Art and Soul of Inspiring Subjects – June 2025 Blog Post #1 of 2
- Paul Taggart
- Jun 10
- 5 min read
Greetings from our studio, here in the Highlands of Scotland, from where we send you our warmest salutations and hope that all is well with you in spirit and in health.
Even though our heart and souls are committed to creativity, the very essence of our lives, which finds us most days working away in our beloved Steading studio – the ‘art and soul’ of our various projects is rooted in finding subjects and people that inspire us.
My latest Grande Miniature Masterworks oil painting, ‘The Sound of Distant Shores’, recently completed after many, many, months, being a prime example. As a youngster I was fortunate to have frequent access to the ocean. Staring at the swell sent my imagination roaming, for the sea has no borders and links us to every part of the world, in a way no land-route ever can.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the pull of the waves remains with me. A favourite walk of ours lies close by, one that leads us steeply downhill past the Old Salmon Bothy, where an old stone slipway slopes downward to disappear beneath the surf. Beyond, lie sandy shores and rocky outcrops. The water is crystal clear and rock-pools abound with life.
It was on one of our walks that we came across the deep sea-pool that features in this painting, ‘The Sound of Distant Shores’. The breaking waves and rattle of pebbles and shells, being sucked sea-ward by the water’s retreat, remind me of my childhood vision. These same waters have lapped on foreign shores; exotic and peopled by races of every colour, their call is echoed in the sound of the waves that reach our own ears.
Watch this behind-the-scenes video - https://vimeo.com/1091762680 – in which I take you for a walk around the painting itself, along with a reveal of the main stages that this painting went through.
For some time, I had wanted to paint a companion to my painting ‘Ghosts of Summer’ – but it required time and patience to find the right composition that would fit successfully into such a wide format. The breakthrough came on finding the sea-pool on one of our local shores. It was perfect and would accommodate a figure placed on one side to echo the balance in ‘Ghosts of Summer’.
Having found my subject, the next question was size. This proved not to be straightforward. The subject matter was dictating a smaller scale - which is why I decided upon a Grande Miniature.
Working on such a wide vista is indeed quite a balancing act. One has to keep the viewer’s eye happy within the confines of the frame, guided by several focal points across the composition. The figure : distant rocks : foreground rocks : foam and wave patterns : the cresting wave.
The painting is actually one of a captured wave. held within the boundaries of the rocks, which encircle it in a wide oval - once again mirroring the oval in ‘Ghosts of Summer’.
Unusually, instead of breaking waves at shore level – you, the viewer, are looking down from a very high vantage point. We are actually seeing across the tail of the wave and the pattern of foam it has left behind. The crest of the wave (to the right) is about to break on the rocks. The clue to the event lies beyond the line of rocks at the top of the painting. Here you can see the far section of the same wave breaking in the distance. Thus, the wave’s power is held and focussed by the circle of rocks surrounding the transparent pool.
One other interesting element is the placement of the figure. She is watching the wave’s progress – her gaze carries ours toward the crest of the wave as it reaches its destination. Watching the reveal, you will note that she was moved several times, her final position being pivotal to the rest of the composition.
‘Ghosts of Summer’ – original Grande Masterworks oil painting
This oil painting is one of my favourites and holds pride of place in our studio; for it reminds us of one of those magical moments in life, an unexpected discovery; one filled with multi-sensory memories of a late-Summer/early-Autumn day. As soon as I saw this view, I knew I wanted to capture this otherwise unseen riverscape. Yet what a task, but such challenges are what draw me to complex subjects in which light is the primary force. This was going to take all of my knowledge of how light behaves and my method built on traditional painting techniques to capture.
I titled this painting ‘Ghosts of Summer’, for the subject is evocative of the elements on that day – dappling light through the leaves on the trees and vegetation, seeming to filter through the leaves themselves, turning them semi-transparent as their various green Summer colours slowly diminish in ghostly anticipation of their Autumnal change.
The ‘ghostly’ sound of rippling water and trickling falls, as the river meanders down from its source in the Highland hills to the North Sea below; which we can still hear quite clearly as we look up from our work in the studio to where this painting sits on its display easel.
It brings to mind the first sounds that enticed us to explore further, to take a break from one of our rambles over a friend’s estate in the Northern Highlands of Scotland. We simply couldn’t resist following the tinkling and gushing sounds of water, having to crouch down on hands and knees to break through the dense foliage, as there was no easy route through to where we finally emerged. What a view, it took our breath away, as we emerged on the rocky foreshore of the river.
If you would like to enquire about an original painting – simply email us (click here) with your initial enquiry and we will be back in touch to take things forward. Whether it’s a treat for yourself, or a gift for someone special, we take great care of your requirements.
We thank you for reading our latest news and for your continued interest in our work and, as ever, send best wishes, from Eileen and myself,”
Paul TaggartArtist, Author, Presenter, Producer
NOTE : This blog post contains information pertaining to Paul W. Taggart and Eileen M. Tunnell and may contain copyrighted material. It should be read as protected by International Copyright law and DMCA.
