Friday, 22 March 2013

Homeland

The North coast of Scotland ( on a sunny day!! )

My Homeland.


Inspiration Avenue theme this week is 'your home town' the place where you were born....

As I posted in Sundays blog I am recovering from an arm injury so am unable to create anything new for a couple of weeks :( so instead have been looking and sorting through photographs of past work and fond places....



I was born and brought up on the north east coast of Scotland. Caithness is a wild and windswept county at the very edges of the UK mainland. The wind whistles in from Shetland and the Arctic circle with little to hamper its progress as it is a relatively flat area with huge skies and high sea cliffs. Later my family moved to a croft on the Island of Skye, off the north west coast of Scotland. This is a very different landscape. One of enormous heather covered mountains which reach down to to sea. It is very beautiful and now no matter where in the world life takes me I think of it as my home.





My sketch books contain many pages of inspiration from these beautiful landscapes.I know I love looking at other peoples sketchbooks, the skribbly the better. Here are some pages from mine.




As I usually work in collage I often tear paper and sort colour experiments in my sketchbooks.
And sometimes I experiment with watercolour. I think I used wax resist on some of this page.

And finally these form the basis of torn paper collages on a larger scale.

sligachan river
four very fine cats
 This is my Family croft with my favourite pet cats. It is torn paper on canvas with some acrylic paint.

croft by the sea
Storr


So these are little pieces of my Homeland.... :)


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21 comments:

  1. Jez22 March 2013 at 13:40

    So sorry about your injured arm. I hope it improves enough for artwork very soon.
    This post is a joy to read, your collages beautiful as always, the photos and the personal touch of your family history. I particularly enjoyed the pages of your sketchbooks, it's always interesting to be privileged enough to see them.
    Thank you for this great post, I shall look at it time and again, .... And imagine you in the croft.

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  2. Anonymous22 March 2013 at 13:55

    First off, sorry to hear about your arm. Secondly, I so enjoyed seeing your art and photos. My favourite is the one of the four fine cats. You do live in a beautiful part of the world. The croft, all cosy and warm against the wind, has me dreaming...

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  3. Unknown22 March 2013 at 19:03

    I'm so sorry to hear about your arm!! I hope it heals quickly. Your pictures and collages are gorgeous. What an incredible landscape to draw inspiration from. I love the strong vibrant colors. Those red mountains look like they're soaring along with the bird! In the last two, I love the bubbling up from the strong colors, it feels so smoothing to me.

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  4. Lou Anne Hazel22 March 2013 at 19:18

    It's a treat to see all of the images of your homeland. It's a beautiful place that I hope to visit someday. I especially love the collage with your cats. It's very lively and full of fun. Your other images are really stunning. Thank you so much for sharing your part of the world.

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  5. bohemiannie! art22 March 2013 at 19:46

    All these 'little pieces' make for a huge bunch of gorgeousness. I love your torn paper collages! And the pictures of Skye...OH me oh my!

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  6. Linda Kunsman23 March 2013 at 15:06

    what a bummer to injure your arm. Your torn paper collages are so beautiful! You're the 3rd person/blogger I've visited this week from Scotland-what a gorgeous looking country! It's at the top of my bucket list along with Ireland! Thanks for sharing on IA.

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  7. Unknown24 March 2013 at 14:48

    Truly beautiful and inspiring art. Stunning!!!

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  8. Anonymous24 March 2013 at 18:45

    I hope to be in Scotland in 2014....nice to know that the sun actually shines!!! haaa

    Thanks for the visit to your part of the world and I hope your arm heals fast!
    Jan
    Colorado

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  9. Salla25 March 2013 at 10:15

    What a great idea to collage colour schemes in your sketchbook! I'll try that too for sure. Thanks for sharing also the beautiful Scotland photos and the story of your home. I really hope to see your country one day. I also love all your previously finished collage works. I sure hope your arm gets well soon, but until then, sorting out photos is usually a time well spent and enjoyed!

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  10. Head Krazy25 March 2013 at 17:31

    The Isle of SKye, even the name is Magical. Such beauty you are surrounded by! I love your torn collages. Just lovely. I hope your arm heals up, and you are back to creating shortly. Thank you for stopping by Kookaburra Studios and for your kind comments! Cheers!

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  11. PaintingWrite25 March 2013 at 21:34

    Thank you so much for the lovely comment on my blog. It's great to have someone from Caithness relate to the little Dounreay in the background! I love it up here. Funny enough the holiday we took before the trip to Brought that prompted our move to Caithness was a week in a gorgeous cottage called the Old Inn on the Isle of Skye. I loved it there too but Caithness completely captured my heart! Hope your arm is better soon. I really like the collage you do-its got a quirky whimsical feel to it.

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  12. Currie Silver26 March 2013 at 10:24

    this is glorious and a wondrous treasure to come upon this morning. your comment on my APR really touches me and since I canNOT find an email address for you, I wanted to say thank you here. I guess I am actually glad of the necessity to come here as this post is extraordinary. it has reminded me of my painting with paper which I've let slide into a bit of a shadow recently and makes me think it would BE a grand way to play as my brain heals... I hope your arm heals well and soon and thank you so very much again for your kind and encouraging words. I love that we both teach the wee ones. xoxo

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    Replies
    1. Paper rainbow27 March 2013 at 08:53

      Thanks Currie, I would love to see some of your painting with paper, and yes I find collage hugely calming so I'm sure it would be a good place to lose yourself for a while. Happy healing :)

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  13. minnemie26 March 2013 at 17:14

    LOVELY collages! The river, cats and trees are my favorites. Very, very well done!

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  14. lynne h26 March 2013 at 22:10

    oh my, i am so inspired... everything *everything* that you do is inspiring! thank you!

    i very much appreciate your words at my place... : )

    i will be back. : )

    xoxo

    lynne

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    Replies
    1. Paper rainbow27 March 2013 at 08:49

      Thank you Lynne! A HUGE compiment as I LOVE your work, if any of my readers have not found you yet go have a wee wander over to http://lynnehoppe.blogspot.co.uk/ and enjoy.

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  15. Rossie28 March 2013 at 23:25

    Oh my, I have fallen in love. What beautiful work and in particular the Four Fine Cats. Just treasures, you clever girl.

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  16. Vicki Maheu29 March 2013 at 14:19

    Lovely work!

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  17. Unknown29 March 2013 at 14:21

    Love your artwork! Beautiful collages! I love the "sligachan river", and "four very fine cats" <3
    It is always wonderful to see what artists have in their sketchbooks, and and what are their inspirations. Thank you for posting the pictures of your homeland! They are truly beautiful.

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  18. PiaRom29 March 2013 at 16:28

    OMG I am blown away by such an overflow of wonderful art! I totally love your style...collage is one of my loved technique too : the cat piece and the craft by the sea are my favorites!! happy easter and good wishes for your arm :) Conny

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  19. Sarah Leonard30 March 2013 at 16:09

    I love your kitties they are gorgeous - I love all of the art in this post in fact.

    Thanks for linking up :)

    Sarah @ A Cat-Like Curiosity

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