Tag Archives: seascapes

Idyllic

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Adam and I painting on the beach. Photo by Euan Ferguson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I felt really lucky last week to be painting in a remote and beautiful part of the west coast with three lovely people – Donald (who organised staying at the cottage, thank you!) Adam and Euan.

Our cottage was 40 minutes walk from any roads, on the Applecross Peninsula, which has I think the most stunning views of the Cuillin in Scotland.

Also no TV, and internet connection only findable if you walked up a little hill outside the cottage. The cottage itself hasn’t been much changed since the 30s, and as you can see in photos below, the walls are festooned with art from visitors over the years (one of them was a painting I made there about ten years ago, which someone had kindly put in a clip frame!)

We all painted or took photos, so I’m treating readers of this post to a few of these, below.

I was busy painting for an upcoming exhibition in October for The Lime Tree An Ealdhain Gallery in Fortwilliam. (I’ll post more details on that soon, but in the meantime you can view the paintings in progress on this link – https://rosestrangartworks.com/gallery/ )

It was really special to spend time with folks in such a beautiful place – the lack of distractions from TV and internet made for some highly entertaining evenings, cooking, painting, listening to music, watching sheep in the garden, but mostly interesting (at times insanely ridiculous!) conversation.

Thank you Adam, Donald and Euan, for one of the loveliest holidays I’ve ever experienced!

(From left) Donald, Adam, me, Euan. Photo Adam Brewster.

Wild conditions! Photo Donald Ferguson.

Preparing paper in the sea. Photo Adam Brewster

Adam painting watercolours. Photo Rose Strang

Adam’s lovely watercolours. Rose Strang

Etching on found slate by Donald. Photo Rose Strang

Cottage. Rose Strang

Euan, Adam and Donald (playing guitar) outside the cottage. Rose Strang

Summer dress weather. Photo Adam Brewster

Cuillin across the sea. Rose Strang

Molto romantico sunset! Photo Adam Brewster

Idyllic! Photo by Donald Ferguson

 

 

Small Paintings

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‘Isle of Iona’. (paintings are numbered 1 to 3 from left). Mixed media on 3.5×3 inches. Rose Strang 2019. (includes mini easel).

I’ll be painting more of these little artworks (in the photo above) over the coming months, which will be available for sale in art galleries in the landscapes painted.

If you’re interested in buying one of these, contact me at rose.strang@gmail.com and I’ll let you know where they’ll be available, or you can commission something similar if you prefer.

As they’re very small I think they’re a lovely way of acquiring one of my original paintings at a more affordable cost!

Iona Series

 

Sanna Bay – Paintings and Video

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Paintings on exhibition at the Resipole Gallery in Ardnamurchan

I mentioned a while ago that my friend, musician Donald Ferguson, might compose a piece for guitar to accompany my recent paintings of Sanna Bay in Ardnamurchan, and here it is! (links to paintings below video) …

The atmosphere and mood Donald creates here is entrancing – from the impetus of traveling through beautiful scenery from Glencoe to the Ardnamurchan peninsula, to the peace of arriving at Sanna Bay on the farthest west coast of Scotland.

Here are the links to the two galleries exhibiting these new works – you can contact them there with any queries …

Resipole Gallery: https://www.resipolestudios.co.uk/rose-strang

Morningside Gallery – http://www.morningsidegallery.co.uk/4_artists/strang/index.htm

Morningside Gallery, new paintings

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‘Sanna Bay,afternoon’. Mixed media on 14×11″ wood panel. Rose Strang, 2019

Lovely to see the newly framed paintings of my March series featuring Ardnamurchan and Sanna Bay now on exhibition at the Morningside Gallery.

You can view them and contact the gallery with any queries on this link … http://www.morningsidegallery.co.uk/4_artists/strang/index.htm

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Resipole, Ardnamurchan

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The exhibition launch at the Resipole Gallery was fun and convivial, and Ardnamurchan was beautiful as always. (above – ‘Sanna Bay, Seaweed’, below, photos from the Resipole) ..

 

 

 

 

The exhibition continues until 28th June. All artworks on this link, also contacts for the gallery if you have any queries about the paintings: https://www.resipolestudios.co.uk/rose-strang

I went up there with a few friends and we stayed on the beach at Ardtoe in the Ardnamurchan peninsula – midgy but lovely.

Some photos –  in the afternoon, sunset then dawn…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing the castles and mythology theme for the Planets Series, we visited Castle Tioram which, though very overcast, looked mythical as ever, more so perhaps. Bad weather suits the west coast and highlands! These luscious pink rhododendrons are everywhere in May and June on the West Coast …

 

 

 

We sheltered in my favourite hotel – the Glenfinnan Hotel at Loch Sheil…

 

 

 

And lastly, some photos taken while we drove through Glencoe – it looks iconically Glencoe-esque in this weather …

 

 

 

New commission

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‘Elie Bay4’. Mixed media on 15×152 wood

Today’s painting  – another commission of ‘Elie Bay’ on the east coast. This time at 15×15″ in a shallow box frame

 

Crail and Elie Harbours

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'Crail 1'. Mixed media on 8x8" wood panel

‘Crail 1’. Mixed media on 8×8″ wood panel

'Elie 1'. Mixed media on 8x8" wood panel

‘Elie 1’. Mixed media on 8×8″ wood panel

Today’s paintings of Crail and Elie Harbours, for the upcoming exhibition Harbour. Details Here

These were painted today from sketches yesterday at both harbours. Crail is a quite typical Fife fishing village which has similarities with many of the atmospheric harbours along the east coast, but Elie feels different entirely – quite dreamlike. I’m still working on capturing this, but really enjoyed the contrast of both styles today.

Some photos from yesterday..

Crail

Crail

Elie

Elie

 

 

Borders Country Day 17

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'St Abbs'. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas

‘St Abbs’. Acrylic on 20×16″ canvas

St Abbs (detail)

St Abbs (detail)

Today’s painting – St Abbs Bay on the east coast near the Border.

Those rocks really are as colourful as they’ve been painted. This part of the coastline is quite famous for its beauty, but also it’s near to where Professor Hutton made his discoveries about geology at Siccar Point

 

There’s a trail named after him which takes you all along the east coast from the Borders to Dunbar, where you can see the faults and intrusions which proved Hutton’s theory that our planet was much, much older than first believed.

The pink, yellow and purple rocks above are igneous  and the grey lower rocks, called Greywrake, are a remnant from the Silurian era – the former beach basically – you can see the bleached effect of tides from an earlier era, which also shows up the colour of crystal clear water. Apparently there would have been more tropical climes then, not unlike today’s weather – we have a mini heatwave in Edinburgh today, and though I know a lot of people hate this mugginess I’m quite enjoying it!

50 Paintings of Eigg Series No. 23

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Eigg Series No. 23. Acrylic on 5x5" wood

Eigg Series No. 23. Acrylic on 5×5″ wood

P1100887A wave from Singing Sands Bay, this time more experimental and loose, which I feel gives it more energy. I like this one!

I mentioned yesterday that music helps me paint –  which is true of all painters I know – and someone asked yesterday which music I find inspiring to paint to. It changes all the time, today’s was painted to Kate Bush’s Ariel, but here are a few that have featured many times in this year’s ‘Music to Paint to’!

Satie has a suitably meandering mood, and for that aimless feeling nothing quite hits the mark like –  Avant-dernières pensées II Aubade

Few can match Kate Bush for atmospheric mood and evocation of landscape, this is Lake Tahoe from 50 Words for Snow. (I’d love to paint that phrase in the song mid way where she calls ‘sno-o-o-wfl-a-ake’!)

Another evoker of atmosphere, is singer/songwriter Scott Matthews. Ballerina Lake is quite haunting and can trigger the right mood..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buN1jshK9BI

And (of course) 50 Words for Snow ! I love paintings snowscapes and I also like this amateur video, taken by someone from her porch which looks like somewhere in the wilds of Canada but I think is New Hampshire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Aytn3Fcu0

50 Paintings of Eigg Series No. 20

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Eigg Series No. 20. Acrylic on 5x5" wood

Eigg Series No. 20. Acrylic on 5×5″ wood

detailA peaceful wave in the rain on Singing Sands Bay. The rain was very light so there was a lovely soft glow over everything. I usually use gesso for a semi opaque rainy haze.

So far I’ve painted scenes of Eigg but as yet no details of the flora and fauna of the island, so at sometime in the next week or so I’ll introduce you to my good friend, and traveling companion to Eigg, Donald Ferguson, who took some beautiful photographs of stones, rocks and sand.

Donald also adopted a rock from the Singing Sands Bay which is now attached to a steel cable and swings gently above a large window in his house. I’m sure he can be persuaded to post a video of it, with the view of Edinburgh’s Arthur’s Seat in the background!

In the meantime here’s an incidental in front of the cliffs of Cleadale, left behind by a glacier millions of years ago..

P1090474