it forces you to look and appreciate the world rather than  the end result which is inevitably a poor representation of reality.It's the process that's important , the picture is just an aide memoir of the atmosphere and feeling of the day. Below a quick sketch of the Ben from Torlundy with the summit wearing its normal cap of cloud.

Spring day on the West Highland Way

Tuesday was a complete contrast to Sunday - warm and sunny . I ran along the West Highland Way almost as far  as Kinlochleven and back. The above is Ben Nevis from the forest . Below is the dramatic profile of Stob Ban from the Lairig Mor

On Sunday I had planned to go for a really long run but the weather was appalling - driving rain strong winds and sleet. I ran through the Lairig Leagach . I stopped at the bothy there and did this sketch from the inside- the relentless rain precluded painting outside. At the start the hill was just a grey blob, by the the time  I left every rock was visible, this sketch shows it half way  in between. Many painters worry about drying time  i.e the paint drying too quickly preventing  further manipulation of the washes. Here in Scotland I have the opposite problem - it is often too damp and the paint takes forever to dry. I had to run up and down outside the bothy trying to keep warm whilst the picture slowly dried. I continued as far as the Meanach bothy and then returned the  way I had come.

Watercolour painting from a photo of Creag Ghuanach near Loch Treig, now for sale from my Etsy shop Lochaberart.

By coincidence  James Gurney has posted a link today on his superb Gurney Journey blog to a video of Joseph Zbukvic Alvaro Castagnet and Herman Pekel ( another excellent watercolourist) painting a large picture together. Despite a fair bit of slapstick they produced an amazing picture.

Sketch of the hills to north of the Strontian road.

Above some pictures that I've been working on this week they are loosely based on photos. They were  fun to do and good practice in trying out different techniques and compositions. I hope to have some of them for sale in my Etsy shop Lochaberart soon.
This morning whilst posting this I have been watching  some watercolour painting DVDs and am struck by the vastly different approaches there are to the medium.Watercolour painting seems to have as many different styles as there are artists.I recently purchased one of Susan Harrison-Tustain's  DVDs. Her paintings are absolutely exquisite. She painstakingly builds up multiple glazes of paint in a very  controlled manner.She will place two washes of pure water before even using any pigment (her priming method) Then comes a yellow underwash then glaze after glaze. The result is pictures that glow with soft beauty. On the other hand artists such as Alvaro Castagnet pile on the colours with gay abandon letting wash flow into wash yet somehow managing to create a coherent  picture at the end. I love the enthusiasm and exuberance of this guy! His obvious love of the physical act of painting is a real inspiration. Joseph Zbukvic is another master who can create magic out of loose washes in dull greys with apparently accidental snippets of white paper bringing sparkle to the picture. These last two let the paint mix on the paper and rarely go back to correct adjust a wash. David Curtis does an underwash then places loose variegated washes on top , he is probably my favourite  contemporary watercolour landcape artist. He does a lot of painting en plein air and I'm very envious of his skill. Even having studied several of his DVDs I can't understand how he produces such stunning pictures.Also he pays more attention to reality than Joseph Zbukvic and Alvaro Castagnet. However if I could paint nearly as well as any of these people I would be a happy man .

On Tuesday I had a day off and ran into town via Allt a' Mhuilinn and the CIC hut. I stopped to do a watercolour sketch of the valley and the cliffs of the north face of the Ben. It was quite cold so I didn't have long before my hands became to numb to paint. After that I traversed around on the path to the Half Way Lochan and then went up beyond the Red Burn to the zigzags . I was tempted to go to the top of the Ben but I wasn't well equipped and I  had things to do in town . The views below the cloud base were amazing as ever . I'm so lucky to live in such a breathtaking area , even a simple trip to town can take in demanding and dramatic mountain routes! Unfortunately my poor old knees were complaining on the descent on the tourist path so needless to say afterwards I jogged home through the forest.

Spring has really come on apace this last week. The primroses are in flower and the first leaves have appeared on some of the trees especially hawthorn , ash and some of the younger birches . The older birches still have their beautiful reddish brown hues which seem to become more intense before the leaves come out. The weather has been the usual mix of heavy rain , light rain and the occasional burst of sunshine ! I was near Lochaline on Monday and Thursday ,overlooking the Sound of Mull - what a stunning place. Did a quick sketch in my moleskine  .

In the 70's and 80's I used to read a comic called Look and Learn . It was a wonderful mix of factual articles and fantasy serials including the superlative Trigan Empire illustrated for a while by Oliver Frey. I remember reading a series about cowboy artists in particular Remington and Russell Apparently Russell kept his paints and brushes in an old sock in his saddlebag whilst out riding on the range. As a an impressionable young boy I was inspired to take my paints out in to the Essex countryside to paint from life. Both my sister and I did a lot of art - mainly colouring in competitions  which although leaving little scope for imagination, were a useful source of pocket money. We rarely tried painting from life. I got together some acrylics and some brushes and put them in a sock and went in search of a subject.
 I selected a copse a few miles from home and excitedly got my paints out . To my dismay I found I had lost my brushes. They had slipped through the weave of the sock! With nothing to paint with I trudged back dejectedly

 . At home I was in deep trouble for my foolishness, as brushes were deemed very expensive . Grown ups did not seem to realize the importance of the sock-  of emulating  my heroes from  the pages of Look and Learn.
 I never took my paints out again- at least until very recently. I remembered this sorry little tale as I was getting my paints out to paint the above picture and this time I hadn't lost my brushes!
The view is of Aonach Mor with a great wave of cloud rolling over the summit.

View of the famous Parallel Roads  in Glen Roy, sketched this week. These linear 'roads' puzzled 19th century scientists . Darwin thought that they might have been the coastline when sea levels were higher, but no  seashells were found.Eventually it was postulated that they  were left by the shoreline of inland lakes formed when the valley was dammed by a glacier.Thus they were the first concrete evidence of the Ice Age and glaciation.Today Glen Roy is a beautiful valley stretching north from Roybridge.

Melantee early yesterday morning.

Melantee from the opposite direction  in the evening, half obscured by cloud.

Melantee and Ben Nevis this morning from Camaghael. These last three all done in my moleskine watercolour sketchbook.

On Monday, I had to go to Kilchoan. In contrast to Sunday that had been cold and dull it was a glorious Spring day. Ardnamurchan is always beautiful but on this occasion it was heavenly , all the weeks and months of rain were forgotten. This is a quick sketch of the bay beyond Glenborrodale. At this point the landscape changes dramatically from oak woodlands to open pasture moor and rock. My sketch sadly does little justice to the scale and drama of the view. The Ardnamurchan peninsular is the most westerly point on mainland Britain( most British people would wrongly assume that Cornwall is further west). It's a long drive from Fort William on winding, often single track roads, but my oh my is it worth it!
This week the clocks changed and I noticed the first green leaves breaking out on hawthorn trees and the daffodils are in bloom,spring is here at last!

Sketch of the hills whilst waiting for the Corran ferry .

Quick sketch whilst waiting for the train to town.