Painting Details

• Dimensions: 130cm x 89cm
• Materials: Oil on canvas, framed in oak floating frame.

Landscape Oil Painting of The Morning Light In The Outer Hebrides

Arriving on South Uist in The Outer Hebrides after dark after a very stormy week on The Isle Of Lewis, I woke up early to a bright, still day. I walked behind the steddings of the farm where I was staying to see this landscape. Looking from Drimore Farm towards the sea, the copper and golden Machair grasses glowed in the early morning light, the numerous lochs and ponds shone brightly like mirrors. A tumbling wall led the gaze towards the hazy horizon where the sea appeared turquoise in the distance.

Getting my painting equipment out quickly I made an “En plein air” sketch of the scene. It can be seen in this collection. “Misty light between the mountains and the sea”. I wanted to keep the detail out and retain the colours of glowing of the grass and the atmosphere of the soft watery light towards the sea. The place gave me the feeling of the edge of the world, with nothing but sea between the island and Canada – there was something primeval and mythical about it, a long way from urban life. Calm and beautiful yet immense and powerful.

Later that day, I walked to the sea, it was much further than I had thought. A strange deception of these flat marshy lands between the mountains and the sea in South Uist.

In South Uist, the land between the mountains and the sea is very flat and has the most extensive cultivated machair system in Scotland, extending the whole length of the island and up to 2 km inland. The area is very diverse in physical form and is extremely rich in plant species. It provides a diverse haven for an astonishing variety of wildlife. Up to 45 plant species may be found in one square metre giving it a myriad of rich colours.