Rippling Reflections

You may have noticed that for a while I've been working on a short series of paintings of scenes in and around the harbour at Aberdour. This is the fourth and last one, "Rippling Reflections". I aim to exhibit them at the Aberdour Art Exhibition, 28-30 July.

Glittering Water

Living on the coast, I've got plenty of small harbours and ports locally where I can find something to paint. Just a few miles from home there's Aberdour, a village that once boasted a bustling harbour with a tourist trade from Edinburgh. Nowadays it's a quiet backwater but it does have an active sailing club with quite a few yachts moored by the pier, including this one with (unusually) a sail and canopy in a strong red. I was just as keen to get the effect of the sunlight on the water as I was to paint the boat, mind you. To be honest, I'm not a sailor myself, I just like painting boats and water!

Still Water

I saw this painting in terms of contrasts: light tones and dark tones, bright colours and dull colours, smooth texture and rough texture. From that point of view the grey, stained and dilapidated side of the harbour was just as important as the placid water reflecting evening light.

I was just thinking to myself that in years gone by, I had a tendency to overdo the darkest tones in a painting - basically, to make them all a flat, uniform black which never looked right. Now I know better, I suppose, and I make a point of getting some variety into the darks. At least I've learned something!

The scene, by the way, is the inner harbour at Dysart, on Scotland's East Coast. There's always a lot there to catch an artist's attention.

A Moment Of Calm Reflection

A quiet summer evening, with a single yacht lying alongside an ancient stone pier, her prow catching the light of the setting sun... I've painted this scene a couple of times before, from other angles.