OVERTON, LEVENWICK

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 childhood memories of family picnics on the sandy beach below the hill.  From there we looked right across the bay at our home in Sandwick - it was far quicker by boat than by car over the miles of winding road along the hillsides.

There was one other occasion, back in 2004, when I visited my web designer, Roy Longmuir, at his home in Levenwick.  It was an exciting time for me, as we were setting up my website and The Tait Gallery was going online for the first time. The photograph of me on the home page article "About the Artist" was taken that day at the front of Roy's house.

The view in the painting shown above is from a little further down the Overton road, looking towards Sandwick, which has changed practically beyond recognition since my formative years.  One of the attractive things about Levenwick is the predominance of old -fashioned white-washed "but-and-ben" houses which still cling to to the steep hillside, and the more modern dwellings seem to be placed so as not to detract too much from from the traditional flavour of the scene.  In other parts of Shetland, building has been much less sensitive in this way, with clumps of wooden kit houses and glass-and-concrete monstrosities dominating the landscape.  I've grown rather fond of Levenwick, and not just because it is now my mother's home.

The painting, and limited edition giclee prints (both A3 and A4) are available through the Gallery Shop on my website www.tait-gallery.co.uk.