Renowned Fairlie artist Alastair Houston had some of his well known marine art on display at the recent Scotland Boat Show, and indeed, attracted royalty!

As you can see from this picture by Paul Tipping, the local artist got the opportunity to chat to Princess Anne as she had a whistlestop tour of the boat show on its opening day.

Depicted scenes painted by Alastair include Yachting, The Fife Regatta, Mediterranean and The Clyde, and many of his paintings adorn the walls of various cafes, restaurants and hotels in Largs and surrounding area, and beyond.

Alastair said: "It was very interesting to meet Princess Anne as she is a very keen sailor. I have never met her before, and quickly the conversation got down to sailing, and she has actually spent a lot of time cruising on the west coast of Scotland.

"I never knew that Princess Anne spent a couple of times a year cruising on the west coast as opposed to all these fabulous places like the Mediterranean. It is a nice thing that she could probably choose a lot of tropical places to go, but instead she chooses the west of Scotland. The conversation revolved around that, and she doesn't sail with a big crew, so she has to be very fit and able, and it was evident that she was a real sailing enthusiast."

"We were talking about Fife boats in Fairlie, and classic sailing boats, and how to sail them. It is incredible to think that Princess Anne has been to most of the anchorages in the west coast of Scotland."

Alastair stated that it was great that for the 30th anniversary of Scotland's Boat Show in Inverkip that it was able to attract Her Royal Highness.

He added: "It provided a lot of extra prestige for the boat show itself, as when the boat show started off in the 1980s, it was quite a small affair, and has certainly grown over the years."

For more details about Alistair's work, go to www.alastairhouston.com