The Cuillin small float

Brought up in Orkney, I have spent my entire adult life in Skye, With my husband, our 4 children and now granchildren! I have been lucky enough to always live right on the coast, and for as long as I can remember beach combing has been part of my life. From glass bottles in the low tide exposed mud in Stromness to the floats I have collected over the last 30 years on my local coastline. The painting started after a conversation with my Mum, who at the time was in Shetland, she had bought a float at a sale with a sailing ship on it. The spark was lit! All the floats that were collected for a reason I didn't yet know were put to use, and the rest they say is history!

From flowers, seabirds, lighthouses, classic west coast creel boats to Shetland super trawlers, the inspiration is never ending. The new edition of each fishing news brings material as does each walk out the door, photos from customers with photos of old and new family boats, I will never tire of painting them, old and new, big and small, each one meaning more to the owner than just a hull with a cuddy or wheelhouse. The floats are a special keepsake, and can be personalised not just with specific boats, but with names and dates too on a classic boat.