A former archaeologist who, barring a handful of evening classes, is a self-taught amateur artist. In good weather, I prowl the beaches of Aberdeenshire hypnotising rocks and balancing them to startling effect, with apparent disregard for gravity. In bad weather, I dabble in digital illustration and design.
The illustrations I produce are often influenced by my time at university, drawing on my studies of prehistoric cultures with themes inspired by Palaeolithic and Megalithic art, folklore, and the fantastical.
My fascination with rock balancing began after I stumbled across a video on YouTube of rock balancer Bill Dan from San Francisco. On my next trip to the beach (a suitable rocky one, of course) I just had to give it a try, and now I’m hooked. Some rocks balance quickly, and some don’t want to balance at all. If they do balance, there’s a magical moment when I can feel the stones lock into place. Then, and only then, can I carefully step back to admire my handy work. Sometimes a balance is so close to the limit it will last scant seconds before it collapses. Other times I’m surrounded by precarious constructions for minutes, or hours, as I attempt increasingly complex configurations. Creating these temporary sculptures is an intensely absorbing process that needs patience and a delicate touch. I’m often so focused on finding the balance within an unruly stack of rocks that I’m oblivious to my immediate surroundings.
Many rock balancers describe their craft as being like a form of meditation. All I know is, at the end of a day’s balancing I’m left feeling calm, relaxed and at peace.
“Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
You can despair further at my works by following me on social media.