Our pictures all have a connection to the headland, they show the places you can visit here, and the wildlife that you may see. Many of the artists live here in Caithness. If there’s one that you love, get in touch with the artist.
Entrance Hall
Noss Head in the 1970s
David Fraser was lightkeeper here at Noss Head in the 1970s and lived here with his wife Isobel. He was kind enough to give us these photographs of his time here and visits he made later.
Noss Head in the 1940s
These photographs were given to us by Brian Dishon, the younger of the two boys playing in the boats. His father was Lightkeeper here between 1947 and 1949. You can read about the Dishon family’s time at Noss Head in Brian’s memoir which is among our books.
Noss Head Lightkeepers in the 1880s and 1910s
I was really pleased to find these studio portraits of former Noss Head lightkeepers when I searched the Johnston Collection; an amazing archive of 19th and early 20th century photographs of Caithness. Alexander Greig was married to Margaret Brimms, he was Principal Lightkeeper here from 1876-1886, and J McLardy was Assistant Lightkeeper here from 1911 to 1913. Visit the exhibition in Wick Museum.
and a studio portrait of Assistant Lightkeeper J McLardy and his family, August 1912.
Martina Cross – And the Memories Remain (Castle Sinclair Girnigoe)
Martina lived for more than 10 years in Caithness and produced books of photography the north of Scotland before she returned to Germany. We bought her atmospheric print from her on Redbubble.
www.martinacross.com
Dining Room / Family Room
Lisa Poulson - Sinclair Bay
Lisa grew up in Caithness, surrounded by the county’s flagstone, heritage, and landscape. She creates landscapes using photographs of Caithness stone captured from various sites including harbours, beaches, paving slabs and even ancient standing stones. You can buy her work at the Coo's Tail in Thurso.
https://www.inspiredbycaithness.com
Mary Andrews – Black Throated Divers
Mary trained first as a research scientist before returning to her first love which is art. She says “… my work is an effort to express my excitement in the beauty of the animals and plants around my Highland home”. I bought this lino cut from an exhibition in Caithness Horizons, now the North Coast Visitor Centre.
mary.andrews5@btinternet.com
https://highlandprintstudio.co.uk/artists/mary-andrews/
Chris Birse - Caithness Map
This map was designed by Chris Birse of Fantasy World Maps, for the Caithness Broch Project. You can get them from the Broch project website, or the Coo's Tail gallery in Thurso.
Jen Horsey
My sister gave me these when I opened the Cottage - I love Jen's humour, using beachcombings to make these wee pictures. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.
Copper Top Croft – NC500 Postcards
Anna Mayon is a visual artist from Inverness, designs are based on Anna’s original ideas, drawings and Lino Prints (carved blocks, inked and printed) in collaboration with her husband Scott. These came from the Coo’s Tail Gallery in Thurso.
www.coppertopcroft.com
Little Indie's House - Orca at Noss Head
I love "Little Indie's" work - she makes stools, lamps, bags and all sorts of good things. I even have some tweed Christmas baubles from her for my tree! When I saw this, I had to get it. We may get a couple of close visits by orca each year, so it's a special day when we see them. You can see more of her work on Facebook.
Georgina McMaster – Bees
Georgina’s work is mainly based on animals, in particular Scottish wildlife. She endeavours to capture the character and soul of the animal. I bought Georgina’s pictures from the Coo’s Tail Gallery in Thurso.
www.georginamcmaster.com
Anna Wright – Starlings
Anna creates lively illustrations of animals and birds; a gentle sense of humour runs through all her work, alongside a passion for drawing. She is from Dumfries and is now based in Edinburgh and Kennington. I got this print from the Coo’s Tail Gallery in Thurso; her prints, cards, stationery, books and homeware are also available via her website.
https://annawright.co.uk/
Kitchen
Stephen Collins - Holiday Cottage Bingo
I saw this cartoon in the Guardian, and realised I had to have it! I'll admit our knives are blunt - that's why we have a knife sharpener. And I am not sure about any ghosts. But I think we avoid most of the rest!
https://www.stephencollinsillustration.com/shop/
Stephen Collins - Holiday Cottage Bingo - Please respect his copyright
Living Room
F S Begg – Sinclair Bay
Frank Begg has been painting the wildlife and landscapes of northern Scotland since the 1960s and his paintings depict ways of farming that are now long-gone, though the view of Sinclair Bay looking over to Noss Head and Castle Girnigoe has not changed since he painted it. I had a long chat with him when I bought the print of his painting at the Toll Gallery, Bridge End, Thurso.
Keith Tilley - Noss Head
I love Keith's sensitive watercolours; he really understands the light here in Caithness. I saw this on his Facebook page, and rushed to get it. You can also follow his blog online.
Lisa Weller – Sandigoe Beach
Lisa is our neighbour in Papigoe. She has been painting full time since 2009 after moving here from the south of England. She also does healing work at her cottage and studio at Haven House Healing in Papigoe.
https://www.havenhouseart.com
info@havenhouseart.com
Sylvie Veyres – Covers for Les Etioles de Noss Head by Sophie Jomain
These books in the Twilight tradition are only available in French, alas.
Sheelah Sparkes – Rock Life
Sheelah is an artist and calligrapher who was born in North Yorkshire. She has lived and worked for many years in the Highland village of Portmahomack, Easter Ross. I bought this print from an exhibition at Caithness Horizons, now the North Coast Visitor Centre.
Jane Smith – Puffin Landing
Jane came to wildlife art via a degree in Zoology and a career filming wildlife. She sketched the young Seal on the Shore in Oak Call Ink while she was an Artist in Residence in the oak woods at Taynish. I bought both pictures direct from the artist.
janesmithwildlifeart.blogspot.com/
Jane Smith – Seal on the Shore
Dawn Maciocia – Wildlife on cushions and lampshades
Dawn lives in Fife where she creates collage paintings using hand painted torn papers. She finds life serious and deliberately creates work that’s light-hearted. This is why we chose her work to brighten up the Living Room. We bought the cushions and lampshades in the Coo’s Tail Gallery in Thurso.
https://dawnmaciocia.com
Corridor
Katie Squires - Sea Shells
Katie is an exciting young print-maker who moved to Keiss in 2019. She is developing her own style and is working increasingly with the local community. You can find her on Facebook and on her own website.
Sarah Jane Holt - Noss Head Lighthouse
Sarah Jane Holt describes herself as "a Northumbrian artist and fan girl". I loved the sky behind the lighthouse in her print. You can find her on Etsy.
David Armitage - The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch
Be careful what you read your children! This is the book that started it all for us when my in-laws read this to my husband when he was a child. David Armitage was raised in Australia and studied fine art before embarking on a career which has seen his paintings exhibited throughout New Zealand, Australia and the US. This is the cover he painted for his wife's book.
Eli Mack - Map of Wick
Eli is a local artist commissioned to draw the maps of Wick you see by the harbour and on the way into town driving South from John o'Groats. I was lucky she still had a copy of this version of her map available. You can find her on Facebook.
David Armitage - The Lighthouse Keeper's Tea
Tabitha Mary - Shipping Forecast Print
We all want to know the places those magical names relate to, and living at a lighthouse is the perfect excuse to get this print by Tabitha Mary. She says it all started when her mum and dad asked her for a map of the Shipping Forecast for Christmas; she couldn't find one anywhere; so she decided to design her own.
https://tabithamary.co.uk/
Double Bedroom
Louise Worthy – Mermaid’s Purse and Lapwing Sunset
Louise worked in the fashion industry for over 20 years. When she moved to Sutherland in 2005, she could be more hands-on creative and for a number of years she used a converted ACME mangle for producing her prints! We bought two of her ink monoprints of shore birds from an exhibition at the Caithness Horizons gallery, but you can buy her work from her website and on Etsy.
https://www.louiseworthy.net
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LouiseWorthyArtist
‘CAITHNESS SHIRE.’ by W. H. Lizars c.1885
I found this in the Highland Hospice charity shop in Thurso, but the Coo's Tail is great for old maps of the area, and this pops up fairly often online.
G E Newton- Oilette Postcard: Girniegoe (sic) Castle, Wick
GE Newton painted picture postcards before the First World War. Newton must have painted the picture, or at least sketched the position of the moon, early one summer’s morning. These postcards occasionally turn up on ebay. It is displayed with other vintage postcards of the castle and lighthouse.
Print of Castle Girnigoe
This print came from the Royal Mile Gallery in Edinburgh.
www.royalmilegallery.net/
Print of the Herring Fleet in Wick, with Noss Head in the distance
This imaginative view shows many East Coast fishing landmarks; we got it from the Highland Hospice Charity Shop in Thurso, but it was originally printed by the John o'Groats Journal.
Photo to follow.
Pelican Design Consultants - Castle Sinclair Girnigoe
This image really brings the castle to life - we think it was commissioned by the Clan Sinclair Trust for the information panels outside the Castle and we're delighted to have a copy here in the Cottage.
This has been reframed - updated photo to follow
Twin Bedroom
Noss Head Mirror
VisitScotland said I needed a mirror in this room, and I wanted something special. So I was delighted when I found John at Gemini Mirrors and asked him to create one of the lighthouse here at Noss Head.
The Far North Line
One of the best railway journeys in Scotland, and that sets the bar pretty high! I picked this up at a tourism event, and love how it shows some of the not-so-touristy things.
Emma Horne - Two Blue Dogs at Noss Head
Two Blue Dogs Designs is the showcase for the Artwork of Emma Horne, inspired by Sheepdogs and Scotland. We love Emma's style and asked her to create images of Noss Head for us - they are available exclusively in our "shop".
https://www.twobluedogsdesigns.com/
https://www.facebook.com/2bluedogsdesigns
Jane Strugnell – Castle Sinclair Girnigoe and Noss Light
Jane came from Coventry and now lives here in Caithness. She says “I previously tried to diversify into several other artistic areas, but having realised that I am not going to live forever and some things had to go, the painting was the activity that survived!” We bought the prints of Jane’s watercolours from John o’Groats Crafts.
http://www.artworkscotland.com/
jane_strugnell@hotmail.com
Hannah Cambridge - The Black Stairs, Wick
Hanna is from Northern Ireland, and came here via Bristol. I love her work; her shop's upstairs in the High Street, and well worth looking at. I wanted L. S. Lowry's print of the Black Stairs to compliment this, but haven't been able to find a copy good enough to frame. But who needs Lowry, when you have this?
https://www.hannahcambridge.co.uk/
Hannah Cambridge - Flora and Fauna of Caithness
I didn't realise that Hannah was also the artist who created this lovely modern interpretation of those lovely old botanical prints until I looked at her website for information abut the Black Stairs.
I found this in the shop at Puldagon Farm and Restaurant, and you can get your own copy from Hannah's website though.
https://www.hannahcambridge.co.uk/
Eswyl Fell - Beach
Eswyl is a retired teacher who used to teach at Wick High School. Mostly she is a photographer, but when I saw this at the annual Exhibition of Caithness Artists, I just loved it - for me, this IS Keiss beach.
Bunk Room
Katie Squires - Noss Head
When I saw this on Katie's Facebook page, I had to have it! Katie is an exciting young print-maker who moved to Keiss in 2019. This images is based on a photograph her partner took while out crabbing. You can find Katie's work on Facebook and on her own website.
Brambler (formerly The Font Tree) – Personalised Treasured Location Print
This map with the co-ordinates for Noss Head is the picture which is both most specific and least specific to this place! I got it from Jasmine and Baz on the website Not on the High Street.
https://www.notonthehighstreet.com/thefonttree
Peter Walters - Treasure Island
Peter lives in North Cornwall, which makes him one of the few non-local artists; but we love his take on Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the nephew of Alan Stevenson who built the lighthouse.
https://athenaart.com/collections/peter-walters
Bella at Noss Head
This was gifted to us --- the artist is just seven years old, but I truly expect her to be famous one day!
Bathroom
Highland Hare
Any day you see a hare is magical. This was one of the first pictures I bought for the cottage, and I now cannot remember where I got it or who the artist is.
