Tag Archives: rose strang art

‘When you write to the light..’

I’m very pleased to introduce you to Jennifer L William’s response in poetry to one of my recent Lindisfarne paintings.

In this video she recites a poem in response to ‘Stormy Sky, Lindisfarne’..

It always feels magical to me when Jennifer plucks poetic inspiration from a painting, and draws viewers in to the meaning behind the image.

This is Jennifer’s personal response, but as with previous poems it gets to the heart of what I wanted to paint and communicate. In an earlier blog I spoke about the process of visiting an island like Eigg or Lindisfarne, as a painter. There’s a wish to be more present, or to see beyond the obvious, I described it in an earlier post as peeling back layers.

Jennifer’s poem takes this further, and expresses in words what I try to explore in paint. This line from her poem; When you write to the light, you write beyond the grave expresses to me the idea that we can only perceive with our limited human senses, and in the process of responding as a painter, or poet, you hope to see beyond your own thoughts, beyond a mirror.

The final line; you are the light could be read in a spiritual sense, or in the sense that we are the light, we make landscape what it is, or project our thoughts on to it. It makes me think of Shelley’s poem Mont Blanc;

..and what were thou, and earth, and stars and sea, if to the human mind’s imaginings, silence and solitude were vacancy?

Contemplating Jennifer’s poem has been a pleasure (especially on these dark winter evenings!). Tomorrow I’ll post a second poem and video, in response to the recent painting ‘Castle Point, Lindisfarne’.

Jennifer L William’s poetry can be viewed on this website: http://jlwilliamspoetry.co.uk/

Sea and Sky, Lindisfarne

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These are my latest paintings of Lindisfarne as part of the new series for exhibition at the Marchmont Gallery on the 22nd November

It’s an entirely different light and feel to the Eigg, or West Coast landscape – more easily described through painting than words, unless you’re a writer! The first painting, Stormy Sky, Lindisfarne looks east towards a small island, which you can walk to at low tide, where St Cuthbert is said to have meditated.

I sat on the shore watching the sky change from silver to black then blue, flocks of birds rising in clouds then speeding along the wave tops. The changes in light were fascinating – from moodily ominous to gentle, within seconds.

The second painting, Waves from Castle Point, Lindisfarne looks directly south across the sea from near Lindisfarne Castle. The light was beginning to fade slightly, with the low October sun lighting up steely blue waves, which became more choppy as stronger winds began to pick up. This was not much more than half an hour before dark, but there was still enough sunlight to cast rays through the waves, revealing glints of emerald-green

I’d first visited the island in June last year, when the light was entirely different- far softer and less changeable – visiting in October was ideal for painting. I wondered how those early saints, Aidan, Hilda and Cuthbert, might have felt, looking across to a mainland perpetually in upheaval – battles, new religions, new people fighting for territory – everything must have seemed in flux. Northumbria rarely saw peace from the 7th and right up until the 19th century.

Everything was changing too for the old country religions still practiced by ordinary people, and the fact that we know very little about them tells a story in itself, although Aidan, Hilda and Cuthbert practiced Celtic-influenced Christianity – adapted to old religions and ways of thinking, more in tune with the landscape and its cycles.

5 Paintings – September Eigg Series

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Below are five paintings which I began on Eigg on the 8th September (I’ve added a little information below each painting). This small series was part of a short trip to Eigg, to research ideas and to chat to people about the exhibition planned for next year at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in March.

They were painted in situ at Laig Bay on the west coast of Eigg, a beautiful day without rain. Later on it was slightly chilly so we lit a fire (some fire ash and sand was added here and there to the sketches!).

A herd of cattle grazed on the sand, looking slightly incongruous with the epic backdrop of the mountains of Rum behind, as was cello-playing by composer Atzi Muramatsu who accompanied me to the island – how often do you have a cello accompaniment at the beach?! (If funding goes ahead for next year’s project I’ll be able to commission Atzi and poet Jennifer L Williams to create new work in response to Eigg. You can read more about their work Here)

The paintings below are all available to buy as originals, or as prints so let me know if you’d like more information about them by emailing rose.strang@gmail.com

You can read about the four day trip, walks across the island, meeting poets, artists, singers and geologists on these previous posts –

Day two on Eigg Day three on Eigg September Series 1

September Series 2 September Series 3

'September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 1' Ink and varnish on 5x5" wood

‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 1’ Ink and varnish on 5×5″ wood. ‘No 1’. This is a sketch and colour wash of St Donan’s church in the vallery of Cleadale on the west coast of Eigg. It’s 100 years old and was recently refurbished. You can read more about the church –Here

'September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 2' Ink and varnish on 5x5 wood"

‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 2’ Ink and varnish on 5×5 wood”. This is a sketch and colour wash of ‘The Leader’, a sailing boat which recently re created the 1844 trip by geologist Hugh Miller on ‘The Betsey’. You can read more about the trip Here and on my previous posts (listed at the top of this post)

'September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 3' Ink and varnish on 5x5 wood"

‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 3’ Ink and varnish on 5×5 wood”. A sketch of Laig Bay with the mountains of Rum, one of Eigg’s most captivating views. (This small series of paintings was sketched at Laig Bay). You can read more about that Here

'September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 4' Ink and varnish on 5x5 wood"

‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 4’ Ink and varnish on 5×5 wood”. Sketch and colour wash of ‘The Leader’, a sailing boat which recently re created the 1844 trip by geologist Hugh Miller on ‘The Betsey’. You can read more about the trip Here

'September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 5' Ink and varnish on 5x5 wood"

‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 5’ Ink and varnish on 5×5 wood”. Slightly more detailed sketch and colour wash of ‘The Leader’, a sailing boat which recently re created the 1844 trip by geologist Hugh Miller on ‘The Betsey’. You can read more about the trip Here

September Eigg Series 3

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Today’s sketch is of the lovely sailing boat called The Leader which sailed around Eigg while I was there. To be more accurate (I’m no boat expert) it’s described on the website as a gaff-rigged ketch – built in Brixham, Devon in 1892.

Apologies for the delay in posting this blog. I’d aimed to post every day but events have a way of taking over don’t they?!

At the moment I’m applying for crowd funding from Ideas Tap for next year’s Eigg exhibition and awaiting results from my application to Creative Scotland, but like everyone else in Scotland I’m also steeped in referendum news. It’s getting quite fraught in the run up before the Scottish referendum results on Friday, and all social media is teeming with posts, campaigns and opinions.

I’ll be attending a referendum results party as part of an exhibition at Edinburgh University’s Talbot Rice gallery, where a mix of yes and no voters will watch results between 11pm to 6am, at which time. Depending on the result, 12 confetti guns will explode, or not!

It’s called ‘After the revolution, who will clear up the mess’. And I think it’s a great way to be with fellow voters, whether they’re yes or no, so we can all give each other a hug on Friday morning. It’s going to be emotional, I can tell!

I think I can date my decision to vote Yes to independence from April this year, when I visited Eigg and saw for myself how autonomy benefits communities. Without this, Eigg would never be in the position it’s in now, with young people moving back to the island because there are more opportunities, and the 24 hour renewable energy system. Previous to the community buy-out in 1998, the community of Eigg wouldn’t have had decision-making powers on energy, or jobs or houses. (You can read about how it happened Here )

This September visit to Eigg was very illuminating as there were more events and people to meet. Chatting to people there I learned that there are plans to fund a documentary about the island, but previous filmmakers have wanted to somewhat romantically portray this as wild island with indigenous Scots working away in candle-lit bothys! But the reality is an island of Scottish, English and people from other countries who want to see progression, whilst also protecting their way of life and landscape. It’s no doubt complicated at times, but ultimately collaborative because the islanders are equal to one another in terms of ownership of the island.

I’ll be working on more paintings over the next few weeks, and updating on news about next year’s exhibition at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. In the meantime, here are a few more photos from my recent trip..

September Eigg Series 2

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‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 1’ Ink and varnish on 5×5″ wood

'September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 3' Ink and varnish on 5x5"

‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 3’ Ink and varnish on 5×5″

Two paintings in ink – a church in Cleadale and Laig Bay with the mountains of Rum.

The sea has always been a huge inspiration for music and song around the world – symbolic as it is of connections, arriving and leave-taking, danger and sustenance. I’ve always enjoyed hearing Gaelic songs about the sea because to me the sound of Gaelic has an elemental quality that’s enhanced through song.

As mentioned in yesterday’s Eigg blog my trip to Eigg happened to coincide with a re-creation of geologist Hugh Miller’s trip around the isles on a ship called the Betsey. The crew on the recreated version includes geologists, artists, scientists and musicians, who decided to hold a traditional ceilidh last Tuesday at the Glebe Barn on Eigg (a yoga retreat situated near the Pier Bay). I went along to listen to poetry readings by founder of the Scottish Centre of Geopoetics Norman Bissell and story-telling by the wonderful Essie Stewart. I also enjoyed a beautiful rendition of a Gaelic song about seals by Kate Langhorne; a 25 year old graduate of Anthropology and Gaelic studies from Glasgow.

All this under Tuesday’s beautiful full moon! Luckily, despite several glasses of wine, I had the sense to record both the song and the moonlight! (Kate has promised to send the lyrics for the song on her return to Glasgow):

A curious seal spotted on the north coast of Eigg..

And I defy anyone not to feel awestruck by the sight of a real, live Minke Whale emerging from the deep sea. This was on my return ferry journey. Absolutely stunning. The ferry stopped so we could all watch the whale, meaning I caught my train with just seconds to spare, absolutely worth the hectic rush!

September Eigg Series

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'September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 2' Ink and varnish on 5x5"

‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 2’ Ink and varnish on 5×5″

'September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 4' Ink and varnish on 5x5"

‘September 2014 Eigg Series. No. 4’ Ink and varnish on 5×5″

I’m back in Edinburgh now, missing the fresh air and various happenings on Eigg. As mentioned in previous blogs (Day Two and Day Three on Eigg) it was somewhat tricky uploading and blogging from my phone with an intermittent connection, but I also really felt I couldn’t do justice to my trip. It’s been a fascinating and stimulating time – there was very much a sense of contrast with my earlier trip in April – more people, more vegetation, much more going on..

I’ll be posting more paintings in the next few days, also some lovely footage of Gaelic singing by moonlight, among other videos.

The two paintings above were made in Laig Bay on Monday. A slightly surreal day, with a herd of cattle roaming the beach against the backdrop of the mountains of Rum, also Atzi Muramatsu playing cello. It got slightly windy so I built a fire, which all added to the idyllic outdoor studio setting. I was painting in black ink and have never in all my time as an artist managed to do so without the resulting black ink drenched hands! Afterwards we dropped in to say hello to Lucy Conway after our creative beach session (Lucy runs Eigg Box, which I wrote about in my April Eigg blog Painting No. 5 )

The sketches/paintings above are of a ship called the Leader which is cruising around the inner Hebrides with geologists, writers artists and musicians on board. The trip re-creates the journey made by geologist Hugh Miller in the summer of 1844. Among other things Hugh Miller discovered the bones of a Plesiosaurs on the north coast of Eigg.

I had no idea this fascinating historical journey coincided with my trip, and I discovered more when we were invited on to the geology day trip around the island on Sunday. Eigg is a truly extraordinary island from a geologist’s perspective, well, from any perspective, and our Sunday walk was enhanced with stories by Prof John Hudson, an expert on the geology of the small isles , also stories about past inhabitants by local historian Camille Dressler (interviewed in April’s Eigg blog in ‘Paintings No. 38 and 39’ )

As John Hudson mentioned during the geology trip on Sunday – Eigg’s landscape changes radically, evoking epic Norse sagas, when you climb out of Cleadale and over into the north end of Eigg.

In the photos below you can see the dramatic change from the gentle valley and sandy beaches of Cleadale to the dramatic rocky coastlines of the North end of Eigg…

Eigg Island Exhibition – Artworks

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These are all the artworks to be included in the Whitespace exhibition starting this Friday

(The Preview is this Friday at 6 – 9pm at Whitespace, 25 Howe Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6TF. The exhibition then runs daily from Saturday 19th July to Wednesday 23rd July, 10:30 to 5pm)

If you have any questions about the paintings (or prints of these) please email me at rose.strang@gmail.com

'Waves in the Rain, Singing Sands Bay'. Acrylic and ink on 40x30" canvas

‘Waves in the Rain, Singing Sands Bay’. Acrylic and ink on 40×30″ canvas

'Mountains of Rum from Laig Bay'. Acrylic on 40x30" canvas

‘Mountains of Rum from Laig Bay’. Acrylic on 40×30″ canvas

'Cliffs of Cleadale'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘Cliffs of Cleadale’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

'Cliffs of Cleadale 2'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘Cliffs of Cleadale 2’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

'Sphagnum Moss'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘Sphagnum Moss’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

'Wave, Singing Sand Bay'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘Wave, Singing Sand Bay’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

'Moonlight on Eigg'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘Moonlight on Eigg’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

'Boat in Pier Harbour 1'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘Boat in Pier Harbour 1’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

'Boat in Pier Harbour 2'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘Boat in Pier Harbour 2’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

'Seagull, Eigg Island'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘Seagull, Eigg Island’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

‘Lighthouse’. Acrylic on 10×10″ wood

'Waves from Singing Sands Bay'. Acrylic and sand on 5x5" wood

‘Waves from Singing Sands Bay’. Acrylic and sand on 5×5″ wood

'Eigg Series No. 49'. Acrylic on 5x5" wood

‘Eigg Series No. 49’. Acrylic on 5×5″ wood

‘Boat’. Acrylic on 5×5″ wood

'Eigg Series No. 8'. Ink and acrylic on 5x5" wood

‘Eigg Series No. 8’. Ink and acrylic on 5×5″ wood

Green glass slow-motion waves

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These are most of the latest works for the Whitespace exhibition this Friday, just two more to go! I’ve made quite a few changes to ‘Rum from Laig Bay’ as it just didn’t capture the strange bottle-green slow-motion waves I was so fascinated by. This version seems closer to it..

(More info about the exhibition/times/dates Here )

‘Mountains of Rum from Laig Bay’. Acrylic on 40×30″ canvas

'Waves in the Rain, Singing Sands Bay'. Acrylic on 40x30" canvas

‘Waves in the Rain, Singing Sands Bay’. Acrylic on 40×30″ canvas

‘Cliffs of Cleadale’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

‘Cliffs of Cleadale 2’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

‘Wave, Singing Sand Bay’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

‘Moonlight on Eigg’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

‘Boat in Pier Harbour 1’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

‘Seagull, Eigg Island’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

WEST; the west coast and beyond

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I really enjoyed the Gallery Ten exhibition ‘WEST the west coast and beyond’ today. Beautifully curated by gallery owner Paul Musgrave – I thought the pieces went very well together.