At Dalmally on my second trip, I met a few others who were also having a quiet stay at the Lodge. Among them , Jim’s sense of humour was very interesting. In relating a joke, he would appear to be serious.
He was immersed in painting sceneries with an array of water colours .
My curiosity led me to peek into his work .
“Jim your paintings are wonderful. ” said I, thinking it was his hobby . This was more than that.

His talent in art progressed from high school to his work life.
Even though he was in an engineering company he joined night classes in art, 6 days a week.
At this stage, he could draw faces from memory.
He met Jean who worked in the company office and eventually married her.
Their interest in drama and singing, led them to join a drama and dancing club. Soon they participated in public performances.

He later joined the railways .
With the arrival of their son Mark they moved from Glasgow to Arbroath . He honed his skill, specially in drawing profiles and was greatly encouraged by a renowned artist.

Since there was less time for art and drama he moved to Elgin. Here he began painting sceneries.
The time of Covid was a blessing in disguise. He began an art class called
Cant,draw,want to draw .
Currently he has 29 students.

An interesting part of his life is his spiritual life .
“Jim you are a hard wire” said his pastor meaning his closeness to God through knowledge of the bible.
He was a regular church goer. He drew pictures of the children’s Bible when young.
He always thought God was too busy.
But his life changed when he heard the Word from Isaiah 49:13
‘ I have carved you in the palm of my hand’
at a charismatic prayer group on invitation from his catholic wife. He thus became Catholic from being a Protestant.

What brought us to Craig Lodge ?
It is the peace and quiet; a time of prayer and just to have a break from the busy city life.
For Jim , the opportunity to paint sceneries was an added bonus .
At the end I saw him paint the Kilchurn castle, which he had visited during this time.
The biggest surprise was when I was told that
‘Jim is an amazing cartoonist’
Here are some of his past works. You will understand why I liked his sense of humour