‘The otter came so close I could smell her fishy breath’: scribbles and sketches from Scotland’s wild isles

In an extract from her new book, Still Waters & Wild Waves, the artist and illustrator Angela Harding documents the wildlife and landscapes of the Scottish islands Fair Isle and Shetland

Words and images: Angela Harding

Today the UK woke up to a day of excitement. A day of street parties, a national holiday, and celebrations for a new king. It was also day three of gale-force winds on Fair Isle, and it was the day my mother died. A brief phone call from her care home, then the aloneness. The phone call came as I stood outside the south lighthouse. I watched the tower-tall waves, Payne's grey, reflecting the colour of the sky. Waves built by wide, powerful seas and a wild wind that rocked me back and forth on my heels. The news was expected; it was the logical conclusion for a fragile 92-year-old.

Shetland Sea, an illustration from Angela Harding's sketchbook