Susan mcmillan art

07/09/2026

I met this character on the way to the Singing Sands on my recent trip to Islay. There were quite a few goats around there, and I’ve been wondering ever since — are they wild, or does someone look after them to any extent?

I couldn’t resist painting Billy when I got home, and today Islay Billy has been posted off to Windsor & Newton for their postcard project. 🎨

Does anyone on Islay know the story of the goats around the Singing Sands?

07/09/2026

I’m not quite ready to let summer go… ☀️

I seem to have missed rather a lot of it this year, so I’ve been looking back at some of my paintings from last summer.

Lush green woodland, pier jumping at Dunure, sunlit fields, roads winding through Skye, summer visitors to the garden and a splash of Mediterranean colour.

All those little moments of light, colour and warmth that make summer feel like summer.

I think I’ll hold onto it just a little longer.

Which one takes you straight back to summer?

31/08/2026

Two new paintings from Islay — two very different moments.

Port Askaig Pause came from those last moments on the island, waiting for the ferry, with the boats in the harbour and the Paps of Jura disappearing into the distance.

Islay Purposefulness is quite different — a lone figure striding into the sea, full of movement and determination, painted loosely in oil and impasto.

Both came home with me from Islay in one way or another, and both are now on my website.

www.susanmcmillanart.co.uk

28/08/2026

Port Askaig Pause

Waiting for the ferry home from Islay. Boats gathered in Port Askaig harbour, with Jura across the water and the Paps almost disappearing into the soft grey light.

A little pause between islands — watching the reflections, the flashes of red and all those muted west-coast colours before it was time to leave.

Painted back in the studio from that moment.

And with Dolly gone, there really could only be one song for this one. ❤️

19/08/2026

I’ve gathered some of my most recent paintings together into a little online art book, One Piece.

You can actually flick through it like a book, so if you fancy a quiet browse through what I’ve been painting lately, have a look. 🎨

There’s a mixture of recent oils and watercolours, with plenty of the west coast light, sea and weather that keep finding their way into my work.

One Piece — an art book by Susan McMillan

One Piece — an art book by Susan McMillan

An art book by Susan McMillan. 10 works, in the artist's order.

14/08/2026

Another little Islay memory in watercolour.

Billy the goat, looking completely at home above the sea at the Singing Sands. I loved the contrast between his dark shape and all those soft sea-greens, rocks and flashes of white water.

I think he rather steals the scene. 😊

Billy at the Singing Sands, Islay
Watercolour

12/08/2026

My first oil painting inspired by Islay — With Purpose.

I spotted this woman striding determinedly out into the sea and there was something about her that just stayed with me. Against that huge sky and windswept beach, she seemed to know exactly where she was going.

I think it’s finished… although I’m never quite sure when to stop! 😂

With Purpose
Oil on canvas

What do you think — finished, or would you keep going?