From Ferryhill Road, Aberdeen

 *

From Ferryhill Road, Aberdeen, oil on card, 37 x 32 cm - available

*

Albury Road, Ferryhill, Aberdeen

 *

Albury Road, Ferryhill, Aberdeen, oil on card, 37 x 32 cm - available

*

Housing and trees, Garthdee

 *

Housing and trees, Garthdee, oil on card, 27.2 x 31 cm - available through No 31 Gallery

*

Allotment, Garthdee, Early April 2025

 *

 

Allotment, Garthdee, Early April 2025, oil on card, 32 x36 cm -  available

*

Two framed paintings for Coppa Cafe

*

Pushkar, Rajasthan, India, people on a lane, 2025

Oil on card, 25.7 x 29.3 cm 

Framed: £195

Unframed: £180

Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, a view, 2025

Oil on card, 27.2 x 26 cm 

Framed: £195

Unframed: £180

Simply framed paintings for Coppa Cafe in St Swithin Street, Aberdeen. They will be on display from Friday.  These pictures join nine others of mine.

The Cafe is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. 

*

A journey to India: Uttarakhand- 14. Haridwar; India: thoughts

 *

Haridwar

This was a pleasant surprise, much more orderly than I`d expected with nice Art Deco buildings in ice cream colours.

...

But very hot already. reminding us that it was time to return to the UK

And gone..

*

India: thoughts

India is rather a sensorily loaded place and one returns the the tranquility and orderliness of Aberdeen with the sensation having awoken from a particularly vivid dream. 

My comments here refer to Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. India is a virtual continent and I would not generalise beyond the states I know a little about.

In terms of general tourism, India is not especially easy though some issues can be mitigated by paying more for better hotels or restaurants. 

Lonely Planet`s guide to Rajasthan was disappointing. Usually I find this series of guides to be very dependable, but this book fails utterly to give a balanced impression of India and the challenges likely facing visitors. It is far too positive in tone, to the point of being, essentially, propaganda. 

We travelled mainly by taxi. With two splitting the fare this is not as outlandishly extravagant as you might imagine, so that a four hour journey might cost about $20 each. And, of course, that is from hotel to to hotel door- considerably more convenient.

The problems the India`s famous rail network are several- complexity of booking procedure, limited availability of trains and that they often depart at night, and the ubiquitous seediness of stations and trains.

Cheaper hotels are probably dirty; the Indian nation does not, generally speaking, seem to give hygiene much importance, while the middle range ones will also have issues, such as plumbing or poorly cleaned rooms, but they will be fewer. Hotel ratings given on sites such as Booking.com and Tripadvisor are highly questionable as Indian hotels use marketing agencies to purchase positive ratings and reviews, thus corrupting the system. We found that by disregarding the 10 star ratings and looking at those going from 2 to 9, written by non-Indians, we might get a more measured impression of the real state of a hotel. 

Most hotels do not accept non-Indian cards, which necessitates taking money out of cash machines in advance- something of a nuisance.

Food was a problem. It is usually spicy, including breakfast, and often extremely so. The curse of veganism is common, so good protein can be hard to find. Sometimes you can find beer, often surprisingly pricy.

Conversations we had with Indians in the three months in which we travelled nearly always served as vehicles for selling. They were rarely the sort of general, genial and innocent conversations which are a staple of other places I have been.

For painting...

For painting India was wonderful with many striking scenes, beautiful sunshine and interesting architecture and street culture. I found it to be mainly safe. 

*

A journey to India: Uttarakhand- 13. Mussoorie

 *

13. Mussoorie

We stayed at this hill station for a 10 days and the weather  was fantastic. The views are astonishing. Like Shimla, the economy is based on tourism but somehow we felt less bothered by this here.

I don`t know why but I didn`t sleep well here. I know it`s a digression but its funny how for no obvious reason, in some places one just doesn`t sleep well.  

I worked very steadily. 

All works are oil on card

Mussoorie, mountains, 29.4 x 28 cm - available

 

Mussoorie, distant mountains, 22 x 29.6 cm - available

Mussoorie, a view, 27.2 x 26 cm - available

Mussoorie, a valley, 22.2 x 27 cm - available

Mussoorie, a flowering tree, 28.9 x 29.5 cm - available

Mussoorie, a hill, 30 x 32.5 cm - available

*

A journey to India: Uttarakhand- 12. Rishikesh

 *

*

12. Rishikesh

I painted the Ganges from the hotel window- a chance to pursue a sustained project.

This place is basically based economically on Yoga. But as a result there are plenty of cafes and places for westerners to feel at home in, albeit all serving vegan food and rarely alchohol.

All works are oil on card

Rishikesh, Sandbank on the Ganges, 42 x 34 cm - available

Rishikesh, The Ganges, 28.5 x 36.5 cm - available

Rishikesh, Haze over the Ganges, 31.6 x 34,2 cm - available

Rishikesh, the right bank of the Ganges, 27.5 x 30 cm - available

Rishikesh, the left bank of the Ganges, 30 x 34.2 cm - available

*

A journey to India: Himachal Pradesh - . 10. Shimla and 11. Nahan

 *

10. Shimla

We stayed briefly in Shimla. It had been a gamble to go there so soon on in the season, and it was indeed unpleasantly cold and wet. The place is an awful lot more touristy than we had imagined, and not touristy in a very pleasant way, so you feel like a processed cheese on return to you hotel every day. 

The views are often spectacular there, however.

11. Nahan

We stayed in a homestay in Nahan, located in a wood. Quite nice for forest painiting. The light was subtle and pleasant. We felt well.

All works are oil on card

Nahan, distant trees, 27.5 x 23 cm - available

Nahan, trees and bushes, 27.5 x 30 cm - available

Trees in Nahan 26.3 x 26.2 cm - available

Nahan, settlement, 23.8 x 20.5 cm - available

*

A journey to India: 9. Chandigarh, the capital of the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana

 *

9. Chandigarh

Corbusier`s welcoming bird/ hand windvane

This city has some fine examples of work by le Corbusier, in a city built largely following his plans. 

And an odd place it is too, more interesting than enjoyable There are interesting, highly sculptural, administrative buildings buildings. I was especially taken by the community theatre which is a the base of the giant hand. But the city is no place for a pedestrians: everything is a great hike from one modernist zone to another.

The extensive  Rock Garden was very impressive with a great range of environments and Nek Chand Saini`s memorable sculptures:

*

A journey to India: Rajasthan - 7. Jaisalmer

 *

7. Jaisalmer

The desert town has the peculiarity of being historically contained largely within the fortress walls, so that shops, temples, hotels and homes can be found being the fortified entrance. 

 I worked from rooftops.

Jaisalmer is rather atmospheric and I`d like to spend more time there

All are oil on card

Jaisalmer, a cafe and a scooter, 23.7 x 27.3 cm - available

Jaisalmer, view from a cafe, 25 x 26.5 cm - available

Jaisalmer, pipes on a roof, 27.2 x 24.3 cm - available

Jaisalmer, a view of rooftops, 24.3 x 30.3 cm - available

*

A journey to India: Rajasthan - 6. Jodhpur

 *

Jodhpur

The blue city (not quite as blue as it is reputed to be) is characterised by a splendid fort, gigantic above the city and beside it an extensive area of parkland-  where I worked very happily. 

The main part of the city, despite having much of interest, including the most splendid clock tower and  long long lanes with seemingly endless little shops is dilapidated, to the extent often of being disagreeable.

Cactus, 24.5 x 27 cm - available

Plants on a hillside, Jodhpur, 24 x 27 cm - available

A hillside, Jodhpur, 30.7 x 29.2 cm - available

*

A journey to India: Rajasthan - 5. Udaipur 4/4: lanes

 *

Lane behind Baba Palace Hotel, 30.5 x 34.5 cm - available

White house, Udaipur, 27.2 x 30 cm - available

Blue house, Udaipur, 28.6 x 29.5 cm - available

*

A journey to India: Rajasthan - 5. Udaipur 3/4: from the hotel roof

 *

Life on flat roofs seems to have been really embraced in Udaipur-  an alternative India free of traffic chaos, where clothes hang to dry, carpets are aired, kites fly, people sleep, sit around or have little parties.

All works are oil on card

Udaipur, from the roof of Baba Palace hotel, looking north-east, 37 x 30 cm - available

Udaipur, from the roof of Baba Palace hotel, looking east, 29 x 31 cm - available

Udaipur, from the roof of Baba Palace hotel, hills, 28.2 x 24.2 cm- available

*

A journey to India: Rajasthan - 5. Udaipur 2/4: in the park

 *

Udaipur, pergolas, 27.5 x 26.5 cm - available

Udaipur, a temple in a park, 28.1 x 27.5 cm, available

Udaipur, trees in a park, 27.9 x 27.5 cm - available

*

A journey to India: Rajasthan - 5. Udaipur 1/4: from our room at Hotel Baba Palace

 *

Udaipur:  from our room at Hotel Baba Palace

We stayed in a fine old hotel in this lovely city. Fine, that is, apart from the plumbing in the bathroom. 

But I can lay drainage problems to one side when a room faces a splendid, noisy Hindu temple. 

Udaipur, Jagdish Chowk temple, 36.9 x 30 cm - available

Udaipur, the steps of a smaller temple, 27.3 x 29.6 cm  - available

*

A journey to India: Rajasthan - 4. Bundi

 *

4. Bundi

This little place was recommended by the guides, on account of its fine fort, and step wells. Being smaller we thought it might be more relaxing than Jaipur.

 It was indeed calmer and it does have a good number of interesting buildings as it rises up to the castle above the town. But it is not, really, very pleasant, being very dirty and often impoverished, with child beggars and squalor. The famous step wells are all filthy as, alas, is the lake just beyond the castle. Kipling`s house and elegant gardens needed maintenance but were pleasant nonetheless

 But  I found it all right to work in, especially taking advantage of one or two rooftop cafes for a view: I thank the proprietors for their hospitality.

 Thus began my love affair with Rajasthan rooftops.

All works are oil on card

Bundi, from a cafe, 31.7 x 36.7 cm - available

The gardens at Kipling`s palace, 35.5 x 31.5 cm - available

*

A journey to India: 1. Delhi, 2. Agra and then Rajasthan: 3. Jaipur

 *

A journey to India

This is the first trip done accompanied, with Ms M. K. , a fine travel companion.

1. Delhi

Delhi was vile: filthy, polluted and with scammers all over the place. Then it rained, transforming into a a mixture o mud and excrement. We left after one night.

2. Agra

Agra was also nasty for similar reasons, and we left after we had seen the obvious sights.

Rajasthan

General

The weather being almost always perfectly sunny, and never too hot, the trip allowed me to work steadily in Rajasthan (where we arrived after leaving Delhi then Agra): Jaipur, Bundi, Udaipor, Jodphur, Jaisalmer and Pushkar. 

The architecture of Rajasthan is often very typically "Indian": golden hilltop fortresses, palaces, coloured temples and mysterious lanes.

3. Jaipur

Jaipur is a rich destination, with fine architectural sights and endless shops selling all manner of stuff. It is hard work, simply crossing the road is difficult because of chaotic traffic. 

But Bani Park, where we stayed, a mainly residential quarter not far from the centre, is more manageable.

All works are oil on card

Jaipur, Bani Park, block, 25 x 27.5 cm - available

Jaipur, Bani Park, arch, 26.5 x 28 cm - available

Jaipur, Bani Park, Arch with trees, 28 x 28.5  cm  - available

Jaipur, Bani Park, View from a hotel room (charlady) 29.7 x 27.8 cm - available

*