Painting "Highland Coos"

A bit later than planned due to other artistic activities last month, I started my painting for Jaap's birthday. It was my first commission so it was a good experience to create something based on someone else's brief and personal taste. Yesterday I officially presented it and he likes it luckily! It's now hanging above our bed, so we are now being guarded by two Highlanders.

The canvas size is 80 x 54 cm and I've used acrylics thickly to create textures. Note cards of this painting are available in my shop.

Photo assignment at Mackie's of Scotland

Last week I received a call from Mackie's of Scotland asking me whether I was able to supply them with some wintry photos of their yummy ice cream, farm and how business was being continued during this cold weather. Spending a full day in a stunning environment and having fun in the snow with my camera was an offer not to resist, so off I went in full gear to keep me warm at -14 Celsius.

Here are some of the photos:

 

Mackie's ice cream is manufactured with renewable energy

 

Snowplough working its way through the bulk of snow

 

 

"Monster" likes his owner's ice cream too!

 

Managing director under one of the three windmills at the farm

The next day the following ad was created and published in one of the national newspapers:

They are absolutely right about that! Once you have had the opportunity to taste it, you don't want to have anything else anymore so dear blog readers, be warned...

In March 2011, Mackie's were announced to be the winners of the Beautiful Farm Awards with the help of one of my photos! Here are some press releases which were published in the regional newspapers:

Press Release 1

Press Release 2

Merry Christmas and a delightful 2011

I wish all my friends and family merry Christmas and a delightful new year! I look forward keeping you up-to-date with new artwork, outdoor adventures and other interesting stories in 2011.
Click the link to view the beautiful e-card!

Finally a proper winter!

The continuous snowfall is the main news here in the North East of Scotland (and now also in the rest of the UK) since last week. And why do we get so excited about snow? Read this BBC article!

Satellite image of UK covered in snow

People haven't experienced this in our village since 30 years, so I thought I would capture the scenes with some snapshots as reference for the coming years, but also as evidence for my family and friends in The Netherlands who may have never experienced this in their lives (yet).
When I spoke with the skier in one of the photos, I decided to invest in equipment for ski mountaineering so I can do Scolty Hill too!