2014-05-04 10:32
I've ventured into the realms of maritime history with this recently-completed painting of the last minutes of the Peterhead steam drifter "Ugiebrae". She was sunk by gunfire after the… Read More
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The Artistic Curmudgeon Or The Grumpy Old Painter Blog
tait-gallery.blogspot.com
I am an oil painter, who depicts landscapes and seascapes in a photorealistic style. This means that I will never be rich (until I am dead, that is, but I'm in no rush). I am also a Shetland Islander, which explains my interest in all things nautical, and the fishing industry in particular. My other interests include classical music and creative writing.
2014-04-20 08:27
This commissioned painting shows the 40ft seine-netter "Pilot Us" (LK271) coming in past the Bressay Lighthouse on a fine summer's evening. This boat, built in 1931 at Fraserburgh,&nbs&hell…Read More
2014-04-20 08:26
This is the second painting that I've done with a print edition in mind, prompted by requests from visitors to my Toll Clock Centre stalls (the first being the "Swan" at the back e… Read More
2014-04-20 08:24
My creative visits to this blog have beeen so few and seldom over the past year that it scarcely merits the description. I could roll out such excuses as feeling out of sorts and… Read More
2014-04-13 19:28
Here's the "Aldebaran", a wooden-built Danish trawler, tramping along in fresh weather east of Sumburgh Head. She, and hundreds of others like her, used to fish around Shetland in the… Read More
2014-04-13 19:26
Here's a couple of seascape oil paintings, both featuring pelagic fishing vessels, but from completely different stages of development of this fishery. Both pictures were commissions c… Read More
2014-04-06 13:56
I'll allow you to contemplate on the enigmatic title to this post, which briefly describes my trip "sooth" last weekend. My Northlink discount travel vouchers for 2013/14 were about to… Read More
2014-03-23 20:17
The first "Earl of Zetland" was launched on the Clyde in 1877. At only 186 grt, she wasn't big, but she provided a lifeline service for the next 60 years, ferrying passengers, cargo an… Read More
2014-03-23 16:02
Before my mother moved into the Overtonlea Care Centre on 30th April 2012, I'd scarcely been down the road through Levenwick since my youth (and that's a long time ago!). I have vague… Read More
2014-03-17 20:16
The Fraserburgh dual-purpose boat "Girl Olive" (FR369), rigged for drift-net fishing, leaves her home port to look for the herring shoals. She holds the record for the fastest build e… Read More
2014-03-17 20:15
Osteoporosis? Cervical Spondylosis? Osteo-arthritis? Something else equally horrible? I don't know what the medical term for it might be - all I know is that it is a… Read More
2012-12-05 11:17
This painting has been a long time in the making, having stood half-finished, since early summer, in a corner of my studio, while I got on with more urgent tasks. Having "cleared my fe… Read More
2012-11-18 15:51
My latest painting shows Shetland's own tall ship heading southwards, with an easterly breeze in her sails. This is the first time I've done a "portrait" of the old lady for a while, a… Read More
2012-11-04 11:32
I wonder just how often I've painted pictures of the Bressay lighthouse over the years. It must be of the order of a hundred times, considering the different viewpoints, and it was nea… Read More
2012-11-04 11:30
I anticipate no gasps of utter astonishment when I reveal that the latest works to appear in the Tait Gallery are both seascapes. They were both commissioned.One of them is the third i… Read More
2012-10-01 20:44
The weather was fair as we sped south towards Huntly that evening in late June of 2009. The colours were magnificent, as low cloud, driven by a southerly breeze, sometimes partly obscu… Read More
2012-09-09 15:03
I know I shouldn't , but I'm so bored that I've decided to upload this JPEG of my painting of the rock legend, and to heck with the consequences! A friend of mine commissioned the work… Read More
2012-07-22 19:48
A strong south-westerly is blowing rain against my studio window as I write this long-overdue blog post. I hope that the weather will have improved by the time I commit these lines to… Read More
2012-06-10 12:59
I've got big ears. They stick out a a grotesque angle from my head, and, whenever I get a close haircut, the silhouette of my bonce bears a remarkable resemblance to a prestigious golf… Read More
2012-06-05 18:56
The latest creation to appear in the Tait Gallery is a landscape depicting the area around Voe Pier in Shetland. The picture incorporates a fair number of features, but I hope it doesn… Read More
2012-05-27 14:51
I should never have got up on Friday. By remaining in bed, I would have avoided personal injury, bad news and another defeat at the hands of modern technology. Mind you, I would… Read More
2012-05-15 20:48
Since this photograph was taken, I have had my hair cut. You'll no doubt be relieved to hear this, although it is a sad fact that even the most skilled hairdresser cannot make a silk p… Read More
2012-04-04 15:26
The title of this piece refers to the name given by Shetlanders to the north Mainland of Shetland (Mainland being the name of the largest island of the archipelago). Where exactly "nor… Read More
2012-03-28 08:50
Scotland's glorious leader, King Alex 1, is fond of his dates. I don't mean the brown sticky things that used to come in long-shaped tins and which I decided, at a very tender age, wer… Read More
2012-03-25 16:00
Yesterday, as Shetland was shrouded in thick fog, which is still persisting as I write this, my sister Mary and I joined the rest of the mourners at the funeral of our first cousin Jeemie Ni… Read More
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