No sooner that we had got our feet back on the mainland and had travelled to Aberdeen to visit my daughter and her family, I heard a ping on my mobile and in utter disbelief I read a post that Crannag cottage was free for six weeks during November to Christmas ! Now this is the little red roofed house that we had spotted on our visit.
Gerry Murnin has sent an email to Eileen to see if she had wanted to stay there and guess what she sent it onto us ! How spooky was that !
As soon as we looked at the photo and link we just knew we had to go. Within a few hours we had booked it and I could hardly sleep for excitement.
To be our house to stay in November “Crannag” Unbelievable !
When this opportunity of spending a solid block of time in Barra came up I was super excited, Not just to be going to the island of Barra, to have time to paint and reflect, but just to be.
So the ferry’s booked and I was now counting the days until November.
So that you can understand a wee bit about myself I will give you a wee bit of current history.
I am an artist who retired from teaching many moons ago but has been running and sharing a gallery space in the beautiful grounds of the NTS Culzean Country Park in the Coach House. We are open in season from March until October. I love this place it is beautiful all the year round and the castle is magnificent .
I enjoy selling my work to people I meet and it is always satisfying to have that point of contact. As well as the gallery, I also exhibit work with my local Ayr Sketch Club, the Paisley Art Institute and the Glasgow Society of Woman Artists and also many local charity events. As you can imagine this keeps me very busy as well as being a mum to my two wonderful daughters and grandma to four beautiful grandchildren.
During my wait I was being kept busy in the gallery, meeting lovely people and this lad certainly gave me a smile… a basket ball player from the states what a great chap !
Sneaky peak inside the Gallery
Some pantings sold in the gallery during August
I am also very lucky to have my own studio in the house , this is me at my happiest.
In the meantime my husband Archie is also working hard mounting my prints and making bespoke frames.
What a star! This is a print of Culzean in the Summer, The original is with a lovely family in New York
In September we had organised an exciting competition called ‘Capture Culzean in a Day ‘ with the NTS.
This kept me busy, what a blast.
Some of the competitors
It was now time for a proper rest and a holiday . So we were off to Madeira with our good friends Irene and Ken from Chesterfield.
What a great time for a wee sketch.
Not long to go now, new paints to buy and canvases to prime and in the meantime, I did some wee sketches in my sketchbook, in anticipation.
Little watercolours from my memory of Barra
Nearly there ………only a few more sleeps!
next blog is BARRA whoop! whoop! #barrartventure
See you all there.