I am interested in the impact of colour as it creates mood and controls the response of the viewer. The context of my work is mostly landscape and by dealing with a subject by reference to its colour possibilities, a framework for describing the physical forms emerges. For instance, in 'Tuscan Afternoon' a simple Italian landscape is built around the warmth of the scene, the colour harmonies and contrasts being chosen to engender the physical experience of the scene. The forms in the painting are used almost as props to articulate this manipulation of colour.





















This painting of Ely was a view from Coveney, a village some 2 miles distant across a field of rape seed seen at sunset during April. The bright yellow whilst dominating the picture also sets up an intriguing contrast with the medieval cathedral on the horizon.






















By contrast to the warm light of the south, this picture (acrylic on board) is a local scene of the Annan Valley close to my home. The colour scheme is based on yellow ochre, with conrasting violet in the distant hills. To me this evokes the understated colours lit by a filtered northern sun.















This small piece is painted in acrylic on board. The peaks of Annan - especially Goat Fell - are visible from Ayrshire in the west and from Dunoon to the north, the point from which this view is taken.
















In watercolour, things change and colours have to be handled more carefully but there is still the demand to make the picture work in its own terms which means making the colour relationships sit well with each other. This means that simply copying the 'local colour' of the composition is secondary to the needs of the painting itself. This is Eilean Donan Castle.















This is the same subject but in oils and is given a more vigorous treatment. The cool and warm colours - blues and oranges - are used to evoke light and warmth.


















In 'Black 5' at Beattock' (acrylic on board) I was working form a monochrome photograph so colour choice was entirely personal. The blue-greys suit the depiction of the grimy locomotive and the subdued greens and yellows, with a splash of red on the train carriages, keeps the picture harmonised whilst suggesting the soft light of lowland Scotland.



























These two studies: a winter landscape by Pissarro and a detail from a portrait by Cezanne are an exploration of other artists' approach to form and colour. They are both oil on board.




































Finally, 'Sunset' (oil on canvas) is where all the strength of colour is used, though the most effective passage for me is the subtle patch of cool cobalt in the sky which resonates against the vibrant oranges, reds and yellows that surround it.


















CURRENT PROJECTS

I am now working up sketches made during a recent trip to Corfu - the subject of warmth and light again.
This is the first finished work: the subject is 'The White House' at Kalami. For a while, this was the home of the novelist Lawrence Durrell. He might recognise this view although not the rest of Kalami beach with its profusion of sunbeds, umbrellas and beach side tavernas, all unknown when he lived on the island between 1935 and the outbreak of WWII.
















The painting was made with acrylics on board. Due to its propensity to dry rapidly, acrylic paint lends itself to reworking and overlaying, a great feature in allowing just the right hue and tone to be established quickly. Oil paint is more suited to careful mixing on the palette followed by decisive application to the work itself - and then a week to dry!
My impatient temperament prefers acrylics with their ability to allow constant adjustment. I think it was John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) who was reputed to spend an hour mixing oil colours on his palette and then just 10 minutes painting, which gives an idea of how the two different types of paint work - of course JSS would not have known of acrylics as they only emerged in the 1950s.

St Spiridon's church in Corfu Town (Kerkyra) commemorates the island's patron saint. This is the church seen from one of the narrow maze of surrounding streets. (Acrylic on board)






















I visited Portpatrick, a small village on the west coast of Galloway recently and made sketches and watercolour studies of the old harbour and lighthouse. The final painting was done in acrylic on board. I stuck to a limited palette of Winsor (pthalocyannine) blue, yellow ochre, cadmium red and cadmium yellow. The blue has a cool primary-to-green hue and forms the base of most of the other colour mixes. By limiting them to a few colours, all the mixes tend to harmonise with each other and their overall coolness suits the subtle northern light. (The effect shows up much better in the actual painting than in the reproduction shown here.)











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