Continuing my series from my visit to Orkney in October 2020. The ever present brooding skyline of Hoy is a dramatic contrast to the soft rolling emerald hills of the mainland agricultural land. Chambered cairns are numerous and in their own way the ancient equivalent of the burial ground of traditional farming practices.
Orkney Stories 4 Loch of Skaill
This is the fourth of my Orkney Stories video. Looking at the soft green landscape its hard to believe millions of years ago it was a sandstone desert and was located near the equator. I'm also delighted to announce that the first three Orkney Story videos have been accepted for Earth lines
Two Tides
Once again I am drawn to the River Add estuary with its extensive sandbanks that stretch out into Crinan Bay. Watching the tide return from two different directions creates a sense that messages and stories are being transmitted as the ripples collide before reaching the end of their journey.
Kingfisher
Spring seems a long time arriving. The sighting of a Kingfisher in Argyll transported be to all the exotic places its brilliant plumage reminded me of and for a moment the world seemed brighter.
Seeking
A video poem inspired by the work of Emily Learmont entitled Sixteen Seascapes. Her work is dream like and of another world which prompted me to write this piece based on a seascape painting I had created a few years ago looking towards Danna Island in Argyll. Each is a vignette from the original but added to with items borrowed from my other art and photographic work such as boats, moonscapes and patterns of natural forms. The sixteenth image is the final painting.
Orkney Stories 3 - Cauldrus to Old Man of Hoy
When I first visited Orkney I cycled across Hoy to experience the famous sea stack The Old Man of Hoy. As I approached this giant toothy rock created by coastal erosion a helicopter landed on its summit for a brief few seconds and flew off. This to me, along with its ascent by climbers, epitomised the stacks slow, steady decline. Its still a wonder to see and others will replace it.
Echo
One of those moments where you catch out of the corner of your eye the space once occupied by an otter - almost imaginary, but that absence intensifies its past presence - as if hearing an echo in the water.
At the end of a lane
A photographic piece inspired by the Yorkshire artist , Peter Hicks, painting series The Entrance to a Lane, which in turn was inspired by the abstract impressionist artist Graham Sutherlands series of the same name. The work moves from winter to spring and aims to capture my curiosity and inspiration in the seasons.
Orkney Stories 2 Skara Brae
This is the second of nine Orkney Stories after my revisit to Orkney mainland in October last year following a ten year absence. Nowhere is the island's ancient self more more powerfully felt than at it's neolithic sites. This is about the 5000 year old village of Skara Brae located at the Bay of Skaill and only discovered in 1850 after a great storm uncovered it from the sand dunes. It is older than the Great Pyramids and that sense of time is powerful.
Blue Tears Fall
Dedicated to my pal Mary O'Toole ( always an inspiration) on her birthday. A video poem about climate change which will affect communities around the world. This is about vulnerable communities on the islands of the west coast of Scotland.
Orkney Series
I was delighted to revisit Orkney in October last year after a ten year absence. Its ancient self connected with its landscape struck me powerfully again and I decided to a do a series based on my reflections. This is my first one about a beautiful yet distinctly separate island.
The space between words
There is always a sense of the slowing down of time when mist emerges and rolls across water. This is enhanced when accompanied by silence. I caught this perfect scene at Scotnish in Agyll and formed the poem as I was recording.
Transition
The power of the turn of the tide always amazes me - the sense of wiping clean a slate. This is from one of my favourite locations in Argyll that I continue to be drawn to - the River Add estuary which has extensive sandbanks that stretch out into Crinan Bay. There is a powerful sense of being enclosed by water as the tide comes in - as sense of walking in a transitionary place.
Soft Bounce
Capturing the beauty of sounds and detail of winter bird activity
Green on Grey
Ive now updated this piece to allow a slower transition between each seasons
I have had the opportunity to record the change of seasons through image words and sound of a Beech woodland. I’m using this piece for my next workshop of Landscape of the Mind which is about Landscape and Time.
Rain on Rain
So much rain I cant help thinking about climate change
A Perfect Curve Breaks Down
Lochbuie, Mull welcomes the Atlantics most perfect curved wave.
Skaill
Another in my Orkney series capturing the mystery of the Neolithic village of Skara Brae that was buried by a storm and later exposed by another storm.
Death of a Season
Scotnish Connection
Its that time of year where every connection with nature and landscape makes you mourn the loss of spring and summer.
