tiree

Returning to HMNB Clyde after escorting German submarine U34 outbound as part of April 2016 Joint Warrior exercise.

This is a product of another daring climb to the 120-foot summit of the mighty mountain in Tiree. Here the 'Clansman' is on the afternoon sailing from Oban to Tiree on Tuesday 4 June, and is passing Milton, Caolas, on her way to the linkspan at Gott Bay Pier.

This shows my four 'Loch Seaforth' paintings together: centre top - the ship being towed off the rocks; left - the ship being pushed alongside Tiree Pier by the tug; right - the ship sunk and blocking the pier, with the 'Claymore' lying off, and a ferry-boat in attendance; and centre bottom - the 'l

This is the latest 'splash' in my set of paintings (if such they can be called - they are rather naive 'splashes' in my terms and by the standards of SN!) showing the final misfortunes of the MV 'Loch Seaforth'. Here she is seen blocking Tiree Pier, which is now being used for rod fishing (which wa

Another painting of the 'Loch Seaforth' from an aerial perspective. The Sound of Gunna this time, where the 'Seaforth' was stuck fast until the 'Courier' arrived. This painting, based on a press photograph, shows the 'Courier' giving the 'Seaforth' a mighty heave, in an attempt to roll her clear of

A crane, and not a 'heron', in the Hebrides this time! This 'splash' attempts to show how the 'Loch Seaforth' looked when she was raised by the floating heavy-lift crane, 'Magnus III', which had to be brought across from Germany to lift the vessel. She lay for six weeks at Tiree pier before the cra

As the technology of SN seems to resist my best attempts at replacing my earlier image, I am making my own 'last call' with the pic! I've made some minor adjustments, and sharpened outlines here and there. When you go back to a painting after a day or so, you notice little edges and 'dead areas' t

On March 22 1973, the MacBrayne motor vessel 'Loch Seaforth' (built Wm Denny, 1947, for the Mallaig-Stornoway service) struck a rock in the southern approaches to the Sound of Gunna, when inward bound from Lochboisdale to Oban,via Barra, Tiree and Coll. Passengers were taken off in the ship's life

Happy New Year! I thought I'd get things off to a flying start by chancing my arm - or my wing! - with the Moderators (who have my full permission to delete this, if they wish!). This scene is 'maritime' in the sense that it shows part of an island coastline (based on Tiree, but not precisely Tire

This puts my recent miniature of the 'LOTI' into perspective. The waterline model - entirely hand-made - is at a scale of 1/250, and is about 12 inches long. All the nomenclature etc. is legible. The painted representation of the 'LOTI' berthing at Tiree is one inch long! I seem to like the 'LOT

It's hard to show how small this painting actually is. In this photograph, I have placed it on top of a 14 inch x10 inch standard watercolour board, of the kind that I would normally use. Painting a miniature image - in this case, a seascape - is a splendid discipline.

This splash was produced on a piece of 7"x5" watercolour paper (Smith's finest!), and therefore qualifies as a 'miniature' in my terms. It's done with brush and paint ONLY - no preliminary pencil outlining. Just splash it on, and hope for the best. You may get the proportions right, b

This photograph, taken at the back of the Co-op Store in Scarinish, shows CalMac's MV 'Clansman' sailing out of Gott Bay, Tiree, on her way back to Oban on a Tuesday evening early in April 2012. She appears to be sailing above a cottage chimney! The multi-layered perspectives offered by a low-lyi

My latest 'splash' - 14x10 inch watercolour - offers something a little different! Given my unpredictable technique, much depends on where the paint lands! This is part of the shoreline near my home in Caolas, Tiree, and I know it like the soles of my feet! The stretch of water to the right is th

This pencil drawing was produced back in 2005, and was based largely on recollection and imagination, though I had watched the 'Clansman' doing this at Tiree many times. It tries to represent a critical docking manoeuvre, when the stabilisers are retracted, and bow-thrusters aid the main screws and

This was my last 'splash-up' before I shut the paint-shop for the summer. It was produced in Tiree in April, in one evening, using knives, and with no exemplars or guidelines of any kind - straight out of the tube and my imagination. Splash, splash! The boat is meant to be our family lug-sail 'ya

When the 'Heb' had cleared the Sound, I raced her (in my car) to Scarinish pier/linkspan, and arrived just in time to take this picture. As you can see, the evening was beautiful, and the ship looked splendid, fresh out of dock and sparkling.

Here we have an idyllic evening shot, without a ripple on the sea, taken in June 2009. The 'Clansman' has left Scarinish, Tiree, on her Tuesday afternoon sailing, and is now heading back to Coll and Oban (where she arrives by 10.30 pm). This is the view from the back door of my home in Tiree. No w

This is an oil painting of the scene which I posted as a sketch some months back. Fred 'Willowgarth' suggested that I should attempt this - and I didn't need much more encouragement, as I had always wanted to try! The poor-quality black-and-white photograph which I used as an 'original' was taken