Having lived more than half of my life near the coast of Argyll, it would be a surprise if the sea did not influence my work in some way or another.

When the family lived in South Kintyre, I would often take my lunchbreak on the shore of the Firth of Clyde near Davaar Island, watching the gannets diving, or the wading birds search the shoreline.

My wife and I owned and ran the award-winning Oystercatcher Gallery in Campbeltown for 22 years, until we felt the time was right to take a new direction. Now, living in the beautiful village of Kilmartin, 58 miles to the north in Mid Argyll, we are still only a short distance from the sea and the Crinan Canal, of course. On the tidal estuary of the River Add, there are birds to be seen in great numbers - the variety is astonishing.

My love for the wildness of Kintyre continues undimmed and I visit regularly throughout the year - to see my mother, but also to walk the long sandy shores to the west and find the secluded bays facing Arran and Ayrshire.