Shetlanders have always had a healthy respect for the sea, which can be a bounteous benefactor as well as a formidable foe. For some it is a barrier, for others a highway. However one views it, Shetland is surrounded by it, with its fragile defences of cliff and stack, beach and rocky inlet. The sea in all its moods, furious or placid, brooding or smiling, provides a rich and wonderful source of inspiration for a Shetland artist like me.