Born in 1928 on the shores of Loch Fyne, Duncan Williamson was the seventh of 16 children. At the age of 15 he set out to begin a traveller's life on the road. On his travels, Williamson began to collect stories from people from all walks of life and eventually memorised over 3000. He became a master storyteller of international fame, travelling extensively to festivals all over the world. After Williamson’s death in November 2007, his publisher, Stephanie Wolfe-Murray of Canongate described him as ‘number one – head and shoulders above anyone else in his field…uniquely gifted with a keen sense of poetry and above all else a passion for wonder.’ Fladmark , who studied drawing and painting at Edinburgh College of Art, became a good friend of Williamson during his life. She painted his portrait against the landscape around Loch Fyne in Argyll.