Notes and Images from a Small Island (Week 2 Day 5)

I decide to take a break from the Loch Cill Chriosd and walk around Skinidin – the place where I had taken the Autumn Impressions Collection.  I am keen to continue the development of a painterly aesthetic that I focused on yesterday.

I note immediately the changes in the scene from those I became familiar with in the autumn.  There is always a dramatic shift in the sky, and consequently the light, as the year descends from autumn into winter.  The skies are diluted, watery and cold.  The colours remain intense in the landscape though and the oranges and burnt sienna are deeply saturated.

I miss the company of the sheep that inhabit Loch Cill Chriosd.  They go about their business – feeding without interrupting me but provide a sense of companionship as I work.

In the autumn, the Rosebay Willowherb had been the focus of much of my image making and the fluffy seed heads remain, standing tall along the edges of the paths.  Their bright white heads glisten in the little light we have today.