Hiharin.

150 x 150 cm – acrylic on canvas.

Hiharin is a word used in the ancient singing notation for the bagpipes called Canntaireachd. This phrase comes in a tune called the ‘Lament for Mary Macleod’. It is my entry for the 145th RSW exhibition held in Edinburgh .

Happy Hogmanay everyone and see you in 2026 ! x

Tayvallich.

November rain, a freckling, softens footfall, trampling acorns into the deep leaf forest floor. Silver lichen glows in the indigo light. The wind picks up , drawings take flight. Blooming yellow flag iris in the bog by the shore.

Fife bus.

She has a repair to her coat, bright yellow dashes of thread pull together a tear in the collar. She asks if I think it will be warm enough, her coat, to wear on her day trip to Orkney. Perhaps I say, but isn’t it an awfully long way to go for a day trip ? Turns out she is going to Thurso for a holiday, which raises yet more questions but the bus has arrived at stance number four. The door opens and she slowly ascends, her first steps to the far north. I gaze out at the grey sea, grey sky and wonder if it might be warmer in Wick right now.

Head

Clay head of Samer from a weekend sculpting course at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop with Duncan Robertson.

Beyond the lighthouse.

Sketch, Ruby Bay, Elie.

Below the rocks the sea slaps, slips over bronze bladderwrack . The wind is picking up and the sea responds, churning itself round the small bay, dashing into the smallest of gaps, salt floats high in the air, curing this landscape like a memory. A startling white gannet glides past heading east to the Bass Rock.