Whatever the weather they come out in force for this traditional event, here in the Northern Highlands of Scotland -- which will be celebrating its bi-centenary in 2012.

For the past eight years Artist & Author Paul Taggart has donated a uniquely painted original watercolour to the accompanying auction, which sets out to raise the several thousands of GBPounds required to assure the future of this heritage event.

In 2011 Paul decided to do something a little bit different -- notwithstanding the vagaries of the weather surrounding this November fixture, the beginning of our Winter season.

Paul offered to set up his easel in the fields as the match was taking place and to produce an on-the-spot painting, which not only could be affected by the weather -- it meant he was working against the clock, to complete the painting as the final lot in the auction on the same afternoon.

Watch what happened on the day, enjoy some of the sights of big horses and vintage tractors and see how the auction went, in this narrated film.

CENTRAL TO THE PROJECT will be a growing collection of original paintings from which are published Limited Edition Prints, each edition being set aside exclusively to raise funds for the RNLI in Scotland.

From each large print sold the RNLI Scotland will receive no less than £80 per print : with a sliding scale upwards or downwards, dependent on the size of the print.

THE SUBJECT of each ‘narrative’ painting will be prompted by a back-story unique to any one particular lifeboat station or its environs and community. As such the collection will vary in nature and in media.

ADDITIONAL FUND-RAISING events and projects will emanate from various activities; such as public launches and showings of the various paintings and prints.

LIVE PAINTING by PAUL TAGGART – during various RNLI and other fund-raising events in which Paul Taggart will participate with the aim of completing an on-the-spot painting for donating to the RNLI for fund-raising purposes; such as raffles and auctions.

DOCUMENTARY-STYLE FILMS will also be produced, to capture each painting, project and event as it unfolds – which will be shared on-line through Paul Taggart’s various websites, free-to-view webshows and channels (You Tube etc).

Catch up with the First Chapter of this journey which has started with a series of films and the first Master Oil Painting with accompanying Fund-Raising Limited Edition Print - in honour of the crew of eight of the Lifeboat T.G.B. from Longhope in the Orkney Islands.

A warm welcome awaits guests at 'Awash With Whisky' on Friday Nov 4 2011 from the many generous contributors and donors who have stepped forward to offer their products and services in support of this fund-raising project in aid of RNLI Scotland and Dornoch Firth Lifeboat. Please help us all to repeat the success of the inaugural event in 2010, when thousands of £ (GBSterling) were raised for Macmillan Cancer Support.

EVENT: "Awash With Whisky"

JOINT BENEFICIARIES: RNLI Scotland (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and ESRA Dornoch Lifebaot

DATE: Friday November 4th 2011

START TIME: 7pm

VENUE: Dornoch Castle Hotel, Castle Street, Dornoch, Sutherland, Scotland, UK

CONTACT DETAILS: [Telephone] 01862 810216 [EMail] enquiries@dornochcastlehotel.com

WE DO HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US IN AN EVENING DEDICATED TO RAISING FUNDS FOR THE BENEFICIARIES .......................... WHILST ENJOYING THE BEST OF SCOTTISH WHISKIES !!!!!!!

Following the runaway success of the inaugural event in 2010 which raised thousands of pounds for the beneificary Macmillan Cancer Support - we are delighted to welcome on board a host of new contributors and to receive even more valuable contributions for the Auction and the Prize Draw.

A MASSIVE BIG THANKYOU TO ONE AND ALL WHO ARE JOINING US and CONTRIBUTING TO THE ........................

+ WHISKY EMPORIUM featuring Tasting Tables presented by Award-Winning Distilleries

+ LIVE MUSIC performed by Corralach

+ DORNOCH CASTLE BUFFET created by Mikael Helies [Head Chef]

+ LIVE AUCTION featuring Valuable Whisky & Quality Lots - Malcolm McCall [Auctioneer Extraordinaire]

+ LAUNCH of 'Awash with the RNLI' fund-raising project by Artist & Author Paul Taggart plus Fund-Raising Limited Edition Prints for sale

+ PRIZE DRAW featuring a 'Star Prize' and other valuable winning items

NOT FORGETTING OUR THANKS TO THE STAFF OF THE DORNOCH CASTLE HOTEL who are once again volunteering their time to ensure that all of our guests are relaxed and enjoy themselves.

THIS IS A PRE-BOOKED TICKET EVENT (tickets for the event in 2010 sold out well in advance!) and the Ticket Price of £17.50 (GBSterling) includes a substantial contribution to the beneficiaries plus the Buffet and a Glass of Wine.

PLEASE HELP US TO HELP RNLI Scotland and ESRA Dornoch Lifeboat

'Masterclass with Paul Taggart' is an occasional series through which you can follow Artist and Author Paul Taggart as he works on one of his principal selling paintings - completed over many weeks of intensive work.

"Painting is my passion and sharing that passion gives me enormous pleasure. Although I work in all media, most particularly in my tutorials; nowadays the work produced for Private Collectors is primarily in oils, with watercolours, acrylics and pastels being used when specifically commissioned. Viewers of my tutorials will know that traditional techniques form the cornerstone of my work - which requires time and deliberation.

This considered approach means that oil paintings take many weeks, if not months and in some cases, years to produce. Viewers of my work are fascinated to understand the process that I work through to arrive at the finished painting and for this reason we started to produce filmed reveals of some of my paintings, such as 'Lone Piper', 'Bonspiel' with accompanying narrative - this collection of films will also build.

Followers of my tutorials are equally fascinated to get to grips with the traditional techniques, to have a greater understanding of them and so it is we will film a selected number of Masterclasses, focussing on one particular painting at a time.

However, to film each and every stroke as I paint would involve a monumental amount of filming and viewing time - which is why the filming will focus on one particular section (perhaps one other), so that you can watch that develop from start to finish. We do hope you enjoy these films and pick up additional hints and tips from my method of working".

'Reflecting on Longhope Sound' featured in this series of Masterclass sessions is the first painting in Paul Taggart's on-going Fund-Raising Project in aid of the RNLI - known as 'Awash with the RNLI'.

Our 'Art Workshop With Paul' channel on You Tube has been upgraded by You Tube, enabling us to upload free-to-view tutorials and workshops filmed in real-time. With no limit on the length of our tutorials we have taken advantage of our improved status to bring the channel bang up to date.

Click on the following URL to take you straight to the Season 2 Playlist and you can start watching these tutorials right now.

Drawing and painting have been with me since a very early age. It is my passion and I have been privileged to make it my life’s work as a Professional Fine Artist.

Not only has this seen me producing work that hangs on collectors walls – over the past forty years or more I have also revelled in sharing that passion with those who themselves pursue the art of drawing and painting, either for pleasure or as part of their work.

As with anything in life, we need to be equipped with the knowledge of how to go forward, to explore more possibilities. Which is why I have developed my demonstration tutorials – which are not only visually detailed, they are also accompanied by a detailed running commentary as I work.

They say that Internet TV is the new dawn - so we took the pundits at their word and threw ourselves in at the deep end with blip.tv at the beginning of 2011.

Well, we can only sink or swim and hopefully we'll stay afloat - with all those lovely viewers who are supporting us already and recommending us to their friends.

Since then we have gone all out to produce on-line content which we hope will help people with their painting.

This content is based on my belief in the use of traditional techniques when painting in oils, watercolours, pastels, acrylics, drawing, colour mixing etc.

It is our philosophy that tradition and techniques are kept alive by sharing and handing them on - without these traditions I myself would not have been able to develop as a professional artist - nor would I have been as fulfilled in my work.

For over forty years we have worked with painters, whether they paint for pleasure or professionally and although my fourteen painting tutorial books have gone out far and wide across the globe - this new dawn is very exciting.

We currently have 63 episodes, across nine different strands – but even as you watch this that number will have increased.

To make your viewing choices easier, these main strands are colour-coded.

’Learn To Enjoy Painting’ - a build-up series, of real-time lessons taking you from start to finish on an ever-growing collection of particular paintings.

‘Workshops’ and ‘SBS Tutorials’ – a mixture of live demonstrations and my unique Artstrips and diagrams.

‘Learn To Enjoy Colour Mixing’ – will get you over those muddy colours and problem mixes.

‘Equipment Focus’ – hints, tips and information on specific materials and tools for your painting kit.

‘Topical Tips’ – hints, tips and how-to covering specific techniques and materials.

‘Problem Solvers’ – subjects chosen from problems posted by visitors to my main website or dedicated blog.

‘Out and About with Paul’ – painting tutorials and features covering specific subjects, projects and events.

‘Learn To Enjoy Painting Portraits & Figures’ – painting tutorials taking you from the absolute basics through to step-by-step paintings and exercises.
A big, heartfelt thankyou to one and all for taking such an interest. We love to share, but without you popping along to have a look-see at our free-to-view webshow on blip.tv, we would not be able to grow.

Although we are not professional movie makers – what we do, we do to the best of our ability and it comes from our hearts.

So please let your friends and painting friends know what we’re up to, because it is only through recommendations that we can continue to offer these free-to-view tutorials.