A rainy day in Scotland is the norm, particularly when visiting the Isles in the far north. Our cruise ship, Windstar's five-masted sailing vessel "Wind Surf" anchored in the harbor of Portree, Isle of Skye, under a cloudy sky that soon turned windy and rainy as we boarded buses for an excursion into the interior. Even in the rain, Skye was beautiful and exhilarating.

 

 

 

After a visit to Dunvegan Castle we returned to Portree with improving weather. The ladies went off to shop. My traveling buddy, Mike and I were somewhat at a loss for something to do until we spotted a pub on the opposite side of the small town square. Seemed like a good place to wait out the shopping. We went in, ordered a pint of the "local" brew (which was hand-pumped out of its cask) and took a seat in the tap room. Near the window sat a gent also waiting out the weather by doing a crossword (in pen) while enjoying his own pint.

 

 

 

I was struck by the sharp contrast between the areas lighted by the gray light coming through the window and the dark shadows. The texture of the leather jacket and the vibrant color of the ale in his glass also drew me. I took a dozen reference shots as he assumed various casual poses. 

 

By the time we were ready to board the tender and get back to the ship the weather had cleared.

 

 

 

Reviewing my photographs back home in the studio, I recalled those pictures of the Scotsman with his pint and the best of the lot was the one in which he drank from the glass while looking out the window. I wonder what he was thinking.

 

 

 

After some cropping for composition, I manipulated the raw image so I could see what was actually going on in those shadows. This is one very nice thing about digitals - the ability to recover information that the human eye CAN see but would otherwise be lost without some massaging.

 

The final drawing was done on a 16x20" sheet of Fredrix Archival Watercolor Canvas using solvent enhanced colored pencils of various brands.