Peat moss, Isle of Skye

David Law was best known as an etcher during his lifetime, but he was also a talented and devoted watercolourist. His landscape subjects ranged from the tranquil expanses of the Thames Valley to the remote grandeur of mountains and waterfalls in Wales and Scotland. Studies made in the outdoors were often worked up into large- scale studio productions, like this ambitious watercolour depicting peat gatherers beneath craggy hills and darkening skies on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides. Peat gathered from bogs was an important source of fuel. In the background we can just make out rows of drying peat stacks. Peat fires were also used to dry malted barley in whisky distilleries.