St Andrew's Day.....

O Scotia! my dear, my native soil,

For whom my warmest wish to heaven is sent;

Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toil

Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content'

~Robert Burns~

Thistle....

Sunshine on a cold wet day

Was having a tidy and found an old disc full off photos. They were taken with my old Samsung point and shoot. Not as good as my Canon but this shot brought a bit off sunshine on a cold wet day.
Hope it brings some sunshine into your day.

Making up the four....

"End of The Day" Acrylic 6x6 £150- made up the four that I took to Edinburgh today. The Christmas exhibtion opens at the Torrance Gallery next Saturday and runs through till the 14th January. Edinburgh was basked in sunshine but with a bitter cold wind, shops were starting to look festive. Can't think where the year has gone!
Thanks for looking in.....I'll be back soon.

Kiss Kiss

"Sail Past" Acrylic 6x6 off to Edinburgh

"Sail Past" Acrylic 6x6 £150- is one of four heading to Edinburgh for the Torrance Gallery's Christmas Show. Been catching up with paperwork and priming some boards today, not my favourite past time but has to be done. Might manage some scibbling with a pencil later. It is bitter cold outside today with high winds and heavy showers, winter is biting. Been a sad couple of days as my Aunt Margaret died early Wednesday morning. Have been expecting it as she had been poorly this past fornight but it still knocks you sideways. She had celebrated her 90th birthday this year so had a good life. Tuesday's will seem odd without chatting to her on the phone.
I think a mug of hot chocolate is just what the doctor ordered and a biccy too. Stay warm where ever you are and have a great weekend.

"Fading Light" Acrylic 6x8

"Fading Light" Acrylic 6x8 £190- unframed from the studio. Not even a hint of snow here at the moment this is inspired by images I took last year. I love the winter skies most especially as the day closes down. I loved to stand in the yard looking over the fields watching the light fade and the lights from the town starting to sparkle. Now that could be an idea for another painting....smile. I miss tucking Tara in for the night at this time of year. Her waiting for me at the gate, her breath in the air. The soft melodic sound of her eating and the sweet smell of hay.
Thanks for looking in.......

Happy Thanksgiving..........

Met this impressive ram yesterday along with a few of his family. Quite a handsome fella don't you think!

Wishing all my friends across the Pond a wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow....enjoy!

For each new morning with it's light

For rest and shelter of the night

For health and food, for love and friends

For everything thy goodness sends

~Ralph Waldo Emmerson~

"Gold in the Snow" is off too Edinburgh........

"Gold in the Snow" Acrylic 6x8 £225 is one of four paintings heading for the Torrance Gallery's Christmas Exhibition. It opens in Edinburgh on 3rd December and runs through till 14th January 2012. All these festive paintings and photos are helping to make it feel a little more like Christmas. The weather we've been having lately is not the norm for this time of year a staggering 11 - 15C. No doubt it's just lulling us into a sense of security and the snow shovels will be coming out of storage soon.

Keep warm where ever you are :)

"The countenance is the portrait of the soul,and the eyes mark it's intentions" ~ Cicero

Scary.....

......just 33 days to Christmas!

A brand new ending........

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." ~Anon

I like the above quote it sums up just how I've been feeling about my blog of late. I've chopped and changed it quite a bit in the short time I've been blogging, not too mention adding more blogs along the way. In the process it's lost it's way....or I've lost mine. So starting from now it'll be what it was always intended to be (and was at the beginning) one blog, about me sharing my art, my photos and my thoughts....

The above painting "Winter's Chill" Acrylic 6x8 £225- is one of four paintings that will be in the Torrance Gallery's Christmas Exhibition running from 3rd December - 14th January 2012. Edinburgh is a beautiful city come Christmas time and a great place to do your Christmas shopping while taking in the many festive gallery shows.......you can take my word for it.
Thanks for dropping by :)



From the archives........"The Big Freeze" Acrylic 6x8 sold

"To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring" ~ George Santayana

Your silent tents of green

We deck with fragrant flowers;

Yours has the suffering been;

The memory shall be ours

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



"End of the Day" Acrylic 6x6

"End of the Day"
Acrylic 6x6 (on board)
Sold

I've been beating my head off a brick wall this morning ( I guess that's why I now have a hellish headache) trying to get the photo  match the painting....to no avail. The painting has a lovely soft glow which I just can't achieve on here. You will just have to take my word for it when I say the painting is much better up close and personal than on here.....smile.
Thanks for looking in.....

"Honey" Acrylic 6x6

"Honey"

Acrylic 6x6 (on board)

£80- unframed

**Wee Moo Collection*

Available contact me.

Managed to get the next member of the wee herd finished and I'm happy with the outcome. Was a few times in the process that I thought I was going to lose her lovely soft features. But, think I've pulled it off, her lovely dark eyes under those long lashes are the clincher.

Thanks as always for popping in.......

P.S Just realised I forgot her ear tags......hope DEFRA aren't looking in lol.

FROM THE LENS..........

"There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you. In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches, when you can savor belonging to yourself" ~ Ruth Stout

November

 "November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."- Elizabeth Coatsworth 

Aberfeldy Christmas Exhibition opens 5th November.......

I hate to say it but Christmas will soon be apon us. And to prove it the Aberfeldy Gallery opens their Christmas Exhibition this coming Saturday 5th November. Situated in a beautiful part of Perthshire you could combine a visit to the gallery while taking in the stunning views still glowing with autumn colours. I'm delighted to be exhibiting the foursome below, rubbing shoulders with some top Scottish artists. I believe the exhibtiion goes live on the gallery's website from tomorrow. 

"Silver Sands" Acrylic 6x6 £150-

"The Burn" Acrylic 6x6 £150- Sold

"Hurry Home" Acrylic 6x6 £150-

"After The Rain" Acrylic 6x6 £150-

Thanks as always for looking in........

"Honey" a work in progress

" Honey" above is next to join the herd in the Wee Moo Collection. She's still a work in progress at the moment but I'm already loving her sweet face. Honey is one of the cows that lived next door to Tara and I've seen her grow  from a tiny wee calf to being a Mum herself this year. Her wee calf might just join the Moo Collection later or maybe even get a spot of his own as a larger piece.