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Local Caithness artist Julian Smith has taken the unusual step of taking his paintings beyond the canvas and into the digital world, by turning them into evocative animations.

Julian, who has lived and worked in Caithness for most of his life, takes his inspiration from the area's wildlife and landscapes.  He recently set up a website - with assistance from Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (CASE) via its E-business support programme - to sell his original works and prints online.

Following the success of his exhibition in Thurso earlier this year, Julian has produced a DVD in response to requests from many visitors who found it an extremely moving experience.  It not only includes all 17 paintings, but also the complete animated show.  Short previews of the collection can be viewed on his new website, www.artsmith-caithness.co.uk

Local musician Iain Sinclair along with Glasgow-based, Peter MacCalman, provided the soundtracks for the seven unique animations, which feature the decay of an old croft house, a novel interpretation of 'Caithness flags' and a powerful piece entitled 'Fading Light on Stroma'.

Commenting on this new development within his business 'Artsmith', Julian said: "I am extremely grateful to CASE for the support it has given.  This assistance has enabled me to build extra creativity and dynamism into the site.

"Web sites, if done well are superb communication and marketing tools but it takes considerable effort to produce one that really works.  I could not have realised my vision of the site without help from CASE, the musicians, and not least, the web designer Ken Rice at 'inner-eye-interactive'.  Their commitment has been instrumental in the extremely encouraging response I have received from visitors so far."

Chief executive of CASE, Carroll Buxton said: "The development of e-business solutions is a priority for CASE because it can help small, rural businesses to compete on a level playing field and access markets they normally wouldn't be able to target.

"In Julian's case, he is able to sell his paintings and prints to a global audience, and with his creative animations as part of his collection now, he is effectively promoting Caithness too."