Recently back from my trip up north to a surprisingly sunny Aberdeenshire dog and cat-sitting for the in-laws. For anyone unfamiliar with this area, basically it's made up of gentle rolling hills, grand castles and, my personal favourite, whisky distilleries! The latter are usually big, austere factories these days, however there are some of the traditional ones left in tact, gorgeous buildings with the iconic pagodas that would've once been used for drying out the barley. We took advantage of some good value tours of these and I couldn't help but be inspired to make a start on the Distillery series (you can see in the print bit of the artwork tab.) I suppose it helps that I'm a massive fan of a wee dram or three, and my collection is, admittedly, disproportionate to my income!
Etches carved out, went down to the wonderful Edinburgh Printmakers the other day and they're currently in the drying rack as I write. Just a small mention about the printmakers, it's a great building just to have a look at as well as some of the great prints on display. In a previous life, it was an old Victorian laundry room and little has changed since them, apart from all the presses, of course. From floor to ceiling there are those great Victorian public lavatory-chic tiles and some of the old signs and industrial metal beams. It feels pretty ace to be able to work in such an atmospheric place.
On another note, should you find yourself wondering about the lovely Aberdeenshire countryside, there's a fab new(ish) gallery called Touched by Scotland at the foot of Bennachie. It has a big blue roof so you can't miss it. As well as having a good range of artwork for sale, there's a good restaurant attached to it as well, so whether you're in need of a lovely cup of tea and a wee scone or an amply-sized meal you should check it out: http://www.touchedbyscotland.com/index.php
Etches carved out, went down to the wonderful Edinburgh Printmakers the other day and they're currently in the drying rack as I write. Just a small mention about the printmakers, it's a great building just to have a look at as well as some of the great prints on display. In a previous life, it was an old Victorian laundry room and little has changed since them, apart from all the presses, of course. From floor to ceiling there are those great Victorian public lavatory-chic tiles and some of the old signs and industrial metal beams. It feels pretty ace to be able to work in such an atmospheric place.
On another note, should you find yourself wondering about the lovely Aberdeenshire countryside, there's a fab new(ish) gallery called Touched by Scotland at the foot of Bennachie. It has a big blue roof so you can't miss it. As well as having a good range of artwork for sale, there's a good restaurant attached to it as well, so whether you're in need of a lovely cup of tea and a wee scone or an amply-sized meal you should check it out: http://www.touchedbyscotland.com/index.php