THE WEEK AT THE TAIT GALLERY

This week, I completed two paintings which are shown above. One was a commission, which I spent most of yesterday evening wrapping, ready for placing into the hands of Royal Mail first thing tomorrow, for onward shipment, by special delivery, to the Western Isles. My wrapping consists of copious quantities of bubble wrap and polystyrene sheeting, which protects the work from the roughest handling in transit. Thanks are due to Lloyds TSB, who supplied me with the bubble wrap, which I had spotted on their premises earlier in the week! It had arrived there around some kind of unit, which workmen were installing at the time I was there. I had promised to deliver the painting by Christmas, and I've made it - just.

The other painting is of the North of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland's cargo vessel "St. Rognvald", built in 1955, in heavy seas on her route between Aberdeen and the Northern Isles. This will be offered for sale at my exhibition, at Shetland Museum, which starts on St. Valentine's Day next year. Both these works are also on my website, of course.

I have continued work on the other paintings, at least one of which should be finished in time to illustrate my next post. My nephew Kenneth helped me to saw up hardboard (a task which is much easier accomplished by two people) on Monday, and, with one of the cut pieces, I started the "St. Sunniva" (II) commission, mentioned in last week's post.

Several people have called to buy prints during the week, including a couple who visited me yesterday and reported large crowds at the Toll Clock Centre, where I had been displaying my work on the previous two Saturdays. Perhaps I should have been there too, but each day I spend there is a day lost to working on my other artwork projects and, as I've stated elsewhere, I've paid my outstanding bills now, which was the main object of the exercise in the first place. Also, I'm running low on stock of some my prints now! I'll have to replenish them in the new year. Perhaps I'll have my own line in Christmas cards for next year - this is one of the many projects I have under consideration for 2009.

I hope you have a happy and peaceful Christmas.