A giant portrait of Franz Schubert, one of the world’s most famous and revered romantic composers was created and destroyed on the beach at Elie, Fife.

The artpiece was commissioned for the East Neuk Festival to highlight its ‘Schubertiad’ weekend, the finale of the 2014 tenth anniversary programme.

Above: going, going…: holidaymakers amongst the sand drawing as the sea starts to roll in

Pictures for the East Neuk Festival and published widely, including in the Daily Telegraph, The Scotsman, Metro, Daily Express, BBC Music magazine, Classic FM magazine, Sinfini online, Slipped Disc and Limelight.

Also featured in The Guardian’s “Best Photographs of the Day” online gallery – click here to see it (scroll down to picture 17).

Festival weekend of visual arts open studios festival Spring Fling.

Above and below left: snippets from life in Wigtown create beautiful window art:
Astrid Jaekel with her cardboard ‘stained glass’ scenes depicting scenes from local life – the gossip, local characters and daily goings-on. On show in the windows of Wigtown’s County Buildings.

Above right: Clog-maker Godfrey Smith in Balmaclellan.

Above: Jim Buchanan with his “Alpha Beta Theta” labyrinth at The Crichton complex in Dumfries – a former mental health assylum. Jim’s work reflects the workings of the human brain.

Above: McSheep-ish: sheep farmer-come-artist Helen Ryman painted two of her texel ewes in tartan.

Above: Painter Patricia Cain seen through her glass pallette.

Above: ceramics maker Peter Wareing in his Whithorn studio.

Above: printmaker and soft furnishings print designer Suzi Plunkett.

Pictures for Spring Fling and published in The Herald, Herald Online, The Scotsman, Metro, and Celebrate Scotland.

Launching Spring Fling visual art festival around the Dumfries & Galloway region is horse Fred and his owner Sarah Chadfield at his stables near Dalton, Dumfriesshire.

Fred sports a rug specially designed for Rural Mural – the art-festival-within-an-art-festival – painted by artist Hope London.

Above: the Ross family from Dumfries with a ‘haul’ of art from Spring Fling’s open studios

Spring Fling springs into life on Friday 23rd May, see event details here: www.spring-fling.co.uk/events2014

Pictures for Spring Fling and published in The Herald, Herald Online,
BBC Scotland, and Borders TV.

Artists Will Barras and Amy Winstanley taking a break from painting at East Knockbrex Farm, near Newton Stewart

Visual art festival Spring Fling’s Rural Mural series of painted murals around the Dumfries & Galloway region.

Above: farmer Iain Service with his old barn at East Knockbrex Farm, near Newton Stewart

Above: artist Ali Wyllie at the ‘vortex’ of a seascape mural at Stranraer Harbour

Murals have appeared on barns and cottages, and many on unexpected ‘sites’ including a boat, a tractor and even a horse rug.

Artists Denise Zagadlo and Fraser Gray at their ‘bonfire’ mural at the gable end of a cottage in Keir Mill

Above and below: Alice Francis at her goose mural on a barn near Auchencairn

Pictures for Spring Fling and published in this week’s press, including: The Times, The Scotsman, The Herald and Herald Online, BBC Online and Farmers Weekly.

Follow the Rural Mural website and the #SFRM and @Spring_Fling twitter feeds for up-to-date information on many more unexpected murals which will pop up over the region before the Spring Fling weekend on 23rd to 26th May.

Love on a run: Scottish Opera takes Opera Highlights on a national tour of Scotland for its’ twentieth year. This time exploring the themes of love and attraction – one of opera’s main driving forces.

Above: the ‘bridezilla’ scene with soprano and emerging artist Sarah Power.

Above: Opera Highlights performers tenor Paul Curievici, baritone Andrew McTaggart, soprano Sarah Power and mezzo-soprano Máire Flavin

From Kirkwall’s Orkney Theatre to Dalbeattie Town Hall in Galloway this tour showcases the full range of emotions – from passionate declarations to weeping for missed chances, love unrequited or wholeheartedly returned.

Above: the angst of love and seduction: SO’s mezzo-soprano Máire Flavin

The programme is packed full of operatic gems, with much-loved pieces from Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte”, Verdi’s “Rigoletto” and Puccini’s “La Bohème” to Gilbert & Sullivan’s popular light opera “The Gondoliers”.

See full details of the tour – which runs until 5th April – here.

Photography for Scottish Opera and used in their press and publicity campaigns to promote the tour.

Pictures for Homecoming 2014 / Visit Scotland to launch the first ever John Muir Festival which runs from 17th to 26th April and is one of Homecoming’s programme of events.

Produced by UZ Arts ,the Festival involves community participation, artist-led events and large-scale public performances at selected locations along the 134 mile John Muir Way – from Dunbar in East Lothian to Helensburgh in Argyll.

Publications have included Scotsman.com and The Herald online.

Above: Suzi Plunkett at Spring Fling at The Lighthouse with her designs for smartphone covers, taken from her animal illustrations.

The opening of stylish design exhibition “D&G Out” by Scotland’s premier open studios art festival Spring Fling at The Lighthouse, Glasgow. D&G Out is an outreach exhibition highlighting the Spring Fling festival which flings itself upon Scottish art enthusiasts in May – see: www.spring-fling.co.uk.

It features 18 leading designers and makers, all with strong links to Scotland’s south-west. Including emerging artist Suzi Plunkett (above), whose eye-catching animal illustrations have been made into smartphone cases and comfy cushion covers. See Suzi’s work at Little Dot Creations.

Below: renowned jeweller Alison Macleod.

Below: glassware by Amanda Simmons at Spring Fling at The Lighthouse.

Above: Suzi Plunkett and her cushion cover print designs.

Photography for Spring Fling – as part of my official photographer contract with the festival in 2014. And publications in Scotland’s press including BBC Scotland Online’s ‘Big Picture’ page and The Herald.

Above: two fishy characters enjoy the angling fun at the opening of the fishing season at Callander’s River Teith in Stirlingshire

Cricket legend Ian Botham Sir Ian opens this year’s fishing season and launches Stirling International Angling Festival – which will hook keen fishermen from 6th August. A parade through the Stirlingshire town of Callender was followed by a mass cast-off as Sir Ian mucked in with the linesmen.

Pictures for Stirling 2014 – Stirlingshire’s programme to celebrate the Commonwealth Games 2014. See the full Stirling 2014 programme of events here.

Publications in: The Herald , Scotsman.com , the Daily Record , BBC Scotland Online , STV Online and the Sunday Post.

Above: launch of The James Plays with Laurie Sansom, Rona Munro, Jonathan Mills, Robin Hawkes and Fiona Hyslop at Edinburgh Castle

No grey jersey required: photography for the National Theatre of Scotland’s launch of “The James Plays” – showing at this year’s Edinburgh International and starring “The Killing” actress Sophie Grabol (better known as DI Sarah Lund).

Sophie (and her trademark jerseys) was not to be seen, so the event at Edinburgh Castle starred playwright Rona Munro, NTS artistic director Laurie Sansom and Edinburgh International Festival director Jonathan Mills.

The trilogy explores the lives of King James I, James II and James II of Scotland and Scotland’s relationship with England. Showing at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, just 2 months before Scotland’s independence referendum.
See: www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/2014-Dear-Scotland-Season.

Above: playwright Rona Munro, who wrote the three ‘James Plays’.

Published in The Times and The Times Online The Scotsman, Daily Record and Daily Record Online ,the Edinburgh Evening News, Press & Journal, The Courier, The Stage and The Edinburgh Reporter.

The Big Burns Supper festival launches in Dumfries as I persuade festival performers to perch ON the Burns statue in the town centre for press pictures.

The statue was bedecked with tartan, to the amusement of passing shoppers.
And a wee bonnet – which we taped down 5 times against the wind, but eventually had to give up on. Perhaps Rab was trying to tell us something….

Pictures for Big Burns Supper and publications have included BBC Scotland and Scotsman.com

More details about the series of events – which includes headline acts Big Country and Fred MacAulay – showing around Dumfriesshire on 24th to 26th January can be found here.