I was pleased with this image when I had finished it, as I was experimenting with my gouache paints on small postcard sized watercolour paper glued blocks, seeing if I could evoke a brief ‘Cameo’, hopefully conveying something of the simplicity of life ‘on the edge’ as I find it when I visit the Western Isles.
My plan was to develop a technique whereby I could work quite quickly to record my ideas for representing the unique atmosphere of the island. My painting style has always been quite calligraphic, so once I had worked out a well balanced composition, featuring mainly the rooftops and the glistening asphalt road, then one or two washes, using the gouache paint like watercolour this time, plus a few quick strokes of stronger colour in thicker paint, produced the result I wanted!
Hebridean postcards 