Tag: press and journal

A Lasting Reminder of Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025: Fine Art Prints Now Available

Festival of Sail: The Tall Ships Races, Aberdeen 2025 – Click image to purchase a signed print

It’s hard to believe that it’s already a year since Aberdeen welcomed the Tall Ships back to the city, and I am delighted to finally announce that I now have two beautiful print editions available to purchase.

Click here to view both options at my Big Cartel shop.

Read on for more on this prestigious commission to create the official Tall Ships Races, Aberdeen 2025 painting, and for details on how to get your own print!

When Port of Aberdeen commissioned me to create a painting to commemorate the event, I wanted it to become a lasting reminder of an occasion that meant so much to the city. More than simply celebrating the magnificent ships, I hoped it would reflect the excitement, community spirit and sense of civic pride that made those four days so memorable.

The finished painting looks across the harbour from Blaikie’s Quay towards Regent Quay, with Aberdeen’s distinctive granite skyline providing the backdrop. The ships, city and harbour are shown as they were, while colourful bunting, signs and bustling crowds help convey the harbour at its busiest and most vibrant. I wanted the finished painting to feel like Aberdeen at its very best during the Tall Ships – full of colour, joy and life.

A closer look at some of the detail.

When the painting was unveiled earlier this year, Bob Sanguinetti, Chief Executive of Port of Aberdeen, kindly said that I had “perfectly captured the essence of the event which can now be enjoyed for generations to come.” Hearing those words meant a great deal because they echoed exactly what I had hoped to achieve.

Bob Sanguinetti (CEO Port of Aberdeen), Councillor Martin Grieg, Clive Ramage (that’s me) and Adrian Watson (CEO, Aberdeen Inspired) unveil the painting and have a first look at my new print of it at Aberdeen Maritime Museum in July 2026.

Since then, one of the questions I’ve been asked most often is whether prints of the painting would be available. I’m delighted to say that they now are.

I’ve produced two fine art editions: a larger signed and numbered A1 Limited Edition of just 150 prints, professionally reproduced on beautiful Hahnemühle fine art paper, and an A2 open edition, offering the same image in a slightly smaller format while maintaining the same exceptional print quality.

Each of the larger A1 Limited Edition prints comes with a signed, dated and numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

Whether you visited the Tall Ships, volunteered during the event, boarded or even sailed on one of the vessels or simply have a love of Aberdeen and its maritime heritage, I hope these prints provide a lasting reminder of an extraordinary few days in the city’s history.

Both editions are now available to order from my online shop. Prints can also be purchased and framed at:

Framing Point, Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen

Frameworks, Bishopton Kinneler, AB210TX

Quay Gallery, Stonehaven

As always, thank you for following and supporting my work and I hope you like the picture.

The original painting is currently on display at Aberdeen Maritime Museum.

Orkney Saga: How a Journey to Orkney Changed the Way I See & Paint the Scottish Landscape

In my Aberdeen-based studio with recently finished paintings of Stroma and Scurdie Ness lighthouses
The Moment of Change

As an artist, there are moments in your career when you feel a profound shift in your work—when something clicks, and you realise that the art you’re creating is no longer the same. This is exactly what happened with my latest lighthouse paintings, which were recently delivered to Ballater Gallery. Looking at them now, I believe these works are my best yet, but what stands out most to me isn’t just the finished product. It’s the journey I took to get here.

Seeking New Inspiration

In June of 2024, I felt it was time for a new source of inspiration. After years of painting skies and seas dominated by rich Prussian blues, I started to feel a yearning for something different. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and explore new landscapes that could challenge and refine my artistic vision. After much thought, I knew exactly where to go: Orkney.

Saying hello to the Old Man of Hoy after a blustery walk along the cliffs
Why Orkney?

Orkney is a place that has long been celebrated for its natural beauty and unique light, and I have always heard that many artists and poets have found it to be a deeply inspiring place. What intrigued me most was the idea of its “special light” and how it changes with the weather, time of day and season. Orkney’s rugged, windswept landscapes, with their quiet solitude and vast skies, have captivated many before me—and now, they were calling to me as well.

The Brough of Birsay Lighthouse, Orkney, during a brief sunny spell. Possibly for the easel!
The Impact of Orkney’s Light

Upon arriving, it didn’t take long for me to see how different this place was from anywhere else I’d been. The soft, ethereal quality of Orkney’s light shifted my perspective, albeit without my realising it at the time. I’d come to associate the intense, vibrant hues of Prussian blue with the sea and sky. But here, I found something new and more muted, more natural: an expansive range of greys that seemed to embrace the land, sky and sea in a way that felt more intimate. The colours weren’t just what I saw—they were how I felt, a reflection of the atmosphere itself.

Stroma lighthouse from a very boisterous ferry ride from St Margaret’s Hope back to the mainland … and below, my much calmer interpretation of that same scene
Stroma Lighthouse, Orkney – oil on canvas – 40x120cm
A Subtle Shift in Palette

This shift in palette is something I hadn’t consciously planned, but it emerged as I spent more time on the island, sketching and photographing lighthouses and the coastal landscape, as violent winds constantly roared around me and the rain poured down almost all of the time. The greys in the sky, the soft blues in the water, the shifting clouds—all seemed to whisper to me to pare things back, to allow nature to be the star. In contrast to the bold blues of my previous work, these new paintings feel quieter, more contemplative and more grounded. That’s not to say I won’t ever use Prussian blue again, but right now I am enjoying the serenity of working with this new palette.

Scurdie Ness Lighthouse, Montrose – oil on canvas – 71x71cm – SOLD 🔴
Unaware of the Change

What is most exciting to me is that I wasn’t even aware that this change was happening until it was already underway. It’s as if the spirit of Orkney, with its elusive light and rugged beauty, had gently guided me toward a new phase in my artistic journey—one that has already had a profound impact on how I view and represent the world around me (as can be seen in the above painting Scurdie Ness, Montrose, also at Ballater Gallery).

A New Chapter in My Work

These two new lighthouse paintings—my most recent works—mark the beginning of this new chapter. And although I am proud of these paintings and excited by the new direction of my work, I know there’s still so much more to explore and achieve. Orkney has not only inspired these paintings but has also sparked a deeper understanding of my own personal and artistic relationship with light, landscape and the subtle yet powerful shifts that occur in the natural world … and I can’t wait to see where I go from here!

Where to next?
Looking Ahead

As always, I’m excited to continue sharing my journey with you.

Thank you for joining me on this wee adventure—both through my art and the landscapes that continue to inspire it!

In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for more exciting news about a very special commission I’ve been working on recently. I can’t wait to share more about all of that with you very soon!