Eigg Series. No 1. Acrylic and ink on 5×5 inch wood (Sold)

wave detail

Welcome to the first of 50 paintings. (I’ll be posting a painting every day until the 29th of May)

Today’s painting is a view of the mountains of Rum from the shore at Laig Bay

Last week’s heavy weather extended all the way North and most of Eigg and the mountains of Rum were obscured in mist. Then in the evening when we arrived at Cuagach Bothy in Laig Bay, Askival, Hallival, Ainshval and Sgurr Nan Gillian emerged high up in the cloudy sky. (I love those epic-sounding names). It comes as something of a shock to me when mountains emerge from the mist, appearing higher up in the sky than expected after dwelling in the lowlands of Edinburgh!

I walked down to the vast stretch of Laig Bay’s silver-sanded beach and watched wave after wave approaching, the bay is so long that they appear to move in slow motion, each wave appearing sculpted, like bottle green glass.

This being the first in a series of 50 it’s a little tentatively painted, so I’m glad I have 50 paintings ahead of me, and two years to paint and tell the story of an island whose inhabitants work together to care for for the beauty of their environment. I won’t just be sharing a painting each day, I’ll introduce island dwellers, artists, musicians, writers, the island’s culture, history, geology, environment, and the story from past to present.

Here’s Cuagach bothy, basic but nonetheless idyllic!

Eigg, with red dot showing Laig Bay