Eigg Series No. 36. Acrylic on 5×5″ wood

Eigg Series No. 37. Acrylic on 5×5″ wood

Today’s paintings; a view of Eigg’s Sgurr from the shore and a sunny view of the cliffs of Cleadale

I can’t quite believe I’m nearly at Number 40. – I’m going to miss this daily painting after the 29^th, which is actually Thursday next week!

As mentioned there are two exhibitions coming up, these are;

June 22st to July 26^th, Gallery Ten, Stafford Street, Edinburgh (The West Coast and Beyond – group exhibition)

July 17^th to July 23^rd, Whitespace Gallery, 25 Howe Street, Edinburgh. ( Eigg Island – solo exhibition, Rose Strang)

You are all of course most welcome to attend the previews. Though I enjoy the process of blogging, there’s no substitute for paintings in situ, and there’s always that nerve-wracking moment when you see your work installed in a public space so I feel I’m psyching myself up for the next stage now..

For the first exhibition at Gallery Ten in Stafford Street it’s a mixed show. I’ll be creating two 10×10” paintings on wood and around four at 5×5”. It’s a lovely gallery with an excellent collection of rare contemporary prints, ceramics and paintings.

For the Whitespace (another lovely space – a Georgian former house in the New Town) I’m working on two 40x 30 inch canvases and around four canvases at 20×15”. It’s going to be a challenge after a month of working at 5×5, but I’ve bought the canvases and they’re sitting in my studio saying ‘paint me’ so there’s no going back!

One thing is for sure though, these small paintings of Eigg have been a delight to paint, and the techniques and views I’ve explored here will definitely be developed onto canvas.

I’ll be posting full details and links to exhibitions of exhibitions with maps and directions in the next week or so

Eigg Series No. 33. Acrylic on 5×5″ wood

Sparkling effects on water – from the ferry boat.

I’m using a mixture of glue and salt for texture, which makes highlights stand out, also the salt has a subtle glitter which you can’t see from the photo.

I haven’t had time for two paintings today. Starting to get organised for upcoming exhibitions and am off to look for some canvases today..

I watched the documentary series ‘The Story of Women and Art’ last night. Excellent and very informative. Here’s the first episode on BBC Iplayer if you didn’t catch it..

The Story of Women in Art

Eigg Series No. 26. Ink and acrylic on 5×5″ wood

Land emerging from low-lying clouds on Laig Bay – a gentle return to the 50 paintings series after my brief holiday! There’s always the slight worry that after a break it’ll be hard to focus but I find that I’m welcoming the peace and calm of familiar routine

I was in London to see a Scott Matthews gig, then in Birmingham where I caught up with friends (I lived in Birmingham for a couple of years while working as an arts curator for the NHS). It’s a somewhat maligned city but with over 8000 acres of parks it’s actually one of the UK’s greenest cities

I used to love the walk to and from work through the parks of Moseley, Edgebaston and Selly Oak (it was the work aspect in the middle that I struggled with – the NHS management division didn’t turn out to be the ideal climate for a creative mind!)

So when I return I always visit Canonhill Park to reconnect with its geese, squirrels and trees, and just for today I thought I’d post a few photos taken over the years..

(In the next week I’ll be posting about Eigg’s Eco Centre and also talking to Camille Dressler, one of Eigg’s historians. I’m also hoping she has some archival photos of Eigg’s past inhabitants to share with us)