I have spent most of the weekend making frames for my series of Raku tile pictures, I also completed a raku firing late last night, five sets of tiles fired and no breakages! Then up at 0430 this morning for a drive through to Aberdeen where I'm doing some freelance design work. Its been a long tiring day.
I'm making landscape images from groups of five raku tiles, they need firing together and removing from the kiln in as short a period as possible so that they colours on all five tiles match each other, too big a gap and I get greens and blues instead of copper colours. Anyway they all turned out OK and are proving quite popular, a bit more contemporary than my usual output.
We will be in a bit of a panic on Wednesday night...... after I drive home from Aberdeen there will be lots to be done, assembling tiles into frames, packing things up and loading the discovery for the trip down to Scone Palace on Thursday ready for Potfest. Potfest is a weekend ceramics event with about 100 potters and ceramic artists from the UK and the rest of Europe. Its fantastic to see so many different ways to make something beautiful out of mud. Its open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday if you are close enough and fancy a brilliant day out. www.potfest.co.uk for more info.
Scone Palace will make a nice change from the rather smelly cattle marts of Perth and Stirling, the previous venues. I'm hoping to find time to do some sketching around the palace grounds while we are there.
I'm too tired to write more now.............its 'time for bed' said Zebedee of magic roundabout fame.
I will add a couple of pics of my raku tiles in my next entry....possibly wednesday evening if there is time between finding the camping gear and packing the car.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Monday 6 June 2011
Thursday 2 June 2011
Chainsaw Carved Benches
Before my sailing trip I said I would post a photo of my latest carved bench.
The bench was collected yesterday and is off to its new home in Edinburgh, I remembered I was supposed to post some pics so here they are.
The bench was collected yesterday and is off to its new home in Edinburgh, I remembered I was supposed to post some pics so here they are.
Lossiemouth to Oban Sailing Trip 9
Monday 30th May 2011
Tobermory to Dunstaffnage
Reasonable day today, overcast but with sunny spells, getting better throughout the day.
Left Tobermory 0900, motoring, no wind.
Storm sail rigged as mainsail ripped and has been removed ready for repair. Looks a bit odd with it up and next to no wind.
Spent the morning sat on the foredeck sketching as Mull goes by. A few squalls with quite heavy rain and one with hailstones.
Sound of Mull
Thick soup with pasta for lunch. Wind picking up a bit so lovely sailing down the Sound of Mull now with plenty of sketching done. Once out into the Firth of Lorn the conditions became a bit more boistrous, very confused choppy sea.
Sound of Mull 2
Once across behind Kerrera it calmed down again and we practiced man overboard drill under sail for the Yachtmaster Fast-track candidates. A bit different with only a stormsail fitted and having to use the jib, you normally get rid of the jib straight away but wee needed it to help power the boat. The wind kept dying away then gusting which made things interesting. Anyway we eventually mananged to get 'Fred' back on board each time. The moral of the story is 'don't fall overboard'. By the way, Fred is a big fender with a coil of rope attached, not one of the crew.
It turned into a very nice sunny and breezy afternoon, a nice change from what we have experienced over the last 10 days and a fine end to our adventure sailing trip.
Tied up in Dunstaffnage at 1730 to the usual marina antics, cut up by another yachtsman who proceeded to tie up singlehanded with no fenders on the pontoon side and about 10 on the other side. He jumped off to tie up and bounced back on again once he realised what he had done. Ah well we all do these things from time to time its just better when nobody is watching.
We cleaned the boat this evening before dinner and pub as most of the crew need an early start tomorrow to get home.
Dunstaffnage
Crew Mugshot
Standing left to right.
Me, John (skipper), Roy (yachtmaster fast-track), Rod, Andrew (yachtmaster fast-track)
Sitting left to right.
Steven, Chris, Johnathon (yachmaster fast-track) and David.
Thanks for your company everyone and good luck to the yachtmaster fast-trackers for the rest of the course and the assesment.
Tuesday 31st May 2011
Heavy mist and a bit of drizzle this morning.
Im in no rush to get away today as I dont have too far to go to get home. Bus Dunbeg to Fort William, Bus Fort William to Inverness and a short train ride Inverness to Carrbridge then 400yds walk home.
Summary of trip.
Storm force winds to begin with F10 gusting F11, 69mph recorded on the instruments. Ripped mainsail twice. stormbound in Stromness for two days, and a couple of long wet passages, but good company, fantastic scenery including the Caledonian Canal and some interesting stops along the way.
Total mileage for the trip is 393 miles
All in all a good trip.
Once I get my sketches and sketchbooks in some sort of order I will scan a selection and make them available as a free download from my websites www.paintingwildscotland.co.uk and www.carrbridgestudios.com
In the next few weeks when I get some paintings done and prints produced you will be able to compare the field sketches with the finished work.
In a later blog post I will give some details of my travel sketching kit. It has been reduced to quite a compact kit which can be taken just about anywhere.
Tobermory to Dunstaffnage
Reasonable day today, overcast but with sunny spells, getting better throughout the day.
Left Tobermory 0900, motoring, no wind.
Storm sail rigged as mainsail ripped and has been removed ready for repair. Looks a bit odd with it up and next to no wind.
Spent the morning sat on the foredeck sketching as Mull goes by. A few squalls with quite heavy rain and one with hailstones.
Sound of Mull
Thick soup with pasta for lunch. Wind picking up a bit so lovely sailing down the Sound of Mull now with plenty of sketching done. Once out into the Firth of Lorn the conditions became a bit more boistrous, very confused choppy sea.
Sound of Mull 2
Once across behind Kerrera it calmed down again and we practiced man overboard drill under sail for the Yachtmaster Fast-track candidates. A bit different with only a stormsail fitted and having to use the jib, you normally get rid of the jib straight away but wee needed it to help power the boat. The wind kept dying away then gusting which made things interesting. Anyway we eventually mananged to get 'Fred' back on board each time. The moral of the story is 'don't fall overboard'. By the way, Fred is a big fender with a coil of rope attached, not one of the crew.
It turned into a very nice sunny and breezy afternoon, a nice change from what we have experienced over the last 10 days and a fine end to our adventure sailing trip.
Tied up in Dunstaffnage at 1730 to the usual marina antics, cut up by another yachtsman who proceeded to tie up singlehanded with no fenders on the pontoon side and about 10 on the other side. He jumped off to tie up and bounced back on again once he realised what he had done. Ah well we all do these things from time to time its just better when nobody is watching.
We cleaned the boat this evening before dinner and pub as most of the crew need an early start tomorrow to get home.
Dunstaffnage
Crew Mugshot
Standing left to right.
Me, John (skipper), Roy (yachtmaster fast-track), Rod, Andrew (yachtmaster fast-track)
Sitting left to right.
Steven, Chris, Johnathon (yachmaster fast-track) and David.
Thanks for your company everyone and good luck to the yachtmaster fast-trackers for the rest of the course and the assesment.
Tuesday 31st May 2011
Heavy mist and a bit of drizzle this morning.
Im in no rush to get away today as I dont have too far to go to get home. Bus Dunbeg to Fort William, Bus Fort William to Inverness and a short train ride Inverness to Carrbridge then 400yds walk home.
Summary of trip.
Storm force winds to begin with F10 gusting F11, 69mph recorded on the instruments. Ripped mainsail twice. stormbound in Stromness for two days, and a couple of long wet passages, but good company, fantastic scenery including the Caledonian Canal and some interesting stops along the way.
Total mileage for the trip is 393 miles
All in all a good trip.
Once I get my sketches and sketchbooks in some sort of order I will scan a selection and make them available as a free download from my websites www.paintingwildscotland.co.uk and www.carrbridgestudios.com
In the next few weeks when I get some paintings done and prints produced you will be able to compare the field sketches with the finished work.
In a later blog post I will give some details of my travel sketching kit. It has been reduced to quite a compact kit which can be taken just about anywhere.
Lossiemouth to Oban Sailing Trip 8
Sunday 29th May 2011
Weather forecast is more of the same, F5 to 6 gusting F8
No mainsail to let us go out to play so we decided for a day of rest and maybe do a few running repairs.
It took four of us to take off the mainsail and get it bundled up ready for delivery to the sail makers for repair tomorrow. Got the storm sail rigged so we could get a bit of a sail back to Dunstaffnage tomorrow.
Heavy showers but with bright intervals so Im off sketching around the town. Got a lot of sketching done but mostly in the rain so they leave a lot to the imagination. Feeling a bit unsteady on my feet today, it good to be on dry land for a change.
Early night tonight as we are planning an early start in the morning.
The forecast is for much lighter winds tomorrow......we shall see.
Tobermory again
Weather forecast is more of the same, F5 to 6 gusting F8
No mainsail to let us go out to play so we decided for a day of rest and maybe do a few running repairs.
It took four of us to take off the mainsail and get it bundled up ready for delivery to the sail makers for repair tomorrow. Got the storm sail rigged so we could get a bit of a sail back to Dunstaffnage tomorrow.
Heavy showers but with bright intervals so Im off sketching around the town. Got a lot of sketching done but mostly in the rain so they leave a lot to the imagination. Feeling a bit unsteady on my feet today, it good to be on dry land for a change.
Early night tonight as we are planning an early start in the morning.
The forecast is for much lighter winds tomorrow......we shall see.
Tobermory again
Lossiemouth to Oban Sailing Trip 7
Saturday 28th May 2011
Photo of 'The Ben" from Corpath sealock
Bits of blue sky poking through the greyness this morning, looks promising......forever the optimist!
We have two locks, a swing bridge and the sealock to get through this morning to get us out into Loch Linnhe. The weather forecast for today is F5 to 6 gusting F8 so no change there then.
Raining again......
Loch Linnhe started well - a stiff breeze, managed a quick sketch of 'The Ben' in the mist. Got the mainsail up with the third reef in, looks like we will be doing quite a bit of tacking up Loch Linnhe today...sailing at last. Getting bounced around a bit so stopped sketching before my tummy told me to!
Disaster! We've blown the mainsail again 'big time' several rips, the largest about 6 to 8 feet long. sail lashed down to prevent further damage and back on the engine again. Long wet run up to Tobermory in quite large seas.
Started to feel cold on deck and didnt want to spend too much time in the saloon in case I started to feel queasy so a quick lunch of thick soup with pasta and some bread and its off to my bunk for a snooze. Im right next to the engine but the motion of the boat soon rocks me to sleep. Suddenly awake, all quiet, not getting rolled about in my bunk. A quick look through the hatch, everyone up there looks rather wet but we are approaching Tobermory and the sea is calm. back into my oilies to help tie up. Not a bad run up the Sound of Mull....for me anyway!
Weather clearing, a bit of blue sky and the sun has made a welcome appearance. Got the boat safely tucked up and everything stowed. Out with my sketchbook for an hour before dinner.
Tobermory
Photo of 'The Ben" from Corpath sealock
Bits of blue sky poking through the greyness this morning, looks promising......forever the optimist!
We have two locks, a swing bridge and the sealock to get through this morning to get us out into Loch Linnhe. The weather forecast for today is F5 to 6 gusting F8 so no change there then.
Raining again......
Loch Linnhe started well - a stiff breeze, managed a quick sketch of 'The Ben' in the mist. Got the mainsail up with the third reef in, looks like we will be doing quite a bit of tacking up Loch Linnhe today...sailing at last. Getting bounced around a bit so stopped sketching before my tummy told me to!
Disaster! We've blown the mainsail again 'big time' several rips, the largest about 6 to 8 feet long. sail lashed down to prevent further damage and back on the engine again. Long wet run up to Tobermory in quite large seas.
Started to feel cold on deck and didnt want to spend too much time in the saloon in case I started to feel queasy so a quick lunch of thick soup with pasta and some bread and its off to my bunk for a snooze. Im right next to the engine but the motion of the boat soon rocks me to sleep. Suddenly awake, all quiet, not getting rolled about in my bunk. A quick look through the hatch, everyone up there looks rather wet but we are approaching Tobermory and the sea is calm. back into my oilies to help tie up. Not a bad run up the Sound of Mull....for me anyway!
Weather clearing, a bit of blue sky and the sun has made a welcome appearance. Got the boat safely tucked up and everything stowed. Out with my sketchbook for an hour before dinner.
Tobermory
Lossiemouth to Oban Sailing Trip 6
Friday 27th May 2011
Photo of Fort Augustus looking towards Loch Ness
Slight drizzle this morning but looks like brightening up.
Got away at 0850, waiting for the Kytra lock to open. A good run through Lock Oich and Loch Lochy with plenty of sketching done. Started raining in Loch Lochy, looks set for the rest of the day. Raining heavily by the time we got to Banavie and Neptunes Staircase (a flight of seven locks). Moored up just before the sealock ready for a quick getaway tomorrow as the Sealock is not tide dependant so we should be able to get through quite early.
Went on a walkabout to find the 'facilities' and a shop, luckily there was a pub right next to the shop so we managed to dry out a bit, how convenient is that!
The skipper made dinner tonight, a belly busting sausage casserole with mash and veg, just what we needed after such a soggy afternoon. A few of the guys wandered off to the pub but as it was chucking it down I decided on an early night. Slept soundly, didn't hear anyone returning from the pub.
Photo of Fort Augustus looking towards Loch Ness
Slight drizzle this morning but looks like brightening up.
Got away at 0850, waiting for the Kytra lock to open. A good run through Lock Oich and Loch Lochy with plenty of sketching done. Started raining in Loch Lochy, looks set for the rest of the day. Raining heavily by the time we got to Banavie and Neptunes Staircase (a flight of seven locks). Moored up just before the sealock ready for a quick getaway tomorrow as the Sealock is not tide dependant so we should be able to get through quite early.
Went on a walkabout to find the 'facilities' and a shop, luckily there was a pub right next to the shop so we managed to dry out a bit, how convenient is that!
The skipper made dinner tonight, a belly busting sausage casserole with mash and veg, just what we needed after such a soggy afternoon. A few of the guys wandered off to the pub but as it was chucking it down I decided on an early night. Slept soundly, didn't hear anyone returning from the pub.
Lossiemouth to Oban Sailing Trip 5
Hi Im a bit late with this entry, computer/internet access problems, but better late than never.
Here are a couple of photos from the trip so far.
The first two are sailing through the Pentland Firth after we ripped the mainsail, thats a soggy me in the second shot, and the third is from Stromness after we tied up. If I can get a copy I will add a video clip from the Pentland Firth to give a better idea of the conditions.
Anyway to continue.
Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th May 2011
The wind has temporarily abated but we have decided it will still be too rough to go around Cape Wrath to Harris/Lewis. The locals say it takes two tides for things to settle down after a storm. Our plan is to sail back the way we came and go to Inverness and through the Caledonian Canal. This should give us three days sailing once we get to the other side if we get through as quickly as possible.
We slipped our ropes at 1200. Quite light winds through the Orkney Isles, a massive change from three days ago. The seas started building quite considerably once out into the Pentland Firth again. Getting decidedly rough around Dunnet Head and John O'Groats making very little headway, engine on so now motorsailing to help us punch our way through. We are back onto three hourly watches again and its raining hard. Im on watch 1200-1500, 1800-2100, 0000-0300 and 0600-0900. Raining all night, cold, dark and wet !!! how much am I paying for this......not a good night.
Arrived at Clacknaharry Sealock, the entrance to the Caledonian Canal at 0830 just on opening time so we didnt have to hang around in the Beauly Firth for long before the gates opened to let us in.
As we are trying to get through the canal as quickly as possible we decided to press on straight away and try to get to Fort Augustus today, hopefully to the top of the flight of locks. We have a headwind so are motoring all the way. This lets us catch up with sleep when we are not on watch but its difficult to go below as we miss the fantastic scenery of Loch Ness. I got a few good sketches done going down Loch Ness and the sky is clearing so we get a few minutes between showers. The mist is hanging about in the trees, making great subjects for sketching. We have passed Urquarts Castle now, still motoring, Im feeling shattered now so off to my bunk for a nap.
I went out like a light, I awoke as we were tying up at the top of the flight of locks at Fort Augustus, I slept through all the clattering and banging as we went through the locks. The weather has cleared and its quite a nice evening, I did a couple of sketches of Fort Augustus, then shower and pub for a well deserved meal after being on the go for 28 hours (minus a couple of power naps!)
Here are a couple of photos from the trip so far.
The first two are sailing through the Pentland Firth after we ripped the mainsail, thats a soggy me in the second shot, and the third is from Stromness after we tied up. If I can get a copy I will add a video clip from the Pentland Firth to give a better idea of the conditions.
Anyway to continue.
Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th May 2011
The wind has temporarily abated but we have decided it will still be too rough to go around Cape Wrath to Harris/Lewis. The locals say it takes two tides for things to settle down after a storm. Our plan is to sail back the way we came and go to Inverness and through the Caledonian Canal. This should give us three days sailing once we get to the other side if we get through as quickly as possible.
We slipped our ropes at 1200. Quite light winds through the Orkney Isles, a massive change from three days ago. The seas started building quite considerably once out into the Pentland Firth again. Getting decidedly rough around Dunnet Head and John O'Groats making very little headway, engine on so now motorsailing to help us punch our way through. We are back onto three hourly watches again and its raining hard. Im on watch 1200-1500, 1800-2100, 0000-0300 and 0600-0900. Raining all night, cold, dark and wet !!! how much am I paying for this......not a good night.
Arrived at Clacknaharry Sealock, the entrance to the Caledonian Canal at 0830 just on opening time so we didnt have to hang around in the Beauly Firth for long before the gates opened to let us in.
As we are trying to get through the canal as quickly as possible we decided to press on straight away and try to get to Fort Augustus today, hopefully to the top of the flight of locks. We have a headwind so are motoring all the way. This lets us catch up with sleep when we are not on watch but its difficult to go below as we miss the fantastic scenery of Loch Ness. I got a few good sketches done going down Loch Ness and the sky is clearing so we get a few minutes between showers. The mist is hanging about in the trees, making great subjects for sketching. We have passed Urquarts Castle now, still motoring, Im feeling shattered now so off to my bunk for a nap.
I went out like a light, I awoke as we were tying up at the top of the flight of locks at Fort Augustus, I slept through all the clattering and banging as we went through the locks. The weather has cleared and its quite a nice evening, I did a couple of sketches of Fort Augustus, then shower and pub for a well deserved meal after being on the go for 28 hours (minus a couple of power naps!)
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