Painting Scotland

recently i've been a bit nostalgic. it seems like everywhere i turn i am reminded of Scotland. last fall i traveled to Paris & Germany and even there I came upon a bagpiper playing on a bridge in Paris and men in kilts at a castle in Germany. this week a friend gave me a cd of a Scottish bagpipe band and I've watched "Braveheart" twice. the weather today made me think of Scotland...it was a bit damp and cool and had a musty smell in the air. it was brilliant! i guess you can say i miss Scotland.

you see...i used to live there. i lived in Glasgow for 9 months. in the big picture of life that's really not a long time...but it was long enough for me to know that I will always be going back. it's a place near and dear to my heart. in fact...if you're ever interested in reading more about all of that, visit my blog dedicated to my time in Scotland: http://www.streetsofglasgow.blogspot.com or my travel blog of my return visit: http://whatswhat-ukandireland2005.blogspot.com/

all of this Scottish nostalgia has made me think of the paintings that i've done of that beautiful land. i've painted so many i can't even count. but a few stand out as my favorites. so this post is about that...painting Scotland. 

"The Presence of the Future" 18x24 oil on canvas

Isle of Mull looking towards the Isle of Iona, Scotland

while living in Scotland i had the wonderful opportunity to visit some beautiful places in the Highlands and in the Hebrides Isles. i took lots of photos and would spend time painting while i lived in Glasgow. my paintings began to change from the ones i did after my first trip to Scotland. originally i tried to capture the romantic beauty of the "bonnie isle" but what transpired was a ruggedness & a wildness of what i came to know as the Scottish spirit...the kind we all learned about in "Braveheart". i got to set foot on some pretty historical battlegrounds and explore some pretty ancient sites. some of the paintings I've painted I did while I was living there. others i completed when i returned to the States. they speak of what continues to live deep in my heart for Scotland. as i know i will always be going back to Scotland...i know i will always be painting Scotland....like a "warrior poet"!

"History Maker" 22x28 oil on canvas

waterfall in the GlenCoe area of the highlands, Scotland

"Breakfast on the Beach" 11x14 oil on canvas

beach on the Isle of Tiree, Scotland

"He Says Come" 11x14 oil on canvas paper

the falls of Dochart, Scotland

"Can I Ascend?" 11x14 oil on canvas paper (and again 14x18 oil on canvas)

the GlenCoe area of the highlands, Scotland

"Breathe Again" 11x14 oil on canvas paper (and again 18x24 oil on canvas)

beach area on the Isle of Coll, Scotland

"Break These Chains" 18x24 oil on canvas

ancient broch on the Isle of Tiree, Scotland