Four Seasons at Retreat Cottage

 My large paintings of Four Seasons at Retreat Cottage are now on sale at The Nicolson Building Gallery, St Catherines Road, Forres, Moray.The Gallery has been refurbished and now has a pleasant coffee lounge. Exhibiting until 3rd August. Also exhibiting a wonderful collect of Photographs by Jack Martin entitled ' Through the Lens ' The Exhibition starts on Saturday 3rd May. Put it in your diary.
Do give it a look.

A bigger blue

Following the sale of my picture 'Sailing into Blue' at the Moray Art Club exhibition. I thought I would paint another one, but much bigger and in acrylics. This is the result. It is 30" x 30" and can be seen along with some of my other paintings at The Loft, East Grange Farm, Kinloss.
They are in the restaurant and the pottery.
www.eastgrange.co.uk

Sailing into Blue

I have put three paintings into The Moray Art Club exhibition at Elgin library. This one titled Sailing into Blue  has been sold. There is still time to see my other two paintings and all the other wonderful exhibits by some very talented artists. It ends this Friday at 8pm so hurry.

The Five Sisters of Kintail

My latest mountain painting. This is my second attempt at this range of Scottish mountains. The view is from Ratagan on Loch Duich

60cm x 50cm on stretched canvas.

Nowhere Man

When The Beatles wrote the lyrics to ' Nowhere Man ' they probably didn't intend it to have a deep meaning. Indeed maybe it was a disparaging observation on a life lived without meaning! However there is a wisdom in No Where. There is a wisdom' in Not Going. There is a wisdom in Not Doing.
So many people are on ' a journey ' a journey to find themselves, to find the truth, to become enlightened.
Here in Findhorn we have a constant stream of ' Teachers ' claiming to give answers. Their workshops are well attended and if their methods don't work, well there is another ' way ' on offer by another teacher!
From my observations there is a certain type of deluded egoism at work here. It is fashionable to drop into conversations the revelation that " I am on a journey, I am on the path " Here in Findhorn everybody is on a ' journey ' so endless conversations about the collective ' journey ' take place and reinforce the seekers determination to get ' there '
But where is  there? Where is it?
Actually it is nowhere and it is everywhere. It just is. It is not necessary to follow the latest teachers workshop or Utube video. Save your money and sit. Sit and watch the sea. Sit and contemplate nature, a wonderful sunset, the miracle of a bee and the warmth of the sun. You are part of this. Isn't it enough?

Loch Duich looking towards Eilean Donan Castle

I have just spent a very pleasant weekend on the Scottish West Coast. I was with a large group so had little time to paint. However I did squeeze in this small canvas which was completed in less than one hour.
The view is from Ratagan looking down Loch Duich in the general direction of Eilean Donan Castle and Skye.
Looking the other way the view to The Five Sisters of Kintail ( a mountain range ) was superb but as the wind was rather keen I chose the view down the Loch from a spot sheltered from the wind.
The painting is small for me at only 12" x 12" ( 30cm x 30cm ) so is for sale at a small price. Not yet on my web site www.chrisgauntartist.co.uk so if you would like to buy before it goes on, it is only £30.00

My Terrible Secret



My terrible secret. My blog was started for the disingenuous purpose of trying to get viewers to visit my art web site www.chrisgauntartist.co.uk  and thereby buy a painting or two. Not sure it is working! However I discovered that if I allowed Google to place ads on my blog and website they would pay me each time you clicked on a advert. Google is very clever and tailors the ads to your likely preferences. Now I am a few pence away from my first pay cheque so keep clicking folks. I will say however that I do enjoy putting my quirky thoughts down as they arise. I hope you sometimes enjoy reading them?

The Cullins.Isle of Skye Mountains

After my exhibition I had a painting pause. This is my first painting since then. I finished it today. It is of the magnificent Cullins viewed from Sligachan. It is the same size as all my recent paintings on canvas. That is to say quite big. 24"x 24" or 60cm x 60cm

To view other paintings of this size on canvas go to my web site www.chrisgauntartist.co.uk 

Good Idea. Bad Ideology

How did it come to this?

50% youth unemployment in Spain and Greece. 12% average EU unemployment.

Who can argue against the original objectives of the European Union? A prosperous, voluntary trading bloc of nation states that would put the possibility  of another European war beyond imagination?

However it is difficult to argue now that it has all gone to plan. The vision, especially the Euro has become an ideology!

Ideologies go beyond the rational. If European leaders were rational they would be able to admit the Euro has been a ghastly mistake. A good idea that became an ideology, an ideology that has locked several countries into generational unemployment which is nothing short of criminal.
So instead of the devaluation of their currencies ( as would have happened in the past ) they are forced to adjust by so called internal devaluations, ie. unemployment, cuts, wage reductions, deflation, lower standards of living etc.

These are the conditions which give rise to another ideology, that is to say a rise in far right national parties or the mirror image of the far left.

If only European leaders would have the courage to tell voters it has been a mistake and that a change of direction is necessary they would gain the respect of the electorate.

I doubt this will happen. Ideologies tend to be pursued to the bitter end against all rational criteria. That is what defines an ideology!

Maybe the Euro will survive in spite of the extreme costs. Maybe the rise of the far right will not lead to war, but it is a terrible risk and the people of Europe are paying a terrible price

T S Elliot

 We shall not cease from exploration

 

and the end of our exploring 

 

will be to arrive where we started

 

and know the place for the first time

 

My favourite quote/poem by T S Elliot. What does this mean to you? Sometimes when I meditate I like to really contemplate something like this. I turn it over in my mind, savour the wisdom, reflect on what it is that I know for the first time. What has my journey taught me? How far have I travelled away from the ultimate knowing before returning to true understanding. Who or what guides and guided me? Was the exploration neccessary at all? Do you have a favourite quote to which you return as a refuge, an anchor in the stormy sea of life?

 

My painting is of nature spirits. My guides.
www.chrisgauntartist.co.uk

Affordable Art

Reflecting on the success of my recent exhibition at Elgin from which I sold nine paintings, I have come to this conclusion. Perhaps it was because my paintings were affordable? Of course I would like to think the buyers recognised my artistic talent! However I priced my work from quite frankly cheap, to reasonably priced. These two paintings were the cheapest and the dearest with the other seven in between. Can you guess which is which!

Heart Break Hotel!

Pensioners would get a 30% reduction at legalised brothels, or would have if the Bus Pass Elvis Party had won the Clifton North, Nottingham, council by election. As it is the Bus Pass Elvis Party beat the Lib Dems who came last! This manifesto pledge is an amusing reflection on current politics and is an antidote to the increasingly divisive Scottish Independence debate. One does wonder where the legalised brothels would be located. Hotels perhaps? If so could they become Heart Break Hotels when pensioners rushing to claim their 30% discount found some things just don't work as well as they used to! With apologies to Gerry Active pensioners especially those still with a smile on their faces!

This story is true. Well you couldn't make it up could you?

Elgin Exhibition ends 28th February

Our Elgin exhibition ends on the 28th February. It has been rewarding with nine sales so far. Thanks for the lovely comments in the comments book and thanks to all who turned out for the preview on a wild wet windy night. Pictured with me is my good friend Brian Anthony.If you didn't get a chance to go you can view my work at
 http://www.saatchiart.com/Lightwaterart1

Elgin Marvels

I am wondering if I have lost my marbles, or at least dreaming wishfully. My exhibition at Elgin has been successful with eight paintings sold. Then the sale of a painting and print from my website to America and sales from' Picture This' art gallery in Inverness. Just need some sales from Saachi on Line to round of the week.
The painting above is Black Rock Cottage in Glen Coe, one of the eight Elgin sales.

Euro Duck

It would seem that it is not only xenophobic Brits worried about unprecedented levels of migration. Spain has complained to Britain that large numbers of North American Ruddy Ducks are relocating from Britain to Spain and breeding with native White Headed Ducks. The North American Ruddy Duck was introduced to Britain by Peter Scott and have a voracious sexual appetite, so much so that the male White Headed Duck, and any other type of duck for that matter, cannot compete! The Ruddy Ducks are definitely not benefit tourists but go to Spain to work, as the female duckaritas will testify. Ruddy Ducks think the schengen agreement is a jolly good idea but the Spanish are so worried that they have asked for the Ruddy Ducks to be culled in the United Kingdom. This has already started! Does this not set a dangerous precedent? Might Britain ask the French to start culling would be migrants at Calais? where will it all end? Could it be that a Federal State of Europe starts with the creation of the Euro Duck? Surely those in favour of ever greater union should petition Brussels to cease this cull immediately.

Summer at Retreat Cottage

This is the fourth painting of Retreat Cottage. This one is Summer with the strong contrast of light and shade summer gives.The four paintings are all the same size 24" x 24" or 60cm x 60cm  The other three, Spring, Autumn and Winter can be seen on Saatchi on Line.
http://www.saatchionline.com/Lightwaterart1

Am I Crazy?

Am I crazy? My fellow Buddhist practitioners would ALMOST certainly think so and the wider world certainly would. I have talked before about the little Sparrow who sits on the gutter above my front door, always in the same place looking down at me. I call him ( for it is a he ) my Guru and I feel a profound love for him.

Why is this? Well almost all my enlightened moments, mystical moments, peak moments, call them what you will. have occurred in nature. I have had what seemed to me mystical moments and these have happened completely out of the blue, always in nature, always alone and never sought. Duality just dropped away and I was at one with my surroundings. What were these experiences?

I have meditated for years, been on the path, talked about enlightenment, understood intellectually the 51 mental events identified by the Abhidarma scholars.but I am not enlightened, That is to say in the sense that I am in the constant state of bliss which we seem to be aiming for.. It has to be said also neither are any of my fellow practitioners, as far as it it possible for me to ascertain! The trouble is that there is no path to follow and we are still caught up with this idea. We study, practise and in some Buddhist groups pass a series of tests until we are considered worthy enough to be given a funny name. We are then admitted to a sort of hierarchy and are expected then to initiate less ' advanced ' beginners along the same ' path '  Does this miss the point? There is a line in the Heart Sutra which reads ' Attainment too is emptiness ' So what are we striving for? This mysterious thing called enlightenment? Anybody can have the kind of experience I described above and you don't have to be a Buddhist. Just stop trying!

This is not to say I am recommending anyone to give up on Buddhism, I am not. Meditation will at the very least make you a happier more integrated person and most importantly if you join a Sangha you will benefit enormously. Thich Nhat Hanh said the Sangha is holy, even if some people in it are not!

So I am happy to give up trying, to just be, and be open to my Guru, be it the Geese flying over on migration, a flower or my little Sparrow. So some will think I am crazy and some will get it.

There is a famous Zen saying by Hsin Hsin Ming ' Before enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water. After enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water'. Of course these days we have to find the rent and attend to emails and facebook as well!

I will finish with my favorite quote by T S Elliot. ' And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time'

Sailing into Blue

Another acrylic ink painting. Looks better in the flesh so to speak! I don't know why but some paintings show more background material though the paint than others when photographed. Nevertheless I enjoyed the simplicity of this painting but don't think it is good enough to upload to Saatchi on line.

Painting in France

Over Christmas and New Year I spent time with my two brothers in France. As previous readers of my blog may know my brother Tony is a fine artist. A lot of his recent work has been with acrylic ink. This is a medium I hadn't used before so I took the opportunity to experiment with some of Tony's paint. This loose interpretation of poppies is one example.
While I was there Tony sold a painting on Saatchi on Line. It was this one if you are curious.
http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Painting-Winter-morning/585450/1744219/view

Independence for Scotland

I was inspired by the increasingly fierce debate on Scottish Independence to paint this picture.Everyone will interpret this painting differently. The Scottish National Party will see it as leaving the burning wreck of the Union. The Better Together campaign might see it as a warning as to what might happen if there is a yes vote and then of course there is the Braveheart element! As an Englishman living in Scotland I am entitled to vote in next years referendum.How shall I be voting? Well that is between me and the ballot box. What does this painting mean to you? The painting is acrylic on deep framed stretched canvas and is 20" x 20" ( 51cm x 51cm ) It is for sale so if anyone would like to buy it for Alex Salmond let me know.

Sold from Picture this Art Gallery

This original was sold today from the ' Picture This ' art gallery in Inverness where I am currently working two days a week. The gallery specializes in Scottish art and is worth a look, not least because you might be tempted to buy my other original work ' A Retreat Cottage in Autumn '

Conventional Buyers

 My artist friends tell me that my latest work is more exciting and better than my older paintings. However given the choice between these ' exciting ' paintings and more conventional work buyers have opted for conventional. These originals or prints of originals were sold at my recent exhibition. What does this tell us?

To see my more recent stuff go to

www.chrisgauntartist.co.uk

To see my brothers more adventurous paintings go to.http://www.saatchionline.com/tony-gaunt

Retreat Cottage in Spring

This is my third painting of Retreat Cottage. I have completed Autumn and Winter and will shortly paint Summer to make a quartet. I am enjoying working with these quite large canvases. They measure 24" x 24" and make a colourful wall feature. I have added this to Saatchi on Line and it will be on my website soon.
www.chrisgauntartist.co.uk
To see the other two in this series go to-http://www.saatchionline.com/Lightwaterart1

Saatchi on Line

I have started selling my art work on the Saatchi on Line website.




To see some of my latest paintings go to the following link.
http://www.saatchionline.com/Lightwaterart1

Retreat Cottage in Winter

Here is the second painting of Retreat Cottage, this one in winter. I have already painted autumn with spring and summer to go.The size is 24" x 24" on stretched canvas and is ready to hang. If you want to buy this you can see it plus Retreat Cottage in Autumn at saatchi on line.
http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Painting-Retreat-Cottage-in-Winter/653049/1798690/view

Retreat Cottage in Autumn

A place for peace.
A place of renewal.
Acrylic on stretched canvas. 24" x 24"
It is for sale. Contact me for details.

The Five Sisters of Kintail

The Five Sisters of Kintail are the iconic range of Scottish mountains overlooking Loch Duich not far from the Isle of Skye.
This painting is 60cm x 50cm

Ben Lomond from Loch Ard

This painting is 60cm x 60cm ( 24" x 24" ) acrylic on stretched canvas. I was inspired to use these colours by another artists work. I liked the primal way they made me feel.

The subject is Ben Lomond from Loch Ard. It is interesting the way we relate to colours and what they do to our emotions. I get a feeling of tranquility from this. How do you feel?

Exhibition at Blue Angel Cafe

 My exhibition at the Blue Angel Cafe in theFindhorn Foundation has started and is on until mid November. I have hung 20 paintings all original and I have kept the prices affordable as I am donating 10% to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. SSPCA. I also have three paintings in the Moray Art Centre close by so why not give that a look too?

Staying in Tonight

Staying in Tonight is the title of this the third of my cat trilogy. These paintings follow the adventures of Ginger. The first is called A Night on the Tiles the second is titled A Near Miss They will all be in my exhibition at The Blue Angel Cafe Findhorn Park from 14th October to mid November.

River of Light

This is the third semi abstract from my trilogy. This one will be in my forthcoming exhibition at the Blue Angel cafe Findhorn Park from 14th October.

River Bank ( Abode of Ratty )

Here is the second semi abstract of my trilogy.

Wild Wood ( the abode of Mr Badger )

I have been painting a trilogy of abstracts. Free flowing watercolour backgrounds with a few brush strokes of acrylic to develop the story which emerges from the settled watercolour. All done at speed to avoid too much conscious thinking. The size is approximately 40 X 30cm for all three paintings.
This one is called ' Wild Wood where Mr Badger lives ' and may be in my exhibition at the Blue Angel cafe from 14th October.

Ferry Port Iona

This is another painting inspired by my recent stay on the sacred island of Iona. Sunrise on the empty ferry terminal before the day tourists and pilgrims arrive.The painting is acrylic on canvas and is 60cm x 50cm

Findhorn Original Garden and the Cat

Every Saturday members of the Northern Lights Sangha meet for a morning of meditations. I quite often join them and it is always wonderful. One of the meditations consists of walking slowly and mindfully around the Findhorn Foundation's Original Garden.

The garden is a delight, an eclectic mixture of wild flowers, vegetables, fruit trees and cultivated flowers. Now whether you believe that the story of giant vegetables on extremely poor soil is a myth or not, it is absolutely undeniable that there is a terrific energy here.

Almost always during our walking there is a zen like black cat in the garden. He is completely unfazed by the 15 to 20 humans walking around his domain and just gets on with his business. This mostly consists of just being, although he is not adverse to the odd stroke and ear tickle.

It is sobering that we, advanced beings supposedly, have to make a constant effort to be in the moment and yet for this cat it is effortless. Is he affected by the gardens energy I wonder?

Traveling Dolphin

My good friend Bryan is continuing with his camper van murals. He has completed the back and is working on this side. It is beautiful and always raises smiles and lifts spirits. In these days of increasingly dark and violent news we need to be reminded that the vast majority of humankind is decent and generous.
To view Bryan's web page and art go to http://www.baj-art.co.uk/a1-page.asp?page=0

Blue Poppies

As the summer draws to a close I wanted to celebrate the extraordinary exuberance of this years floral growth. Is it my imagination or has everything grown more strongly as if to make up for last year's lack of sun. Even the bees are making a comeback! I also read that Red Squirrels have increased for the first time in 50 years. This is a watercolour size 36cm x 26cm

Red Tractor

Just playing with a fun abstract while waiting for inspiration. Acrylic on canvas 50cm x 40cm

Last Swim

 On Saturday a dwindling number of the members of our informal swim club took a bracing swim in the icy waters of the Moray Firth.
In Buddhism we are constantly reminded of the impermanent nature of existence. The arising of certain conditions give birth to something and then dissolving when those conditions no longer exist. Therefore given that the conditions drawing us to swim in the icy Scottish waters may be changing, this could be our last swim of this year! We are also reminded to be in the moment so accordingly we enjoyed every freezing minute. Hopefully conditions will arise to draw us into the water again. Perhaps next year now!

Mini Poppy Prints

This painting of poppies has been so popular that I have been selling mini prints ( 6" x 4" ) on ebay.co.uk where I have a shop and they have been selling well. The original has been sold but if you would like to buy one of these small prints at only £3.50 go to www.ebay.co.uk and search for Chris Gaunt or go to this direct link http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Light-Water-Art
If you would like to view some of my other work go to www.chisgauntartist.co.uk

Innocent child.Innocent nature

I have been on a bit of a road trip for 10 days. visiting friends and family. My furthest distance from Scotland was Frome in Somerset. This was a long overdue visit to my niece Vanessa and her mother Belinda. So good to catch up. Then back up to Northampton to see my step brother Maurice and his wife Margaret. Finally on to Norfolk to catch up with my extended family including my son Julian. This picture is of my granddaughter Isla and mum Vicky. She is so beautifully, mischievously innocent.The photo below is the river I used to frequent in my boyhood and I sat there yesterday with my son. We both like sitting quietly observing and feeling the beauty and innocence of nature.