Victoria Bridge, Aberdeen; black and white painting and early photography

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Victoria Bridge, Aberdeen, oil on card, 16.6 x 15.2 cm -  available

This dates back to September, and is one of my black and whites which is most influenced by early photography. 

Ergo, there is an emphasis on a soft atmosphere. The influence can also be seen  in the presentation of motif. That is, a well known city sight is depicted, very recognisably, from a distance in which most of it can be seen, often with few figures and little  sense of movement (this last point is somewhat reduced here, given the sky).

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Telegraph post, Mannofield, Aberdeen

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Telegraph post, Mannofield, Aberdeen

 oil on card 14.8 x 12.9 cm - available

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Winter in Spain and Morocco- more details

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Winter in Spain and Morocco- more details

We leave in about six weeks, to visit. in sequence:

Marrakesh,

Sidi Ifni

Essaouira (probably)

El Jadida (probably)

Meknes

Tangier

Seville

Valencia

The weather here in Aberdeen has turned sharply colder, and it isn`t easy to go out comfortably.  Scotland in Winter is quite inhospitable. Moreover, the fact that I hate Christmas makes spending December in an Islamic country extremely appealing.

Northern Morocco tends to be rainy in the Winter, so we will spend most of our days in the Atlantic coast.

While in Morocco we stay in hotels, in Spain we have rented apartments. 

I`m getting boards ready: I`m thinking about continuing in black and white, at least for part of the trip.

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Flower

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Flower, oil on card, 18 x 15 cm - available

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Garages, Mannofield, Aberdeen

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Garages, Mannofield, Aberdeen

 oil on card, 15.4 x 17.9 cm - available

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Cruickshank Botanic Garden, Autumn, Aberdeen

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Cruickshank Botanic Garden, Autumn, Aberdeen

oil on card, 21.1 x 21.3 cm - available

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Aberdeen, seafront

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Aberdeen, seafront, oil on card, 23.7 x 21 cm - available

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Mannofield, Aberdeen, a neighbour`s tree

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Mannofield, Aberdeen, a neighbour`s tree, oil on card, 15.6 x 15.3 cm -available

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Aberdeen, Tenements and warehouses on the River Dee near Victoria Bridge

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Aberdeen, Tenements and warehouses on the River Dee near Victoria Bridge,

 oil on card, 20.2 x 17.2 cm - available

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Winter in Spain and Morocco

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Southern Spain and Morocco

The prospect of several months of Scottish cold and darkness this winter is sufficiently unpleasant to drive me south: to Andalucia or Valencia, thence Morocco, (perhaps back to lovely Sidi Ifni, even?).

I`m thinking of adopting a new format, just for the hell of it. Perhaps something involving very simple line drawings? But the format should issue from the subject, surely? And that subject is not yet known. 

But perhaps one can make some decisions beforehand. I consider: size, weight of paper, doing monotypes, only black and white and colour (but restricted to about 6 different colours).

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Aberdeen, Mannofield, wall, trees

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Aberdeen, Mannofield, wall, trees

 oil on card, 21 x 20 cm - available

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Aberdeen, Mannofield, trees, autumn

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Aberdeen, Mannofield, trees, autumn

oil on card, 24 x 25.2 cm - available

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Stonehaven, August, 2025

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Stonehaven, August, 2025, oil on card, 29 x 29 cm, available

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