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Isle of Arran - February Jaunt

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I went for my yearly retreat to get away from the noise and concentrate on doing some art. This year I booked 11days in Brodick on the Isle of Arran. A bus, two trains and a ferry, which was nearly canceled due to the weather, eek! and I arrived in the dark under the stars in the town, well village really, of Brodick. I woke up in the morning to this Brodick bay with its beautiful coastal walkway, "The Fishermans Walk" under the stunning guardianship of Goatfell's peak and its siblings. I had a wee view of this from my rooms window too. Although it was pretty wet and windy for the majority of the week, the sun did peak out occasionally, allowing me to stretch my legs and the sky was clear overnight revealing an amazing array of stars. The lack of warmer drier weather meant I was able to get my head stuck in to my sketch book and really concentrate on my artwork.  I did make time to make use of my hiking boots with a trek up Glen Rosa and to the  Cladach Beach Bar for a co...
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Street Art Treasure Hunt - Lisbon Lisboa

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  The crazy capital city of Lisbon in Portugal or Lisboa as the locals call it. It was hot (especially coming from 15c in Edinburgh), it was crazy full of tourists (of which we were two more), its built on the very steep sides of severn hills on the banks of the Tagus river. It has its very own Golden Gate Bridge (Ponte April 25th) and its very own Christ the redeemer statue and its the oldest city in Europe after Athens. Its a good looking city, bustling and busy and I had heard there was a bit of a street art around. I was not disappointed. I have come back from my travels inspired and I got to see a few pieces by artists I have followed from afar which put a big smile on my fan boy face!       So where do we start? I guess it has to be the Lisboan "Bordello II" . He creates brilliant relief sculptures of animals out of trash and recycled materials and has pieces all over the world. I was first introduced to him in Porto where there is a fantastic hare on the corne...
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A Wee Weegie Walkabout

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It's mid January in Glasgow, it's supposed to be a sunny dry day with clear skies.  It is not.  The clouds look decidedly dark and the sun, although trying, is struggling to come out from behind them. I zip up my coat as I wait in the bus station for the No.285, I have a plan, I am sticking to it. I am always on the look out for views and scenes that are just right for my artwork. For this reason I constantly take photos on my phone. Sometimes its an unloved gable end wall covered in tags, sometimes its the view down a side street I've walked passed hundreds of times but never seen and other times it's a stunning sunset or moody cloudscape.  But every now and then I go on a proper photography excursion. I consult my running list of art ideas, get out google maps, look things up on the internet and plan a day out. It's for this reason that I get off the bus next to a tower block at the entrance to a less than welcoming park in Springburn in Glasgow on a gloomy Tuesda...
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Lets go back in time - Part 2

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It's February 2023 , I'm sitting on a plane to Germany with my wife. We are both nervous, I am a little anxious about spending a whole week by myself in a foreign city, something I have never done before, she hates flying. I'm very much glad to have company for a few days beforehand whilst I acclimatise. She has joined me for a wee birthday treat comprising of concert tickets to see the amazing Scottish band "Young Fathers" in Berlin at the  Astra Kulturhaus.  I have found a very cheap airbnb in the Neukölln area of the city. From the pictures it looks like it has a lot of character and when we arrive it does not disappoint. Owned by a local artist, it has everything from an old school hifi with a record player and small vinyl collection, to a wall covered in graffiti and illustrations to weird penis ornaments and strange black and white photos. We immediately WhatsApp photos and videos to our son and daughter back home.  It's in an old tenement block and true...
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Lets go back in time

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It's the end of winter, February 2022. I have spent over 11 hours traveling, on one bus, multiple trains and a taxi to arrive in a small hamlet called Ackergill, a mile outside the town of Wick in the far north east of Scotland! Why did I come here? In February? Why did it take so long to get here?  Train from Inverness to Wick is  4 hr 15 min and goes via  Thurso! To draw of course. It turns out I struck it lucky too, I have a newly done up cottage literally on the beach, with the waves licking the garden steps at high tide and not only is the weather amazing all week but the cottage is a like a cosy duvet. I spend the week taking big walks up the massive sandy beach which is backed by huge sand dunes and overlooked by a castle. Go for runs, take the odd wander into to Wick. There is not a lot going on but it has a lovely riverside and some interesting history. And of course I draw. In fact I draw for 8 hours a day. No business admin, no online sales to package and send....
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