Shetland – Page 2 – Jane Sketching

Shetland – another vehicle in space

I have posted before about the wrecked cars that I sometimes encounter on my hikes around the Shetland landscape.

This year I encountered another one.

Here are the others I have sketched:

I don’t want to give the impression that Shetland is littered with abandoned cars. It’s not. But there are certain hidden areas I’ve discovered which are car graveyards, and I now go there deliberately. I find something vaguely poetic, evocative, about an abandoned car in a wide pristine landscape. It’s as though the landscape frames it: puts a picture frame around it and says look! This twisted metal is art.

Shetland landscapes 2024

It was foggy and cold. I practised drawing clouds.

Islands in clouds

I went for a walk.

In the distance on the left is the island of Vaila. Here is Vaila in the fog.

The speckled effect is the result of fine rain on watercolour.

When the sun shines in Shetland, it is magical. Part of the magic is that you know it is ephemeral. When the sun shines in Shetland, you have to get out there, right now. The clouds come quickly. But while the sun shines, enjoy it.

Footabrough, from the path to the Virda Stane, Shetland West side

The sun shone on a visit to Hamnavoe. There is a nearby beach called “Minn Beach”. The water is clear and the sand is white.

The light was dazzling. The water was cold: just over 10 degrees C. Swimming, I could see the grains of sand on the sea bed, perfectly clearly. As I swam on the surface of the water, it was as if I was flying over the sand. Except for the cold.

Minn Beach is on West Burra. See map below.

Further south is St Ninians, an island at the end of a long sand tombolo (sand bridge).

photograph looking towards St Ninians. To get an idea of distances, click to enlarge and find the people at the far end of the sand tombolo.

From the island, sheltering from the wind in the lee of a wall, I sketched Fitful Head.

Even though the wind shifts the pages and disrupts my lines, even when the rain speckles my colours and blurs the clean edges I drew, even though the view changes by the minute and I find it impossible to catch the glory of the light and the magnificent shape of the land, even though my sketchbook is small and my skills are limited, despite all those things, I think it’s always worth having a go at drawing. The pictures I draw remind me of being there. Of the wind, the rain, the changing clouds, the glorious light and the vast, curving headland.

Paint palette by Classic Paintboxes
Colours by Daniel Smith and Schmincke
Paintbrushes by Rosemary brushes and Seawhite
Watercolour sketchbook by JP Purcell (190gsm, A5, cold-pressed)

Foula

Foula is a small island 20 miles off the west coast of mainland Shetland. Shetland is a group of islands about 200 miles north of Scotland.

I had seen Foula, from a distance, on previous visits to Shetland. It floats on the horizon, mysterious.

So I had to visit. What is it like there?

Here is a Foula scene:

Foula: sketched at Da Punds, between the Wind Turbines and the Airstrip.

I sketched this sitting on one of the stones, on a bit of flat and marshy land towards the south of the island. The road is in front of me, at the foot of those hills.

I had to sketch this in a bit of a rush, because, as I rapidly discovered, this particular area is the province of the Skua. There are Great Skua and Artic Skua: large birds, who do not like sketchers sitting on stones in their neighbourhood. They make their irritation known by aggressive fly-pasts. I could hear the wind in their feathers: it sounded like a chain saw. So I quickly took the hint and made for the road. Locals later told me I should “carry a stick above my head”, to distract the skua. That’s all very well, but finding a stick on Foula is about as likely as finding a branch of Pret. There are no trees atall on this part of the island, so no handy lengths of wood.

Other inhabitants of Foula were more welcoming, including the friendly people. The sheep are unafraid, and came towards me as I walked. The horses too seemed pleased to see me. I met the person who is one of the breeders of these horses on the island. “Pat them, talk to them, but don’t feed them!” she instructed me. Feeding them in the wrong order disrupts their established hierarchy and causes fights, she explained. “And,” she added, with emphasis, “make sure you close the gate!!”. There followed stories of visitors leaving gates open, and the subsequent escapades of the stallion, who visited mares he was not supposed to visit….

Foula is an industrious place, I discovered. As well as horse breeding, and sheep breeding, there is spinning to produce special Foula Wool, peat cutting, and a lot of horticulture. Also there is a school, a lighthouse, a ferry and an airstrip. The air strip needs a fire crew, as well as pilots. The school has a teacher. There are wind turbines and a very effective 5G mobile signal mast, with big dishes directed at mainland Shetland. This is a lot of activity for a place of only 35 inhabitants, especially as six of those inhabitants are primary school children.

The plane and the fire truck on the airstrip at Foula

Horticulture takes place in polytunnels and inside abandoned cars. As on mainland Shetland, vegetables and flowers will grow, so long as you can shelter them from the wind. I was given local raspberries from a polytunnel at the school.

It was rather foggy when I visited, so I opted for lowland routes and did not climb the formidable mountains shown in the picture above. Had I done so, I would have seen the famous 1000ft sea cliff. But I was wary. I did not want to stumble across the famous cliff in the fog.

I was staying at “Ristie self-catering”, in the North of the island. Here is the scenery round there.

The edge of the world.

Urban sketching, Shetland and the journey south 2023

Here is a postcard which I made at the end of a long hot walk. It shows the houses in Walls, on Shetland West Side.

Houses by the water, Walls, Shetland. Postcard sketch A5, 8th July 2023

Here is Burrastow House and Burrastow Cottage, an evening view. I sketched this on top of a sky view I’d sketched earlier, but which had been spotted by rain, as you see.

Burrastow House and cottage, evening view. A5 postcard.

This is a restaurant in Lerwick: “C’est la vie”.

“C’est la vie” French restaurant, Lerwick, postcard sketch A5, August 3rd 2023

The flags are to welcome the “Tall Ships” which came to Lerwick earlier in the week. The restaurant was closed, I was waiting to see if it opened. Then the rain started. Then the restaurant opened and I finished the sketch inside. Then I walked to the Ferry Terminal.

On the ferry, I made quick sketch of people at breakfast.

On board MV Hrossey, approaching Aberdeen. Breakfasters in the lounge. August 4th 2023. Vintage paper company sketchbook, A5

Here is my final sketch of the expedition. On the train at Aberdeen, I looked out of the window.

Sketch: from the train, Aberdeen, Aug 4th 2023

I have a sketchbook full of images. Here’s a quick flip through showing random glimpses of the visit: (19 second silent video)

Sketches in Fair Isle 2023

Fair Isle is a small island some 28 miles south of Shetland, between Orkney and Shetland. It is 3 miles long and 1 mile wide.

I travelled there by the boat “Good Shepherd IV”.

The ferry leaves from the pier at Grutness which is close to Sumburgh airport at the southern tip of Shetland mainland.

Fair Isle has two lighthouses: the North Lighthouse and the South Lighthouse. I sketched the South Lighthouse:

The postmaster at the Fair Isle Post Office kindly put their special postmark on my sketch for me.

Both lighthouses were designed by David A Stevenson and built in 1892. Both are still functional, now automated. The South Lighthouse light is “Fl (4) W 30 seconds” : a group of 4 flashes of white light every 30 seconds. The North Lighthouse flashes white twice every 30 seconds.

Here is a view of the cliffs called Mathers Head. It’s the view from the same spot where sketched the South Lighthouse, but looking out towards the west.

I was staying at “The Auld Haa” which is just a few hundred yards from the lighthouse. When I returned from drawing this scene, Tommy, who runs the guest house, called out, “Come and choose a fish!”. There was me and two other women staying at the guest house at that point. Bemused, we all made our way round the side of the house to find a cheerful fisherman standing by his car trailer on the small road. The trailer was laden with fish. The fish were in buckets. There were cod about two feet long, and mackerel, and a whole bucket of lobsters. The fisherman was Stephen, who I recognised as one of the ferry crew.

With suggestions and promptings from his three guests, Tommy made his selections. I was keen on the mackerel. Others opted for white fish. Tommy carried the bucket back to the house.

After this excitement I was resting on the bench outside the house when Tommy called out to me, “Would you like to do a painting of the mackerel?”.

Yes, I would like to do a painting of the mackerel, even though I was tired, even though it was evening, even though I’d already done a long walk, a dip in a rockpool, and several paintings of headlands. How often do you get invited to paint a mackerel? Seize the moment. Tommy brought out the mackerel on a plate, and I settled down to drew, while the hens scraped around on the grass, and small birds scuttled in the hedge.

On another day I sketched the huge headland called “Sheep Rock”.

Here is the spectacular rock arch on South Beach, which is near the Auld Haa.

I was only on Fair Isle for three days. It’s an extraordinary place. Here was my final view of the island as I left on the tiny plane. The small square is the North Lighthouse, high up on its cliff.

View from the window of the plane: North Lighthouse.

Shetland collage postcard

Here is a collage postcard I made, inspired by the work of Martin Hicklin.

As you see, it shows a seabird, probably a fulmar, soaring over the coast, with the green hills beyond, and a characteristic Shetland fence. The fine blue sky is made from rope waste found on the beach.

I managed to arrange for the seabird to move, sliding along a fine thread, and hover above the background.

This went through the international post. I don’t yet know if it arrived…..

Here are some other collage postcards I have made over the years. It’s good fun!

Insects Collage

I made a postcard for friends in Basel. It shows the insect life in Crete. Here are some details, and the work under construction. The idea was that the flies…

May 25, 2019January 3, 2020

The Guardian of the Vines

Another collage postcard. I posted this one in London 18th May. It looks a bit crinkled because the cardboard was damp with PVA glue, and then dried. The white shape on the…

May 25, 2017

Connection to friends in another city

Here is a postcard collage I sent to my friends in another city. It is inspired by the website: sendmeapostcart.com, and shows the connections we make, the lines which bind us, the…

March 18, 2020

The Cuttlefish

I made a collage postcard inspired by “the Blue Planet” series on BBC2. This is the cuttlefish. The sea bed is made of breakfast cereal, and the seaweed is strands of unraveled…

December 14, 2017April 30, 2020

The journey to the chapel of St Antonis

Here is a collage made for friends in Switzerland. I posted it at the Post Office in Kalami on 8th May. The official there did not seem to be concentrating very hard.…

May 18, 2017May 19, 2022

Collage/postcard: a corner of the flat

Here is a postcard from indoors: It shows a corner of the flat. You see the sun outside, and birds, and the city. You see parks, rivers and the great outdoors. But…

April 25, 2020November 19, 2021

Collage Postcards: archive

Here are some of the collage postcards I have made. The constraints I set myself are: the postcard must go in the post by itself: no envelope it is made of found…

January 1, 2016April 16, 2017

Sketching in Shetland 2023 – Seal lagoon and swan loch

While I was drawing this picture, I was startled by a loud sneeze. Since I was totally alone on the hillside, it was uncanny. Then I realised that the sneeze came from across the water, from the seal colony at the base of the dark rocks.

Soon several seals were in the water, swimming over to see what I was doing. They stayed a little offshore, bobbing about. Seals look into your eyes, as dogs do, and seem to want to communicate. They said “who are you?” and “come and play!”. They seemed disappointed when I walked off, without having accepted their invitation to swim with them in their chilly waters.

There are also seals on the beach where a stream from the Loch of Quinnigeo arrives at the sea. Nettles grow, sheltered from the wind by the deep ravine, and watered by the freshwater stream. I’ve swum there, and sketched the cliffs.

The loch of Quinnigeo is surrounded by smooth hills.

I’ve seen swans on the loch (off the picture to the right). They are not the ordinary urban type of swans I’ve seen in parks, which are called mute swans. Mute swans have pink beaks and these ones had yellow beaks. They drifted calmly in the middle of the loch with their cygnet, honking in a conversational kind of a way. Whooper swans or Bewicks? I couldn’t distinguish at that distance.

Here is another attempt to show the solid landscape round the loch and the way the hill casts darkness onto the still water.

Loch of Quinnigeo, Littlure, near Walls, Shetland

Sketching in Shetland 2023

Here is my Shetland sketchbook:

A5 sketchbook from the Vintage Paper Company

This sketchbook was brilliant because it could fold back onto itself, and I could hold it with one hand.

I often worked on two sketches at once. I worked on a drawing on a sheet, alongside the drawing in the sketchbook. One drawing dried while I worked on the other one. Work does not dry quickly in Shetland: there’s a dampness in the air.

Working on two drawings at once. Top left: a drawing on a single sheet of A5, fastened to a card. Bottom left: Sketchbook. Bottom right: Palette by David Cooper, Classic Paintboxes.

Here are drawings in Aberdeen:

From Aberdeen I take the overnight ferry to Lerwick in Shetland Mainland. Shetland is 100 miles off the north coast of Scotland.

The ferry from Aberdeen takes about 12 hours and travels 200 miles.

I stay on the West side of Shetland. There are smooth hills, few trees and usually a view of water.

Here is a magical place: high up on cliffs near the sea at Littlure is the Barni Loch. My drawing is inspired by the work of Peter Davis an artist based in the Shetland Islands.