Isle of Rum and Driftwood

Robert Kelsey painted this peaceful stretch of Scottish coastline in 2010, capturing the Isle of Rum as it floats along the horizon like a soft blue shadow. The island is one of the Small Isles off Scotland's west coast, and here it sits quietly between the wide beach and a sky full of drifting clouds. Wet sand stretches out in the foreground, mirroring the pale light overhead, while small dashes of orange and green suggest bits of driftwood and seaweed scattered by the tide. The clouds break open in places to let warm light through, giving the whole scene a hushed feeling, as if the weather might shift at any moment.

Kelsey is a Scottish painter who has spent much of his career exploring the shifting light and open spaces of his country's shores. His approach is relaxed and self assured, working in broad sweeps of color instead of tight detail. Much of the brushwork stays right on the surface, so you get a clear sense of how each part of the picture came together stroke by stroke. Rather than aiming for a perfect record of the place, the painting shares a mood, the simple experience of standing alone on a wide beach and watching the day pass over faraway hills.