On clouds and conversations

a weekend of encounters

Hello hello!

It was my great pleasure this weekend to meet a lovely group of visitors to Orkney from the Cloud Appreciation Society. They were here for a week-long “Sky Gathering”, a wonderfully named week of talks, walks, workshops and music all drawing our attention towards the sky. So a special welcome to the Cloud Appreciators who’ve just climbed aboard The Life Boat! It’s lovely to have you join us.

I gave a talk to the group about my fascination with the complex element of water, about how, when we consider it deeply, water dissolves into a fog, a web, a cloud, and about how my own art practice of drawing this essentially unseeable element is opening up more and more questions about boundaries, selfhood, time and hope.

For those who asked me on the day, and anyone else who has joined us recently, here’s an earlier iteration of the talk I gave on Saturday, which was a Substack Featured Read.

It was a joy to share my creative obsessions, questions, preoccupations and enthusiasms with such a thoughtful and engaged group, and to carry on these conversations in a relaxed way over the weekend’s other events and shared meals.

And it was a reminder to me of how important it is for visual artists to learn to speak and write about our work. Sharing the ideas and inspirations that fire us up creatively isn’t about being some kind of expert, but about building a rich and meaningful web of conversations, connections, relationships and even friendships around our work. We receive every bit as much as we give. More, perhaps.

I return to my studio with suggestions of books to read, things to look up, new angles to explore, and renewed energy for the work. I feel more connected, both to my work and to the people I’ve met through it.

I’m not working in isolation. I’m working in conversation.

Work with me

If you’re a visual artist who struggles to find the language, both written and spoken, to bring people to a deeper appreciation of your visual art, do check out my new online course. I’d love to work with you to help you find your words!

Available work

In other news, I had to miss the opening of the Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition in Edinburgh because I had already committed to giving the talk to the Cloud Appreciation Society the same weekend. It looked like a great night with lots of smiley selfies of dear friends appearing on my social media feed, and I was chuffed to see that my work in the show, “A Line That Circles,” sold on the preview night!

A Line That Circles, 2024, Acrylic and 12 carat white gold leaf on board, 51 cm x 61 cm, SOLD.

I have been focusing recently on large scale pieces that are destined for gallery exhibitions next year, but I do have some smaller pieces that are currently available directly from my studio in Orkney. I’ve just put them up on my website and you can view them at the link below.

The Life Raft Co-Working Zoom session

Our little Life Raft will launch as usual at 3pm UK time today (Wednesday). We’ll say hello, share what creative projects we are working on, and settle down to work quietly together for about 45 minutes, then close with a bit of conversation and sharing. If you’d like to join the warmly supportive group that’s become a highlight of my week, here’s the link:

And if you missed last week’s session

or you just want to check us out before committing, you can view last week’s recording here. The passcode is: E+89ZibN

And finally….!

I’m delighted to report that the arctic terns are back, all the way from Antarctica! They are jittery birds, sensitive to disturbance, and I worry that there are more and more walkers and dogs and camper vans every year on the grassy path that comes very close to the breeding colony. I hope the terns do stay and breed. They are miraculous, exquisite birds, like an emanation of the sky itself, gathered up into bird form. Please excuse my amateurish smartphone filming but here they are, fresh in and checking out the nest site….

Until next week, bye for now!

Sam