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Wildlife Art
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| martin
ridley - wildlife artist
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Kayak
adventure |
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Otters, eiders and
stunning west coast scenery - a wildlife artist's inspiration. Paddling
a kayak in west coast of Scotland sea lochs provides
useful birdwatching and frequent encounters with otters, eiders
and seals.
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View from Arisaig
to the Islands of Rum and Eigg
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Returning from a paddle |
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THE
KAYAKS |
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Jill and I had an inclination to try a kayaking course. Soon afterwards
we acquired our own equipment, so we are now free to incorporate a little
paddling into our itinerary. |
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We are complete softies, favourite launching conditions are the very finest
weather with flat calm water. I have a disturbing memory of very nearly
having drowned in a canoe some years ago and Jill too has no desire to try
any interesting water conditions. We paddle to experience relaxation not
stress.
Paddling has proved an inspirational experience. Kayaking opens up a whole
new dimension. Intead of water being a no go area it becomes your means
of transport and rather than always just looking out over the water you
can explore the shoreline looking back at the land. The low view point provides
wonderful reflections and the detail of the water, rocks and weeds are much
closer to hand. This page shows you the creative results, which stemmed
from our trips.
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WET WEATHER |
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Drying out at a more sheltered campsite
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Camping along the west coast of Scotland in October can be quite wet from
time to time. In-between bright sunny half days we had 24 hour storms. |
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At an exposed campsite
with a gale due overnight we took compass bearings in order to pitch the
tent at the right angle to the forecast wind, then tied the tent to the
car and piled boulders around it. The tent flexed about a bit and the noise
was intense, but all seemed fine until I unzipped the inner to discover
our rucksacks and food floating in a lake of water. |
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VIVID
MEMORIES |
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We made a limited number of sorties due to the weather but they were amongst
some of the most memorable days I have ever had. As an artist I thrive
on vivid memories:
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- skimming along in the kayak through patches
of glassy water reflecting the mountains
- forty seals following us out of curiosity
- beautiful flowing seaweeds suspended
in crystal clear water
- punting over pristine bars of white
sand into yet another Caribbean blue channel
- a myriad of islands and reefs each with
their piping oystercatchers
- watching an otter fishing
- spectacular sunsets accompanied by the
sounds of crooning eider ducks and the occasional roaring red deer stag
I could harp on but I'm sure
you're getting the picture. I'm keen to share the experience through
my paintings, but the best I can produce will always in my mind fall short
of the real thing. |
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Eiders
Oils, 12 x 16 inches |
Sold |
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Otter,
Loch Ailort
Oils, (detail from the painting) |
Sold |
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Equipped with an underwater camera,
which could be mounted onto the end of my paddle by a clip that I had made
earlier I located some attractive underwater scenery. Once above the spot
the camera was fitted onto the paddle, the timer activated and lowered into
the water with the lens facing the right direction until the shutter was
triggered.
My methods were somewhat random but I did get a small percentage of quite
useful shots, which were used as a starting point for the painting below.
The twinkling rays of sunshine and the amazing colours were a revelation
and the next plan is to get a wet suit and pursue this angle further in
the future. |
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Otter
and Sea Trout
Oils, 19 x 24 inches |
Original
sold |
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Eiders
Oils, 24 x 18 inches |
Sold |
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Oystercatchers
Oils, 14 x 21 inches |
Sold |
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Line
of Oystercatchers
Oils, 12 x 21 inches |
Sold |
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Photo from
Ardtoe to the Islands of Rum and Eigg |
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More Otter Paintings
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Martin
Ridley, 29 Toberargan Road, Pitlochry
Perthshire PH16 5HG
Telephone: International +44 7925 549 002
UK 07925 549 002
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