Meet the Paintings - Grasses by the Beach, Harris and Sand Patterns, Luskentyre

Time for a bit of a change of pace today, with something calming and serene – we probably all need something a little calm and serene at the moment!  Here are a pair of little acrylic paintings called ‘Grasses by the Beach, Harris’ and 'Sand Patterns, Luskentyre'.  They are both in simple cream frames to emphasise their clean lines and give them a beachy feel.

They are both acrylic on clayboard, which means that instead of being all about texture, they are all about the smoothness of the beach.  Acrylic is a water-soluble medium, which means you can get the thin washes of watercolour, but the depth of colour and texture of oils.

Last year I took a painting trip to the Hebridean islands of Lewis and Harris.  Here's the photos that I used as the material for the paintings.

It’s a very ancient landscape in the Outer Hebrides, peppered with standing stones, beautifully well-preserved brochs,  traditional low thatched black houses, and modern-day buildings that sympathetically echo the landscape in terms of their shape and construction. I've paired some of the images with my acrylic sketches.

I was fortunate enough to have the most amazing weather.  The beaches in Harris are absolutely endless, with smooth white empty sand, which you pretty much have all to yourself.  The sea is a Mediterranean turquoise under a blue sky.  The short grass is scattered with the flowers of the machair.

Again, I have paired some of my photos with the subsequent paintings.

Here is the link so you can see the actual place and explore the area.   The road at Seilebost, Harris