A Hebridean Notebook

Book excerpt: The printmaker Norman Ackroyd CBE RA has long been fascinated by the Hebrides, the archipelago lying to the north-west of mainland Scotland. Inhabited since prehistoric times, some of these islands are now deserted, and all are rarely visited. Their ghostly, desolate ambience was the perfect stage for Ackroyd's art; the urge to see these remote islands for himself spurred him into making several journeys to the region. This book brings together a selection of original en plein air watercolour sketches, some produced under arduous conditions of weather and sea, which have provided the basis for many of Ackroyd's most memorable etchings. A gazetteer section at the back contains the artist's thoughts, alongside a more detailed description of the sketches' locations. AUTHOR: Norman Ackroyd was born in Leeds in 1938 and studied at the Royal College of Art in London. He turned to landscape art in the 1980s. Ever since, his etchings of the ruggedly beautiful British coastline have been admired around the world. SELLING POINTS: * A selection of Norman Ackroyd CBE RA's most compelling sketches of the Hebrides * Features Ackroyd's original en plein air watercolour sketches * Accompanied by an informative gazetteer section, written by the artist himself 40 colour