In our e-newsletter of May 2024 we wrote of the powerful benefits of the ‘gift of art’ being oh so numerous, not least how that ‘gift’ can be extended to lend support to others. Of how Eileen and I have always strived to combine these attributes in our dedicated fund-raising efforts, in support of those communities in which we have lived and with whom we have worked. For memories are made of such ‘gifts’ - which, in turn, has inspired us to put into practice, the ‘art of sharing’ to the best of our abilities. Producing Fund-Raising Limited-Edition Prints, in aid of specific charities, gives us an on-going method of raising not only funds, but also awareness of the charity – one such charity being Highland Hospice.
Our New Year greetings for 2025 featured ‘Winter Solstice’, a view that inspired one of the three original Masterworks oil paintings and their accompanying Fund-Raising, Limited-Edition Prints that we have published in aid of Highland Hospice. In this recently released, behind-the-scenes video reveal, I take you for a walk-around the original oil painting, followed by a stage-by-stage of the whole composition and a detailed section.
We have two favourite routes home - one goes through what we call the magic woods, a route saved for twilight and deep night time, so that our car headlights can pick out the lichen-draped trees. The other goes past Loch Eye, where thousands of swans and geese settle after their migration from the far North. It was three thirty in the afternoon, as we drove along the single-track road, on a mid-winter day in December, when we spotted the full moon in the cloudless sky above Rhynie Farm over the other side of Loch Eye and stopped the car.
The day was golden with the slowly setting sun. Streaming in from the right of the view it clothed the bales of hay in the field immediately in front of us and picked out the delicate tracery of the frosted stalks and weeds, which so resembled lace-work. The frozen mirrored surface of Loch Eye had been slowly melting all day, but trees in the shadows were still stiffly white. Two horses grazed contentedly in one of the fields on the opposite shore – and yes – they can be seen in the finished painting!
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Never before had I seen the colours of field and bales so clarified and contrasted against the cool frosted hues that framed them. Unlike a covering of snow, the hard frost had not covered the ground; instead, it embroidered the trees and grasses with its cold touch. The rainbow banded colours in the sky were an inspiration, overlooked by the ghost of a moon. Surely anything is possible in such a magical landscape.
This was it, the perfect, calming image for Highland Hospice that became ‘Winter Solstice’, from which we would publish the first of our fund-raising prints.
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
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