Skye: Island of Dreams

Anthony Rybek (UK) Having lived on the Isle of Skye since 2007, I consider myself to be very fortunate to have every day opportunities to fulfil my hunger for the wilderness, natural world and two of my greatest passions, fossil hunting and geology. So, it was of no surprise to me that, during these times immersed in this dramatic and mostly unspoiled landscape, yet another passion would evolve – oil painting. Fig. 1. Anthony Rybek, working on a painting. Like all my pursuits, I am self-taught and, as I began to learn and practice painting techniques, it soon became clear that I had a degree of aptitude for this art form. I found it similar to my earliest fossil hunting trips where, once I tasted success and the thrill of discovering new and amazing fossils, the desire to learn more and improve my skills grew deeper and deeper. My painting is no different. It wouldn’t take long before the subject matter for my landscape paintings would cross paths with fossil hunts and geology. Skye has an abundance of iconic geological landmarks and I feel privileged to have a basic understanding of the geological processes that help shape these formations. And it is these dramatic scenes that are the main influence of many of my paintings. The Trotternish Ridge In the northern half of Skye, this is the dominant feature of the Trotternish Ridge, which runs like the spine of an ancient creature between the islands capital Portree and the infamous … Read More