Looking west from Elgol, out across Loch Scavaig to the Cuillin ridge beyond.

Elgol sits on the southern half of the Isle of Skye. I have spent years studying this part of the world. The views out from the rocks and the mountains are spectacular, and the light never stays still. That is what makes you addicted to its beauty.

I enjoyed painting this one. I hope it holds a little of a place that means a great deal to me. It is here, with the mountains and the rocks around me, that I feel calm.

Turner sailed from Elgol across Loch Scavaig in 1831, on his way to sketch Loch Coruisk for the Walter Scott illustrations. I didn't know this before painting the scene. I wonder whether I was somehow drawn to the same landscape that inspired him.