A painting for my home island, this project is very dear to my heart.

 

The island of Hoy in Orkney has two parishes, Hoy & Walls, and is made up of two land masses, connected by a short causeway over a tidal passage.

 

The parish of Hoy refers to the north end of the island rather than the whole island mass, while Walls refers to the south end.

 

The landscape of the Hoy parish is high hills and cliffs, the home to many birds and other wildlife, with the human population sitting about 40. As we travel further south and reach Walls, we then find ourselves in lower lands of green fertile farmland, with a higher population of about 350.

The two parishes are quite disparate as they are separated by a large expanse of hill land which has no human habitats for quite a few miles.

 

Sitting between the Atlantic Ocean, The Pentland Firth, The North Sea and Scapa Flow, the surrounding sea is as much a feature and presence as is the land. People travel by ferry for shopping, work and high school. Fishing and fish farming are primary occupations, and the Longhope Lifeboat is a major part of the community.