 I hope this finds you well and having survived the winter. I know it’s not completely over yet, but there are signs of spring all around. Snowdrops galore in the graveyard by Gairloch beach and tulip leaves appearing hopefully in pots at the back door. We’ve had better weather than much of the country in recent weeks, for which we’re thankful!
Some new work is emerging, inspired by recent visits to Speyside. These are some work in progress linoprints, inspired by the clock tower in the middle of Dufftown. To be continued. We're on the move!In other news, the move east is happening sooner than we’d expected - next weekend, in fact! A few things came together to make this happen. We’ve found great premises right in the middle of Aberlour, with gallery/shop and studio space. It’s going to be called ‘Come Awa’ In’ Gallery & Gifts (you probably guessed that already). I’m really looking forward to getting it all set up (especially the studio space…). Also, Iain will be working at Aberlour distillery, doing whisky tastings and tours. We’ll be renting a house until our one sells (more on this later). There will be all my ‘usual’ offerings on show - original art, framed and mounted, greetings cards, mugs, coasters, sketchbooks and art materials. Also some short story and poetry books. Iain’s photography will also be on show - framed, mounted and work on canvas and aluminium, as well as greetings cards.
The new gallery and gift shop will be opening sometime in late March. I’ll keep everyone posted via Facebook and Instagram. The address is : First Floor, Speyside House, The Square, Aberlour, AB38 9PX It’s right in the middle of the village, on the corner of The Square and the High Street, above the Plum Garden Chinese takeaway. Look forward to seeing you there soon! Bridge Cottage Art CafeThe main question we’ve been asked at the cafe, when we’ve told people that we’re leaving, has been whether it will stay open. The answer is yes, it will, very much so! My daughter, Ailsa, and her good friend Ruth, who has worked with us for the past two years, will be running it from the start of March. I’m sure they’ll put their own stamp on it and it will go from strength to strength. A small selection of my work will still be available in the cafe. House for saleLast but not least - if you, or anyone you know, is interested in a lifestyle change and fancy moving to a fantastic location in the northwest Highlands, just 6 miles outside Gairloch - here’s the house! Please feel free to share - thanks! 
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 ‘Distant Isles #15’. Original watercolour 80cm x 30cm. Framed, on show at Bridge Cottage Art Cafe in Poolewe. I hope this finds you well - it’s hard to believe that 2025 is nearly over and the festive season will soon be upon us! I thought I’d send a wee update about calendars and Christmas cards, since I did get around to producing them.     2026 Scottish Sketches CalendarI finally selected twelve sketches from my very many sketchbooks and put together a calendar for 2026. It’s a desk calendar this year - as I explained in my previous newsletter, the printer who used to produce my postcard calendars is no longer in business, sadly, so I had to come up with a Plan B. Calendars are available while stocks last, both from Bridge Cottage Art Cafe in Poolewe and in my website shop.       Christmas cardsThis year’s Christmas card designs started life as quick pastel sketches on sheets of white A4 paper. There were many false starts and lots of rejected colour combinations before the final selection was made. A little bit of digital editing of the pots and they were finished! They’re available to purchase from Bridge Cottage Art Cafe in Poolewe, or from my website shop. Singly, or in packs of 6.  Festive Smalls ExhibitionI’m delighted to have a couple of pieces in this exhibition, which opened yesterday at Inchgowan Gallery at Flowerdale in Gairloch. There’s a lovely selection of small (anonymous) original works by local artists to choose from. Quite a few have sold already, so do go along to see them before they’re all snapped up! Any commission from sales will be donated to an Afghan family facing great hardship. See the poster above for opening times.  'Saltire Satire'. Original watercolour, recently sold via our wee gallery at Bridge Cottage Art Cafe And lastly...We are on the move! The house is on the market and we’re hoping to move east and south a bit in the near future. Location as yet unknown, and the creative endeavours will continue. I’ll keep you posted. If you know anyone who would like to live in this beautiful part of Scotland (or fancy a move yourself!), you can find the particulars here.
My daughter, Ailsa, plans to continue running Bridge Cottage Art Cafe in Poolewe, ably assisted by Ruth, who has worked with us for some time now. Onwards & upwards! Thank you so much for your interest and support, it’s greatly appreciated. all the best Jennifer  It's been a while. I hope this finds you well and enjoying some summery weather, wherever you may be. Here in the highlands, the heather is in full bloom, the sheep have been shorn and they've been cutting and baling silage in the glen this week. The campsites are still busy - the Scottish schools are back, but not those from further afield, so there are plenty of visitors around. We've had a busy time at the cafe and are looking forward to winding down a wee bit in the coming months. We're taking a week's break in mid-September, but before that happens, there's this to look forward to - Art Week 2025 Organised by the wonderful team at An Talla Solais in Ullapool, this is the second year it has happened and we're delighted to be part of it this time, with a joint exhibition of our work. Most open studios and exhibitions are in and around Ullapool, however there are several other participants in Gairloch and surrounding areas, which will be well worth visiting! An Talla Solais Members' ShowI have again submitted work to the annual Members’ Show. which opens on Saturday 30th August and runs until 23rd October. Throughout Art Week, the exhibition will be open 10am - 5pm. Outwith these dates, it will be open Wed - Sun 10am -1.30pm and then 2pm - 5pm. An Talla Solais is located on Market Street in Ullapool, next door to the village hall.  'Distant Isles #9', one of the paintings submitted to the An Talla Solais Members' Show New poetry collectionI recently self-published a second collection of poetry, my first having come out last year. This one contains twenty pieces relating to mortality. Over the years, many people I have known have died and I find writing poems helps me to come to terms with the loss of them. They range from words of gratitude to my parents, to raging despair over how others deal with death, to regret over things not said or done. 2026 calendarsI suddenly realised we are nearly into September, so have been gathering my thoughts about a calendar for next year. Sadly, the company I used to rely on for the postcard-style calendars seems to have disappeared into the ether. So, I have been searching for an alternative. It looks like next year’s offering will be a desktop calendar - I’ve ordered some samples and will be posting updates on social media when they arrive. Decisions have been made about images, however. I’m often happiest with work I produce in my (many) sketchbooks, so have drawn (ha!) on them as a source of material for next year’s calendar. Below are a few of the final selection. Taking a breakLast but not least, we’re taking a break at the cafe in September -
will be closed from Monday 15th - Thursday 25th Reopening on Friday 26th September. Thereafter we’ll be open again Thursday - Sunday 9am - 4pm until further notice. In the meantime, and for those not in the area, many items are available to purchase from my online shop. As always, many thanks for your interest in my work, it’s greatly appreciated. all the best Jennifer x  Spring news from Pebbles on the BeachHello and welcome to the latest edition of my newsletter. I hope this finds you well and enjoying some spring sunshine! We are finally seeing signs of life here - the daffodils are out, primroses have made an appearance and my pots of tulips are making steady progress towards flowering. There is much birdsong in the mornings and great excitement locally about herring spawning in The Minch - including sightings of many gannets, porpoises and a few whales (humpback and minke), following the fish. I shall always be a zoologist at heart!
I find the winter skies here very inspiring - they are often dark and grey and full of rain, above a sea which can be steely grey or dark turquoise or indigo blue, depending on the light. Observing and absorbing these led me to paint a couple of short series of watercolours recently - 'Distant Isles' 5-11. and 'Winter Skies' 1-5. I don't think I'll ever tire of painting seascapes.
I've also been working more with mixed media recently - mainly acrylic paint with graphite, charcoal and pastels. And anything else that comes to hand, if I'm honest. Building up layers, scraping them back, watching to see what emerges. I tend to work on one large sheet of heavy duty paper, which I divide into a grid using masking tape, after the initial, random layer of paint has been applied. It's a method I developed during my time on the portfolio course last winter with Bridge House Art. The end result is a series of small, abstract works which I feel reflect my surroundings here in the coastal west Highlands of Scotland. A shoreline, a rocky coast, a rockpool, perhaps, suggest themselves.  One of the lochs in Laide Wood in recent spring sunshine It was National Poetry Day recently, so here's a poem It's an 'associations' poem, a form I learnt about during an online Creative Explorers workshop in early 2021. It's best read aloud. Each word connects with the next in some way - sometimes opposites, sometimes synonyms and sometimes in a more surprising or unusual way. Enjoy! Lily, valley, polish, boots lily, valley, polish, boots march, April, spring, newts pond, ponder, think, brain head, school, teach, train track, trace, pattern, dress child, toddler, sticky, mess Eton, posh, fish, trout fin, scales, weigh, out in, pub, beer, wine grapes, raisins, chocolate, mine coal, black, mourning, suit lily, valley, polish, boots I've written quite a few of these poems - several are included in my first poetry collection, which is available from the cafe gallery or from my website shop.  Bridge Cottage Art CafeIn the meantime, we're gearing up for the tourist season at Bridge Cottage Art Cafe. We've been open all winter and are grateful for the support of local customers, many of whom are now regulars, as well as those from further afield. Key info :
 Members' Shop reopens!
Last but not least, I'm delighted to say that the Members' Shop at An Talla Solais reopened today and it's stocking some of my work. Including small original artworks, greetings cards and linoprinted skethcbooks. It's situated at the entrance to the gallery on Market Street in Ullapool. Also opening today at An Talla Solais are two exhibitions, one by Susan Lorna Brown, entitled 'Search', the other 'Glacial Narratives : The Greenlandic Chapter'. Both are on until 4th May. The gallery is open Wed - Sun 10am - 1.30pm and 2pm - 5pm. I'll be visiting at some point! Many thanks for your continued interest in my work. all the best Jennifer  A recent photograph of Slioch, by Loch Maree Season's greetings I hope this finds you well and looking forward to the festive season. It's time to update you on the year's highlights, such as our wee art cafe (Bridge Cottage Art Cafe in Poolewe) gaining a Tripadvisor award - top 10% of cafes and restaurants worldwide, thanks to great reviews from our lovely customers! We were all thrilled and delighted by this, given the fact we've only been in business for just over a year. My huge thanks go to Ailsa and Iain, and also our star helper, Ruth, who have effectively been running the cafe, while I do other things, mainly in the background.  Mountain mural, by Ailsa Watson Design. On one of our walls in Bridge Cottage Art Cafe in Poolewe. Local News Article We were delighted to have an article written about us last month in the local fortnightly magazine, the Gairloch and District Times. They contacted us just as we celebrated having been in business for a year. The three of us provided answers to a ten question questionnaire and the results were printed as a double page spread. And we were on the front cover - fame at last!
Instead of any more news or chat about the cafe and gallery, here's a couple of lighthearted Christmas pieces I wrote a number of years ago. I'm planning to put together a second book of poetry in 2025 - will keep you posted. In the meantime, my two wee short story books and first poetry collection are available from my website shop or Bridge Cottage Art Cafe.
Wishing you a peaceful, joyful festive season and good health and happiness in 2025. Look forward to seeing you in Poolewe!
Jennifer x  I hope this finds you well. It's hard to believe that autumn is upon us already, this year has flown past. We had five glorious sunny days recently, which we all agreed must be our summer! The weather has been particularly poor this year. That has not deterred the visitors - the cafe has been busy with travellers from all over the world, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, as well as Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Both the cafe and gallery in Poolewe have gone from strength to strength, with wonderful feedback from customers. We are currently open Friday - Monday 10am - 4pm and plan to do the same through the winter. We will be closed for staff holidays from 5th - 21st November inclusive, reopening on Friday 22 November. Sketching North Erradale sketch.     Sketches - clockwise from top left - Cove, Firemore, Riverbed near Kinlochewe and Poolewe from Inverasdale On the few fine days we've had, I've taken the chance to head out with my sketchbook. The trick is to find somewhere to perch, usually on a rock, where I can lay my sketchbook on my knees and my tools out beside me. I mostly use charcoal for an initial drawing now, as I find a pencil too restricting. Sometimes I use a graphite stick, but I like the rawness and immediacy of charcoal. The sketchbooks are from Pink Pig, the examples shown were done in large square ones (11 x 11 inches). As you may already know, I sell customised sketchbooks, which I have linoprinted with my own designs. A wee travel set of watercolours provides all the colours I need. But I use a big brush, not the tiny travel one, as I like to use lots of water and work very quickly. This is mainly for practical reasons - the light can change very fast, or there is a shower of rain approaching, or the midges start to bite! Nothing can beat sketching out in the fresh air, with the sounds and smells and sights of your surroundings all being absorbed into your work. WritingEarlier this year, I finally got round to republishing my two books of short stories. They both contain ten short and very short stories and are available from my website shop and also from Bridge Cottage Art Cafe.   As well as the short story books, I've put together my first ever collection of poems in a wee book. Again, the book is available to purchase from my website shop and from Bridge Cottage Art Cafe in Poolewe.  Christmas cards    4 of the 8 designs It's that time of year again! This year's designs (all 8 of them) are just in from the printer. I used natural materials to lay out the images, then took photos and did a little editing to add in the wee extras! They are now available to purchase from my website shop and directly from Bridge Cottage Art Cafe. Calendars2025 calendars are now available - as ever, they are slimline ones, with each image printed on the back for use as a postcard. The images are all from artwork produced last winter, during the Art Portfolio course at Bridge House Art in Ullapool. Available to purchase from my website shop, Bridge Cottage Art Cafe and The Button Bothy at Poolewe Village Hall.     Thank you for your continued interest in my work, it is greatly appreciated.
I am heading off to Harris for a week's holiday in a couple of days - really looking forward to a change of scene! I will be dealing with any orders after I return on 9th October. all the best Jennifer  'Coastal #4'. Part of an original mixed media artwork. 15cm x 15cm. Framed A new chapter Spring finally arrived last week, with some real warmth and the cuckoo calling in the glen. Two of them have been swooping and diving around the house over the past few days. The swallows are here too, so it feels as though spring and summer have appeared together! At last it's warm enough to spend some time planting things and sowing seeds in our growing dome. Since I wrote this, the haar has rolled in from the sea and it's decidedly chilly again! On the art front, I'm enjoying having the space at our art cafe in Poolewe to display my artwork, alongside Ailsa's textiles and art, and Iain's photography. It has all come together very well and we've had lots of appreciative comments (and quite a few sales), which has been lovely. There are also some new greetings card, mug and coaster designs, from some of the work I made at Bridge House Art portfolio course over the winter. That time feels almost like a dream now!
'Easterlies #8' and 'Easterlies #2'. Original mixed media artworks. Bridge Cottage Art Cafe The cafe is going well, so some of my time each week is set aside for different creative endeavours, namely baking! Family favourites such as date slice and Victoria sponge have been going down well. And Ailsa's rocky road and triple chocolate brownies, along with Iain's cheese scones and haggis sausage rolls (invented by Ailsa) are getting rave reviews. If you're ever passing through Poolewe, do pop by and say hello! We've had a few old friends do that recently, it was so lovely to see them. We're now open Friday - Tuesday, 10am - 4pm. Closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Press Gang exhibition - all over now I was delighted to have some original prints in the 'Press Gang' exhibition, alongside 48 other printmakers, at An Talla Solais gallery on Market Street in Ullapool, earlier this month. There was a wonderful range of work on show. A few of my printed pieces will be making their way into the Bridge Cottage Art Cafe gallery very soon.
'Edge #1' and 'Edge #9'. Original mixed media artworks, both 15cm x 15cm. Currently on show at Loch Torridon Community Centre gallery. Loch Torridon Community Centre gallery The other week I made a long overdue trip to Torridon to restock the lovely gallery there with some new original artwork, greetings cards and sketchbooks and notebooks. It was a beautiful sunny day, so it turned into a grand day out. We enjoyed lunch at the Wee Whistlestop cafe in the community centre - always good to see what others have to offer! The gallery is open Monday - Friday and Sunday, 10am - 4pm. Closed on Saturdays.
Loch Torridon in the spring sunshine 2025 art calendars Next year's calendars have just arrived - see some of the pages above. It's a slimline, postcard version again, with new work produced at the portfolio course over the winter. Mixed media and print/collage. Now available to purchase from Bridge Cottage Art Cafe or from my website shop. Thank you for your interest in my work, it is greatly appreciated.
all the best Jennifer  Time to go home (nearly) This is the last week of the art portfolio course with Bridge House Art in Ullapool. All ten of us on the course are busy finishing off artworks, cropping and curating in readiness for the end of course exhibition, which opens with a Private View this Saturday, 24th February. Thereafter it is open daily 10am till 4pm, from Sunday 25th February until Sunday 3rd March. I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to develop my art practice. Learning how to work in a real studio setting has been a wonderful experience; it has stretched me in ways I could not have imagined. Being able to set aside the time to focus on being creative has been fantastic. Our tutors, Eleanor White and Kittie Jones, are excellent at keeping us on track, with a finely balanced mixture of firmness, good humour and huge helpings of support and encouragement. I'm very much looking forward to being home again. I'll be hanging some of my new work in the cafe gallery after I've had a wee break to recover.  I've really enjoyed experimenting with acrylic paint and printmaking during the second term of the course. Below are a few examples of some of this new work. A selection of my small acrylic/mixed media works and print assemblies will be on show at the exhibition. Bridge Cottage Art Cafe
The cafe and gallery continue to go from strength to strength, in the capable hands of Ailsa and Iain. We're getting wonderful feedback from locals and visitors alike, which is very welcome and keeps them going when things get hectic! We'll be taking a break in March, so will be closed from Thursday 14th March until Sunday 17th March inclusive. The cafe will reopen on Friday 22nd March, with our new spring opening hours : Friday - Tuesday, 10am - 4pm. Looking forward to seeing you there sometime soon! all the best Jennifer  Bridge Cottage Art Cafe is open! I hope this finds you well and that you've had a wonderful festive season. I'm delighted to say that we opened our art cafe in Poolewe on Friday 3rd November and it's been nonstop ever since. For now, my daughter Ailsa and husband Iain are running it, with me helping out at the weekends. We've been overjoyed at the response from locals and visitors alike - everyone is very happy that we are open at this time of year. So many places closed at the end of October for the season. The homemade baking, soups and hot filled rolls have been going down a treat, and I am making progress with my barista training! The wee gallery and gift shop space upstairs is a great space for showcasing all our work. Ailsa painted a wonderful mural, inspired by our lovely Highland scenery, on one wall of the cafe (see photo below). Our winter opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Thursday to Sunday.     Above - Some of the work I've produced during the portfolio course - pen and ink, small oils and a monoprint (window) Bridge House Art Portfolio course Just before Christmas, I completed the first 8 week term of the art portfolio course in Ullapool. I've learned so much over that time, now it's time to pause and reflect. We've had a week each of a wide range of topics, using a variety of media, including charcoal, ink, oils, acrylics, collage and printing ink. Among other things. we've been taught methods of:
Next term we'll be focusing on our own individual projects. The course ends with a group exhibition at An Talla Solais (where we are based for the course) in Ullapool, from 25th Feb - 3 March 2024. Pebbles on the Beach
I'm not planning to attend any markets next year. Now that we have the premises in Poolewe with the gallery space, all my artwork and related products are available to purchase from Bridge Cottage Art Cafe. I'll be there in person at least some of the time at weekends in January and February, and much more regularly after that. I look forward to seeing you there! I still have some items at Loch Torridon Community Centre Gallery and also at The Button Bothy in Poolewe. For those of you further afield, my website shop remains open. In the meantime, thanks again for your continued support. Wishing you a joyful, healthy and happy New Year. all the best Jennifer  I hope this finds you well. It's feeling distinctly more autumnal here just now, rather windy but still quite warm. Earlier this month I enjoyed a lovely break in Cornwall. I've never been there before and it was great to explore somewhere new. As always, lots of photos were taken. I also did some sketching. The one above was done at Poldhu beach.  Art cafe - coming soon I can't quite believe I'm telling you this - Pebbles on the Beach is moving into Bridge Cottage Cafe in Poolewe very soon (see photo above)! Myself, husband Iain (Iain Sutherland Photography) and daughter Ailsa (artist, illustrator and textile designer at Ailsa Watson Design) are taking over the premises next month. We'll all be showing our work in the gallery space upstairs and Ailsa will run the cafe, with Iain's help. We hope to open in early November and will be open several days a week throughout the winter. Keep an eye on social media for updates. We're very excited about this new family venture and look forward to welcoming you!
Exhibitions Delighted to say that two of my 'Lewis Blues' photographs, printed onto aluminium, were accepted into the Members Exhibition at An Talla Solais in Ullapool (and, even better, they are going to new homes!). The show is still on - it closes on Sunday 1st October (open Wed - Sun). Coming up are two more exhibitions, to which I'll be submitting work.
 Bridge House Art Portfolio Course As if there wasn't enough going on already - I'm delighted to say that I'll be attending the wonderful Bridge House Art portfolio course this winter! This small art school is based in Ullapool, so that's where I'll be (mainly) from late October until early March next year. Of course I will regularly be checking in with the happenings at the art cafe in Poolewe. But my main focus this winter will be on art. I can't wait! Local Markets I'll be at some of the local markets - Poolewe Tuesday market and Torridon Thursday market (fortnightly) until mid-October (last one on Thursday 19th October in Torridon). I'm not doing any of the Christmas markets this year, as I'll be busy in Ullapool. Once we're open, you'll be able to purchase items from the gallery and gift shop at Bridge Cottage Cafe. I'll also still have some items available in my website shop. Speaking of which... Christmas cards & calendars This year's Christmas cards are now available to pre-order. They'll be ready to send out next week. 2024 slimline, postcard calendars are also available in my website shop. This year they include a selection of paintings, photographs and linoprints. Some of the images are shown below. Thank you again for your continued support, it's greatly appreciated.
all the best Jennifer |
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