Let me share with you my passion for painting, along with skills acquired and developed through a professional career spanning thirty-five years.

I have been asked if these breaks and weeks are purely for those who are already skilled in painting. The answer is no. Because of the nature of the sessions, all levels will find the days of value.

These are work-along sessions based on a series of short demonstrations by myself throughout the day. No matter what problem or question is asked during the day by one person, I can guarantee that the others will also be pleased to have that problem solved or question answered.

Whether you are fairly new to painting, have been doing so for a while, wish to have your problems solved, or looking to refresh some of your techniques, these sessions are ideal.

As there are a limited number of people in each break or week, each person gets individual help. Whilst the emphasis is on getting as much into the day as possible on the work front, the atmosphere is friendly and enjoyable.

Paul Taggart Painting Tuition Vouchers are tailored for presentation to the recipient and cover full or partial fees for any Paul Taggart :-

Painting Breaks
Painting Weeks
Open One-Day Painting Workshops
Invitation-Only, One-Day Painting Workshops
Private one-to-one tuition
Painting Holidays

VOUCHERS START AT £5O

Choose any one of the Limited Edition Print images to feature on the front and interior of the gift voucher and the enclosing envelope.

£50 FROM EACH PRINT SALE passed to PETS AS THERAPY(Highlands, Islands & Grampian Branch)in celebration of Pets As Therapy 25 years Silver Anniversary.


Jan’s Happy Hennery is a farm-gate sign that can’t fail but to be noticed for anyone motoring along the road. After all, wouldn’t most folk wish to have a happy-hen egg with toast soldiers for breakfast, or poached with smoked haddock for supper? And as for Angus the Shetland pony, he is of the firm belief that whatever is good enough for his feathered friends is good enough for him. This pastoral scene belies the fact however, that free-roaming egg-layers were under threat not so long ago, as are so many farming lives – yet crofters and farmers in the Highlands continue to maintain many traditions and we get to enjoy some of the best natural foods.


Every print is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Paul Taggart.

When producing my Highland Gems collection of still-life miniature oil paintings I became excited about the prospect of creating a follow-up series of similarly sized oil portraits to celebrate the way of life in the Highlands – capturing people in a moment in time, showing them in their working, sporting and cultural lives.


“Barry’s Finishing Touches” sees in this new collection of ‘Highland Secrets’, accompanied by “Jan’s Happy Brood”.

There is a mystical, magical point in my painting process when all of the built up layers of detail and complex composition disappear and the painting suddenly seems empty. This is the critical moment when the qualities of light and space take over.

To get to this stage requires my full knowledge of techniques. However, from this point forward I need faith and confidence and a willingness to trust my instinct, so that the composition can evolve and become imbued with its own unique characteristics – this is where my passion for the interplay of light and form comes into its own.
The closer I can get to that sense of a moment-in-time, the better the painting will be.

When setting out to achieve this world-within-a-world, the size of the canvas does not matter – for as long as I achieve the quality of ever-increasing space beyond the foreground, small paintings, such as those in the Highland Secrets Collection, can appear more expansive than their physical limitations.
It is therefore essential that a painting works in space– as if a small porthole is opened onto a large vista.


An essentially unique element of light in the Highlands is that it more often than not falls across the landscape at a very low angle. This has several consequences. Objects are lit from the side and their volume is enhanced through a wide range of values from strong shadow to brilliant highlight. Shadows are long, giving structure to the land. Highlights shimmer, like gems on a velvet cloth. All of these qualities are present in “Jan’s Happy Brood”. The busy composition is set into an oval ‘space’, which revolves around Jan and her pony, its circumference containing the hens and the distant trees - this required careful balancing to ensure the correct relative depth of field of the various elements. The bright red combs of the hens provide an invaluable complementary accent against the surrounding bright greens. Feathers, hair, skin, grass and trees all had to be expressed in textures that would complement each other and describe these surfaces successfully as they are caressed by the clean sunlight.

The picturesque Scottish Highlands cathedral town of Dornoch prides itself on its community spirit, at both the personal and business level – this painting celebrates one aspect of that sense of community – the Dornoch Pipe Band and the tradition of the lone piper on the turret of the Castle Hotel, so enjoyed by residents and international visitors.

Another aspect of Dornoch’s community spirit is that of giving, with year- round fund-raising for all manner of worthy causes – including the invaluable work carried out in support of Macmillan Cancer Support.

The Dornoch branch of Macmillan Cancer Support fund-raisers is chaired by Barbara Morrison of John Grant & Sons, seen here with the lone piper himself -Willie Fraser, Pipe Major of Dornoch Pipe Band - at the launch of the 'Lone Piper' fund-raising Limited Edition Print.

It gives me the greatest pleasure to have dedicated the full one hundred copies of this Limited Edition Print to this exceptional cause. As each framed copy is sold, in the ‘Lone Piper’ edition of one hundred prints, £80 has been passed over to the Dornoch Branch of fund-raisers to add to the current Highland Appeal.


Every print is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the Lone Piper and Paul Taggart.

The warm-hearted spirit of the annual Easter Ross ploughing match was very much in evidence last Saturday (November 10th) at Pitkerrie Farm, Fearn. For, in spite of icy winds and boggy conditions, dedicated entrants put their shoulders to the plough for a match to remember.

Neither did the persistent rain dampen everyone’s enthusiastic response to the auction that followed, which featured an array of items and services generously donated by various businesses and individuals.

Amongst them a unique watercolour painting which I produce especially for this annual match.

The Easter Ross Ploughing Association committee were determined to raise as much as possible from their donations and auctioneer Dennis Bridgeford of Petley Farm, Portmahomack, didn’t disappoint.

The pace of fast and furious bidding was maintained right through to the final few items, which included my watercolour painting depicting the 2006 match that had been held at Mounteagle.

A number of keen bidders entered the fray for the painting. However, Alex Campbell from Clay of Allan won out in the end with a bid of £700.



Although last year’s match had not been free from rain, happening during the worst storms for years, the sun streamed out long enough for me to capture the Autumn colours and golden bales that surrounded the fields of vintage tractors and ploughs.

A golden opportunity to produce an uplifting painting for this year’s auction and I am absolutely thrilled that it raised a decent amount of money to help with the costs of staging the association’s annual match. Dennis Bridgeford and the committee are to be congratulated on their auctioneering skills!

To produce a similarly heart-warming painting from this year’s match for the 2008 auction will prove thought-provoking. But, as always, I am very much inspired by the commitment of everyone involved in the annual Easter Ross ploughing match and have no intentions of letting anyone down.

Here you can see me putting the finishing touches to the painting and with Dennis Bridgeford (Auctioneer), Alex campbell (highest bidder) and Allan Wilson (member of the Easter Ross Ploughing Associaiton committee).

Paul Taggart at work on his live painting demonstration within John Grant & Sons, Dornoch.

Having spent all day at his easel on the acrylic study of Lone Piper, Willie Fraser, Paul was delighted to be present when the winning ticket was drawn from a host of tickets purchased throughout the day.

Many other prizes had been generously supplied by a number of sponsors, all of which attracted a total of nearly £300 in purchases of raffle tickets.

Barbara Morrison, Chairman of the Dornoch Branch of Macmillan Cancer Support, is seen here on the left, presenting the framed work to winners Nick & Anne Harding of Dornoch, with Paul Taggart in the background.

The winning ticket was drawn by Elspeth, assisted by her grandson Ryan.

PURCHASES ON THE DAY OF PAUL TAGGART'S FUND-RAISING 'LONE PIPER' PRINT HAVE HELPED TO BOOST TOTAL FUNDS FOR MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT TO WELL OVER £4,000.