Art and Soul of Inspiring Subjects – June 2025 Blog Post #2 of 2
- Paul Taggart
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
Eileen and I do so appreciate just how truly fortunate we are to live in a part of the world that attracts visitors from across the globe and to have free and easy access to our surroundings throughout the year. Some people are of the opinion that the Highlands of Scotland are wet and dreary, bugged by midgies – but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Here, there are vast skies looking down on multitude vistas of mixed landscape. There are mountains and glens, gorges and rivers, forests and rolling hills cloaked in heather, awe-inspiring rock-scapes supporting the vertiginous foreshore overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and miles of sandy beaches lapped by the rhythm of the North Sea – not to forget the wildlife, flora and fauna and many protected sites of historical and natural interest.
"Dabbing for flounders on the Dornoch Firth" a magical phrase which caught our imagination, when we read it for the first time in an interview with a public figure from years gone by. It is of such simple stuff that dreams are made and it caused us to begin our search for a new life in the Highlands of Scotland - it became an obsession of mine to capture that inspirational phrase in a painting. A visit from a long-standing friend, a master etcher and keen fisherman, set the adventure in motion. We set off for an afternoon walk, along an inlet on the Dornoch Firth. Paddling through the cool waters, feeling the sand between our toes, sculpted by the outgoing tide into miniature waves; the Highland sky began to spill light in a way the locals accept, but at which newcomers marvel.
Everything that excites me as possible subject to portray in a painting was to be found in this moment in time. Light, water and a figure. Hills, a sandy shore and a single fisherman can be transformed into an everlasting memory by that one moment of scintillating light from a cloud-filled sky. Sunlight pouring dramatically from the sky demanded to be recorded.
Another of our favourite walks, a must for visitors on their first visit to the Highlands of Scotland. To the east, wide sandy beaches curve around the foreshore, where Loch Fleet meets the North Sea – whilst to the west, the shoreline is covered in rounded-pebbles of multi-colours, scrunching underfoot as we move from shoreline to forest. To get there, we first drive over the Mound that links Dornoch to Golspie in Sutherland (Highlands of Scotland) - swing a right down a single-track road and on to Littleferry. Here visitors arrive at what was once the jetty for the ferry that transported folk across Loch Fleet. Stand awhile and drink in the view across the Fleet looking westwards on to the distant mountains. Halfway on your right-hand side, along the shore you will spy a traditional stone building; known as The Girnal. A Girnal is the storehouse of goods being transported from an Estate (in this case the Sutherland Estate) onwards to final destinations. Nowadays this Girnal is used by those who visit the Highlands for a spot of fishing on river and loch. This painting depicts The Girnal, as seen from further up the shoreline.
We live a few minutes’ walk from a village situated by a tidal sea inlet, where occasional fishermen berth their boats, the subject of this scene. Scores of seabirds are attracted in, either by the chance of a scrap left behind, or shell fish hiding in the pools exposed by the ebbing tide. This painting is about colour and light. In those distant hills the coloured greys of the trees enfold intense, vibrant hues of the lower-lying fields. Set against them is the rich blue of the outgoing tide, its textures describing the movement of the water as it ebbs back out to sea.
I am fascinated by the play of light catching flocks of birds as they swoop and soar; their patterns shown here against the low light of the sky, adding a sparkle to their flickering wings. In my mind’s eye, I saw the placement of these swooping gulls as a series of flowing musical notes on a score – drawing the viewer’s gaze along the notes, echoing the flight of the dancing birds and on to the boat, the ‘anchor’ of the composition; where it is then drawn out again by individuals searching the sand looking for something to forage. The low sun casts dramatically contrasting light and shadow on the white boat and its reflection on the pools below. It also highlights those searching gulls and their reflections, as they wade in the shallows.
If you would like to purchase any of our limited-edition or fund-raising prints, or 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 and we’re delighted to gift-wrap with our compliments.
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.
