SHORT TRIPS AND TALL SHIPS

I hope you like the painting of the Danish full-rigged ships "Georg Stage" and "Danmark", which I've partly uploaded to the decorative area of this blog (above). I say partly, as Blogger doesn't like my "tall" paintings, so what you see here is the middle section of the artwork - there's more sky and sea in the real thing, which you can see in the Ships section of the Gallery pages on www.tait-gallery.co.uk .

Speaking of which, meticulous and apparently never-ending work is still being done on the new version of the Tait Gallery website, in preparation for its launch in the indefinable and ultra-useful period of time which is known as "shortly". After all this, I hope it doesn't disppoint.

I'm working on another commission, for which my bespoke canvas, from Jackson's Art Supplies, arrived earlier this week. It's a very long one, as the actress said to the bishop, and will feature all the buildings in Lerwick's south end, from the "Dyook's Neb" to Church Road and beyond. Lerwick residents will be aware of the large number of buildings which this area encompasses, and how I'm going to complete this in the two months before the deadline is something I'm trying not to think about, as it will only scare the pants off me if I do.

Before starting on that odyssey, I began two "stock" works during that last two weeks. One of these depicts a row of Shetland model boats drawn up on the shore near Burravoe pier on the island of Yell. This one is nearly halfway towards completion now. The other is of Hay's Dock here in Lerwick, and this work is at a very early stage - only just drawn out, really, with no paint applied yet beyond the base coat. These paintings will now only occasionally be worked on, as all my efforts are concentrated on the Lerwick South End picture.

I'm off on the big blue Northlink canoe to Aberdeen next Friday evening. This time next week, I'll have checked out of the Premier Inn, after my first ever experience of such an establishment (provided that all is well, and the boats have been running to schedule). I also hope for a decent day next Saturday, so that my brother and I can enjoy a day's travelling round the Aberdeenshire, Kincardineshire and Angus countryside, getting lots of photographs of some of the wonderful places in this part of the country. Last time we attempted this, a gale of wind was blowing sleet across the Mearns, and none of the few images which I had tried to capture came out at all. Again, if all goes to plan, I'll be back here on the morning of 26th April, hopefully with a smart-card full of beautiful pictures which will get my creative juices flowing over the next year or so.

My mother enjoyed her week's stay in the Fernlea Care Centre at Whalsay, and arrived back, much refreshed, at Brugarth, Whiteness, on Monday afternoon, to be met by my sister Thelma and myself. Thelma is "camping out" at Brugarth just now, while her own home is undergoing extensive refurbishments - a new kitchen, including the floor, all of which, I am happy to relate, is being paid for by an insurance company. This makes me glad that I am still a council tenant, and the bill for all repairs to my top-floor flat is never presented to me at all.

And so, as a mixture of wet snow and Icelandic volcanic ash precipitates itself on my beloved islands, I must bring this post to a close. I hope that your travel arrangements for the incoming week are not affected by this potent mix, and wish you all the very best.