Landing Craft at St Kilda
- Owner: Donald E. Meek (View all images and albums)
- Uploaded: Oct 13 2010 02:46 PM
- Views: 1,170
- Category: Donald E. Meek's Gallery
This was a very common sight at St Kilda in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, as the Army base on Hirta depended on services provided by LCTs from Cairnryan (initially). This effort attempts to show the LCT 'Arakan' (L4003) on the 'hard' at Village Bay, in the late afternoon light. I was familar with similar (earlier) LCTs when they served the RAF base in Tiree, and used Gott Bay for discharge and loading. Fascinating vessels, and very useful. They were noisy, though, and I could hear them a mile away when they were coming through Gunna Sound on their way north to St Kilda. The picture has been painted quickly with Daler Rowney painting-/palette-knives, and this was the result of an afternoon's 'splashing'! Knives allow (me, at any rate) more freedom and the use of richer colours, with better effects on sea, though there is less detail on the ship. When the first painting dries (in 6 weeks' time!), I'll work over it again, to straighten lines, emphasise light and shadow etc.