During the summer, while I took part in the Bute Studio Trail, the Printmakers of Scotland’s Festival of Printmaking, and welcomed casual visitors to my studio, one thing became clear: many people seem to be genuinely interested in where the creative process begins.

It often starts long before I get into the studio. Let me take you on a visual journey of my most recent trip to the Isle of Arran. In time, this trip will form the basis of new work. It may or may not be Arran specific, it just depends on what happens in my head over the coming weeks and months.

Let me share some insight into the initial steps of the process. The images below will give you an idea of the kinds of themes or details that catch my eye. Some of them might be incorporated in some form or other into new prints. I look for colours, patterns, textures, shapes, how the light falls on the landscape, and the mood it creates.

The Journey Begins With the Ferry Crossing at Rhubodach to Colintraive

There was three ferry crossings on the journey, Rhubodach to Colintraive, Tarbet to Portavadie, Cloanig to Lochranza. These were the images that caught my eye for the blocks of colour, the patterns and the shapes. I have absolutely no idea yet how or whether I will use them.

Water and Sea Foam, Rust and Stone

The Power of Light

The first two images are unedited. The second one was taken when the light was very poor but the grainy softness captures the mood of the evening.

I edited the remaining images in iPhoto pushing the colour spectrum. I do this to explore potential colour palettes I might play with when I get into the studio to capture the mood of the place.

Ancient Sites and Their Stories

Skipness Castle and Chapel were very atmospheric. I loved the pattern of the grill on the entrance door against the old solid wood and how the dark interior was affected by the small amount of light that came through the door and windows.

The chapel and graveyard had these imposing crosses. I’ve only included a smattering of the photos I took there.

The King’s Cave was really unexpectedly exciting. One huge cave with three large openings and in its depths spectacularly clear Neolithic cave paintings that looked like they were painted yesterday.

Another huge cave further on had equally spectacular Neolithic carved rock art and latter Christian rock art. Sadly though, graffiti, some dating back to the 1800s, obliterated or made it difficult to see the original Neolithic rock art. Only the rock art high up on

Finding Solitude and Inspiration

I spent an idyllic afternoon by myself on the beach sketching and bird watching and wandering the shoreline peering into rock pools and watching shags sun themselves on the rocks. My phone camera wasn’t quite up to photographing them unfortunately.

Conclusion

I hope this gives you some idea of the way I approach my work. I sometimes supplement photos with sketches too but to be honest, most of the time my phone is my chief modus operandi for recording things I might find useful down the line. I will use thes photos to mentally work out what is the best way to replicate the textures on a collagraph plate, or to think about colour and light. What methods and tools will I employ to bring light to life. That process can go on for a long time in my head before I take it to the studio to experiment.

My latest work will give you an idea of how I’ve been working with pebble patterns and capturing the light in my seascapes.

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