Return Of Daylight

After months of running to and from work in the dark I was thrilled to see the first glimmers of sunrise as I reached Fort William one morning last week.
 I don't mind runnng in the dark as such - Running along in the pitch black (and often lashing rain and wind), hood up, music or radio on, head torch illuminating a small patch  of ground in front of you ( hopefully  enough to allow one to dodge deep puddles, slippy cow dung or cows themselves lying  on the track) is strangely comforting. One feels cocooned by the darkness.If there is a good programme on radio 4 I can be transpoted to another world, leaving my legs to dutifully trudge through the miles. Whereas one might think that running 10 miles in the dark and cold would be physically hard there can be a sense of sensory deprivation; the rain and the wind (muffled by ear phones, hat and hood) presenting little in the way of auditory stimulation, and the intense blackness of the night rendering anything but the patch of rain studded light from the head torch invisible. Sometimes,but rarely in cloudy wet Lochaber the sky is clear - then one is dazzled by the moon and the stars, a beautiful aerial display marred only by the light pollution from Fort William. More often ones surroundings are a uniform black.
But now all that is about to change ! The days are rapidly getting longer. Yesterday on the run to work I coud clearly see the Ben Nevis through the gloom . Soon there will be proper daylight and birdsong - time to ditch the head phones and enjoy the dawn chorus!
In addition to this we have been having some lovely crisp cold weather  recently .The top picture is from a photo I took on the road to Arisaig last week . Below that is another sketch of Ben Nevis fom Banavie

Indian Summer

We have been enjoying some great weather recently. In addition there have been some beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Last week I had to go to Arisaig in the evening and was fortunate to arrive there at sunset. The clear blue sky became tinged with yellow and orange which was  mirrored in the calm sea. On the horizon the islands began to fade in to the haze. It was sublime!
It is hard to convey the beauty of the area; The combination of the rocky coast, the sea and the islands of Eigg and Rum in the distance are unbeatable. I took lots of photographs but unfortunately didn't have time to do a sketch on the spot.

Painting of the view from Arisaig from a photo

Sketch of a similar view in the daytime

Sketch of the view from Ardgour looking up loch Leven  towards Glencoe

Evening view of Eigg and Rum

Eigg and Rum from Arisaig

Yesterday driving back from Morar the view of Eigg and Rum was stunning , did a very quick sketch because I couldn't find a good place to stop -eventually parking up on the verge .

Two pictures painted yesterday. The first a view of Loch Arkaig, the second a quick sketch of the Sound of Arisaig. The weather was typical of winter on the west coast. We awoke to some slushy snow and a bitterly cold wind.As the morning wore on the sun came out and it was actually quite warm but then heavy rain returned in the afternoon. Then when I was at Arisaig the calm returned and it became  a beautiful evening. What ever the weather the scenery is stunning. I feel extremely privileged to be able to live and work in what must be one of the most beautiful places in Britain. The temptation to stop and paint is sometimes overwhelming !