Stac Pollaidh

This is Stac Pollaidh, a very well-known mountain in Wester Ross.  It was a lovely bright breezy day when I was there last summer.  The single track winding road leads on to Achiltibuie and the beautiful Summer Isles.

Autumn Serenity

Loved painting the beautiful autumn colours and magical reflections.  The trees and undergrowth were a challenge, but I enjoyed every minute.  Many and various pastels on Pastelmat.

Highland Stream

Latest pic, pastels on Pastelmat, 16.5 x 12.5 inches

Smile

Couldn't resist this lovely little girl, Patti Patterson.  Thanks to Li Newton for the photo.  Pastels on pastelmat.

Cuillins Sunset

Another picture of the lovely Cuillins, this time at sunset.  The view from Elgol is truly awesome, and one I'll revisit at some stage.  Pastels on Pastelmat, 21x9.5 inches.  The picture is a bit dark, there is more detail in the distant mountains.

Sharbat Gula, pastel portrait

In the summer I took up my pastels again after experimenting on the wonderful new paper Pastelmat.  This paper is really marvellous, it solves all the problems that made me give up pastels years ago.  There is no texture to detract from the painting, and the paper grips the pastels enabling the build up of lots of layers, and none of it falls off.  So I treated myself to the Portrait set of Unison pastels, and this was my first experiment. This is the photo of the refugee Afghan girl by Steve McCurry, made famous in National Geographic magazine.   Steve has very kindly given me permission to upload this picture of my painting to share with my friends - thank you Steve!.   It isn't for sale, and copyrightof the photo remains with Steve.  You can see more of his wonderful photos at http://www.stevemccurry.com/.  I have his book of Portraits, if you can get a copy it is inspirational.
Unfortunately I'm not such a good photographer as Steve, and my photo of the painting is a little dark and has lost some of the detail in the hair, but it's there!  16x12 inches.
I have been using the Unison pastels and the Pastelmat paper quite a bit this summer, on portraits and landscapes, more coming soon!

Sad News

Going to be a break in the painting for a while, as my Mum died on Sunday.  Lots to do, funeral and things.  Guess the previous painting suits my mood.