Painting on the Edge

Ben Hope
Watercolour, 23 x 34 cm

Here is another painting from the Sutherland trip. This one was painted in front of the subject.

Ben Hope is the most northerly of Scotlands Munros. The Munros are mountains over 3,000 feet in height and some people, known as Munro-baggers, aim to climb all 284 of them.

The Munros

Ben Stack
Watercolour, 23 x 34 cm


I've been over to Sutherland for a couple of days to do some hill-walking, mainly to climb Foinaven. What an amazing landscape it is! The rocks are 3 billion years old and the area has been designated as a Geopark. I couldn't wait to do some paintings from the sketches I made as soon as I got back.

Foinaven is just out of view to the left of the painting. My route onto the mountain was up the rocky spur on the left. It was very steep and I was getting quite hot in the sun. I finally reached the summit ridge and the cloud immediately came down, completely blotting out the views. I waited for a while but it didn't look like clearing so I headed back down. No sooner had I reached the foot of the mountain than the cloud cleared! Oh well, at least I have an excuse to go back there.

North West Highlands Geopark

Showers in Strathmore
Watercolour, 23 x 34 cm

I nearly gave up on this one when the rain started and the paint was running down the paper. However, I looked at it again after the shower had passed and thought I might be able to rescue it. I painted over the worst affected parts of the sky and then carried on with the landscape below. The result is a bit rough, but I think it gives the impression of a damp day on the moors and I'm glad I carried on with it.

The Ring of Brodgar
Watercolour, 23 x 34 cm

The Ring of Brodgar stands at the centre of a Neolithic ritual landscape in the west Mainland of Orkney. The area is considered so important that it has been given the status of a World Heritage Site.

More information here

I love ancient sites like this. They have the same sense of timelessness that I find in mountains and wild landscapes. There is a feeling of countless generations of people coming and going and yet, through the ages, these stones have stood here virtually unchanged.

Moorland Colours
Watercolour, 17 x 25.5 cm


The colours of the countryside around here are wonderful at the moment. I painted this one evening, when the sun lit up the landscape after some heavy showers.