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Iona Painting

Paintings of Northumberland
North Beach, Iona and Bamburgh

I was recently asked to do a watercolour demonstration for the Coquetdale Art Club in Rothbury. The theme for the day was seascapes. I decided to take the students through two paintings, one of Dunstanburgh Castle, the other of a beach on Iona.

In 1999 Susan and I spent three very pleasant days on the Isle of Mull. The purpose was to build up my growing collection of Scottish paintings. We decided to take the short ferry ride to Iona followed by the longer walk to the north of the island. I came across the view above which has been often painted, particularly by some of the Glasgow Boys. I couldn’t resist having a go myself, so sitting on the beach on Iona I began a small watercolour.

The day had threatened to rain and in typical Scottish fashion it did. By painting in between bursts of rain and turning the watercolour block upside down, I managed to keep most of the paper free from splashes of rain. I captured the ominous sky, the white sand and turquoise waters. A few random splashes of rain hit the paper. It caused the paint to spread slightly but somehow they added to the effect. In fact it was so successful that the owners of the bed and breakfast where we were staying, decided to purchase it.

The painting of Iona above that I did as a demonstration can be seen at my Studio & Gallery in Ponteland.

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