Eilean Subhainn, 2020

Eilean Subhainn is one of over ninety islands in Loch Maree, some are tiny but Eilean Subhainn is substantial.

On the island is a Lochan and in the Lochan is an island, folk legend has it that if you fall asleep on the island in the little Lochan on midsummer’s eve the Queen of the Faeries will steal you away. I’ve been researching these stories and legends and also Gaelic place names. Sithean/Sidhean (pronounced Sheee-an) is a Faery knoll with a labyrinth below, Subhainn also has links to the Faery realm. Clearly for all the romance the Faery Queen is not one’s best friend, as the paintings evolved I chose to exaggerate the colour of the island to illustrate its seductive attraction, the debris of fallen branches below the water around it became the Queen’s lair. The bright mountain in the distance (Slioch) may be seen as a representation of paradise in the earthly realm.