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July, 2010 | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Archive for July, 2010

Almost finished

Posted by admin on July 30th, 2010

wall-painting-the-cathedral-speyer-acrylic-pastel-2010-100-x-140-cm-2

'Wall painting, the cathedral, Speyer'

It’s been a week of painting and rain. The days of painting outside in the shade of the courtyard have passed it seems and instead it’s been a case of working in the studios and trying to get as much artificial light as possible. It’s been very dark much of the time with big heavy showers that beat down on the leaves of the vine and make a real din. The vine apart, it feels a little more like home and certainly the temperature has been more Irvine like. Now of course, having typed this, the sun is coming out …..so perhaps this will be the start of another warm spell.

Anyway, enough of the weather and on to the painting I think. I’ve been working on several pieces this week and have had a mixture of success and failure …so about par for the course I guess. Last week, I received an email from Scotlandart.com inviting me to take part in their ‘New Gallery Artists’ exhibition to be held in late September. They’ve asked for six pieces which with the other commitments I have this autumn isn’t going to be easy. But, of course this is an excellent opportunity and it’s a great set up they have at Scotlandart.com. So then, after thinking about this for two days I decided I really couldn’t miss this chance and therefore have agreed to take part. It’ll mean a few extra shifts and I’m going to start a few Scotland based paintings in the next few weeks so that I don’t have a mad rush on my return to Irvine at the start of September.

The main achievement this week though has been getting my big ‘wall’ based painting near completion. There’s still a little bit of work to be done I think but in general it’s about there. As I said in the blog a couple of weeks ago, the painting is a view of a section of the cathedral wall here in Speyer. But I’ve over-laid the view with a more close up view of the stones. It’s quite a vague image of subtle lines and colours put down in layers of paint and pastel. I’m finding it quite difficult to assess as most of the painting is made of these very fine scribbled marks …and so when I stand back I lose all this and am left with a very vague structure. This though is rather what I wanted to create –somewhat of a ghostly image of this ancient building with all its layers of structure and history.

As anyone who paints will know, it sometimes takes a good while to decide about a piece of work once it reaches this stage. I think this painting is just going to have to sit and stew for a while as I get on with other work. I moved my bed into the studio a few weeks ago at the height of the hot weather (it’s much cooler than my room upstairs) so I’m kind of living with the work! Anyway, I’m putting a photo of this piece up on this blog but even though it’s signed ….it may still change.

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Getting out

Posted by admin on July 23rd, 2010
wine-country

Wine Country, Speyer

Last week when my partner Anita was visiting we had the opportunity of getting out onto the local hills. It was another very hot day and so the thought of getting into slightly cooler air was incentive enough regardless of the beautiful forest and the big views. We went to a slightly different area to that which I’d visited with friends a few weeks before. The hills were similar but slightly higher here …perhaps around 600m but still densely shrouded in mixed woodland.

As we drove away from Speyer we left the huge bright fields of ripening crops and got into the vast areas of vines – stretching in broken lines for what seemed miles and miles. We parked at a large mansion situated on the side of a hill overlooking this beautiful patchwork of vines – the building apparently a summer villa for a former king – as I say, a modest little residence! But he’d certainly chosen to build his villa in a place with a fantastic view. Looking straight out the view was big….but it was the lines of vines that caught my attention – each patch set at a slightly different angle it seemed and making a perfect composition for a painting.

At this point we had a surprise for although the afternoon was getting on, Mike suggested we climb to the top of the hill …it’s only a couple of hundred metres of ascent he said. It seemed a good idea but then he led us towards what I thought was a bar …a beer before clambering up the steep hillside?! As it turned out, it was a chair lift but one that was due to close for the day shortly..so we’d get a lift to the top and walk back down. This really is a very civilized place.

Before we knew it we were swinging three or four metres above the ground and creaking our way up through the forest. It was all very peaceful and made even more impressive by the constant birdsong and the appearance at one point of a small deer …seemingly unperturbed by the constant passage of humans as we dangled by above. All too soon we got to the top and were hauled out of our seats by a waiting attendant…..and there was a bar / cafe … with a patio that looked out over the now even bigger views. We had enough time to sit and enjoy the views whilst supping a not very well earned beer ….well, we were carried all the way to the top. It took us about an hour to follow easy paths back down through the steep woods and we saw no one until we were back again to the car park.

I did another short trip out just a few days ago. I had been painting away one afternoon when the doorbell rang and Ingo – one of the members of the Kunstlerbund, arrive and asked if I’d like to do a short trip on a small ferry across the Rhein. It sounded a perfect idea as the heat was getting just a bit too hot in the studio. We drove just a few kilometres from Speyer to one of the inlets that were part of the old Rhein.

storks

Storks, Speyer

It was idyllic, the calm waters reflecting the trees and the small boats moored for fishermen. The main stream of the river was just off to our left and before long a small ferry appeared from this direction and made for a small jetty. I was amazed at how many people and bicycles got off – apparently it’s very popular with cyclists as it saves them crossing the river by one of the busy road bridges.

The hop across the river took just five or six minutes but was lovely in the late afternoon sun. On the other side was a small village and of course a small cafe that was doing a roaring trade with the cyclists. We wandered into the village and on returning towards the ferry a short while later, Ingo suddenly pointed out a large old tree trunk with a massive nest at its top …in which sat three very large young Storks …Wow! The nest was about five metres up off the ground but right close to the road …we’d walked by underneath without seeing them. At such a short distance and with my monocular even I got some amazing views …it really made my day …this really is a very beautiful landscape.

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Speyer Cathedral Wall

Posted by admin on July 16th, 2010

Speyer Cathedral wall

Speyer Cathedral wall

It’s been a great few days recently. I’ve managed to get a reasonable amount of work done and there’s been much happening here in Speyer.

I’ve been working on one of the larger boards for the last few days and am starting to put the piece together. Once again, it’s based on a section of the cathedral wall…..quite a large section perhaps twenty metres high, but it does show some scale as it contains several windows. This particular wall caught my attention as lower down it also has two semi circular recesses that make it look a little like a face ….well, it makes me smile whenever I walk by it!

Anyway, the original plan was simply to use this as the basis for the painting but then while I was looking at some photographs I’d taken of very small sections of the wall (just a few large stones) I noticed that one of these had a very similar structure to the larger section. I’ve decided therefore to try and superimpose the close up over the larger section ….once again messing around with ones perception of scale, creating a more abstract picture of the wall. The stones contain a whole range of subtle colours; pale yellows, ochre, terracotta, pale greys and umber. The painting is built up using the paint in flat brush strokes to mimic the stone work from a distance, and the pastel scribbled down to try and capture the structure of each of the stones close up……each layer of paint showing a little of the previous one beneath. It’s quite a slow process but one that I can enjoy while working outside in the courtyard here. It’s been very hot this last week again and the studios are really too hot to work in during the day. Outside, the far end of the courtyard has a large canopy that allows light through but creates a shaded area through out the day. It’s the perfect spot to put my easel as the light on the painting is bright but constant.

cathedral-wall-close-up

Cathedral wall close-up

I really seem to have got into these fantastic walls here in Speyer …and not just the cathedral and the old baths. The other week a friend took me to see one of the other beautiful churches here in Speyer …this was the Trinity Church I think …close to the cathedral but built out of wood. It’s a magnificent building, and with clear glass in its windows there was enough light for me to see much of the interior. On leaving we were able to get a look into the ruins of another building at the side of the church. It was great, especially in the bright early afternoon light and with the intensely blue sky…..another painting? Probably.

another-wall-speyer

Another wall, Speyer

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Hot and humid and late!

Posted by admin on July 9th, 2010

'Below Stob Coire Raineach, Glen Coe'

'Below Stob Coire Raineach, Glen Coe'

Well it’s going to be a short blog this week ….it’s very warm and humid here in Speyer today and what with one thing and another, I’m running late. I’ve had a good week in general though and have managed to finish two more paintings which is quite pleasing. I have four more 80 x 80 cm boards primed and ready to go …with one of them started. I haven’t done anything more with the bigger boards. The one I started is going to be the main target for the next few days I think and I’m also planning to start the other big board by the end of next week …so lots on the go.

We’re also starting to make a short video about my stay here in Speyer, the work that I’m doing and the places I’m visiting …something along the lines of the video on my website ….but with a German flavour. Mike is planning to follow the progress of my big drawing ….when it’s started that is….so no pressure then!!!

Anyway, here are the six paintings I’ve currently completed during the first half of my stay in Speyer. Four of them are based on Speyer subject ….three of these about the cathedral …I’m really caught by the shear size and bulk of this old building. The other Speyer piece comes from my visit to the ancient baths in the old Jewish quarter of Speyer. The other two paintings are ‘Scottish’ works. I’ve had plans for these pieces and particularly wanted to do them on a slightly bigger scale than much of my recent works and they work well with the Speyer townscape pieces.

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'Late afternoon, the cathedral, Speyer'

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'Written in stone, the cathedral, Speyer'

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'The cathedral, Speyer - painting #1'

Anyway, all these paintings will be on display at the end of August when I hold a short exhibition of the work done here ….so if anyone reading this is from Speyer or the surrounding area …please to come along. Of course, as with my studio in Scotland, if you’re passing the door any day ….don’t be afraid to ring the bell …if I’m in, you’re very welcome to come in and see the paintings. For details of the exhibition at the end of August contact: http://www.kuenstlerbund-speyer.de/

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´The ancient bath, Speyer'

'Above Largs, a frozen January morning'

'Above Largs, a frozen January morning'

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Increasing scale

Posted by admin on July 3rd, 2010

new-work-on-the-go

New Work On The Go

The studios here in Speyer are quite large and having so much space in which to work is a real luxury. I decided last week that it was about time to work on a larger scale and make the most of the situation.

Thinking about the practicalities of getting work back to Scotland I decided there would have to be limits to the size of the paintings however ….100 cm x 140 cm seemed ideal and Mike went out and got me two pieces of board this size. Being mdf, it weighs quite a lot but I should be able to get the finished pieces back reasonably cheaply with a bit of luck. I also have a large roll of thick white paper …this is 150 cm wide and the roll is several metres in length and so offers me chance to do some pretty big drawings. These will be easier to send home …I’ll just need to find a cardboard tube to protect them.

Of course, working on a large scale means using a lot more materials and although I brought with me a lot of paint, I only brought a fairly small number of oil pastels. But panic not …there happens to be a wonderful art supply company called ‘Boesner’. Their stores are great, the two I’ve been taken to, being situated in large factory units on industrial sites and stocking a HUGE variety of art materials. I’ve never seen anything like it. Mind you, they’re dangerous places …you can end up spending a fortune if you’re not careful! Anyway, I was there to buy pastels. I use “Neopastel” made by a Swiss company I think. They’re fantastic oil pastels, not the cheapest but they’re wonderful colours and are neither too hard or too soft ….perfect I’ve found for working (as I do) on board. “Neopastels” come in a huger range and I was relieved to find the Boesner not only had all of them but also had plenty of each ….this was a serious bit of pastel buying! In the end, I bought just over seventy pastels which should be enough to keep me going while I’m here in Speyer. It may sound a lot, but working with them on board as well as not top of paint, really eats them up, especially when doing large pieces. Anyway, if I don’t use them all here …I’ll have them for the work I’ll be doing on my return to Scotland. Mike Lauter was with me helping to find the colours I needed and he spotted a great little tool for holding the pastels. It’s a bit like an old fashioned cigarette holder and it allows you to use the pastels right down to the end ….should save me having that annoying bag of bits you always end up with! I’ve tried using it and it works well. It allows me to make a greater variety of marks too which is quite interesting.

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'The Cathedral, Speyer'

So far I’ve used one of the big boards as a drawing board and have completed one drawing this size – a loose and vigorous impression of the one end of the cathedral. As with my hill based landscape work, this isn’t an accurate drawing of the structure, I don’t really see that. It does though try to put over something of the great bulk of the structure, especially when seem from the one end. I wasn’t too sure about the drawing when I completed it, but a few days on and I’m getting quite pleased with it.

I’ve started a painting on the other big board. As I’ve said in the past since I’ve been here, I really like the walls of the cathedral. There’s one section that has two semicircular indents that I really like …it reminds me of eyes. So then, very simply, this painting is about this section of the wall. I’m not quite sure how it’ll end up but it’s going to be interesting and great to work on this scale again.

I’m also working on two smaller pieces (80 x 80 cm), one of which is based on the other end of the cathedral and is a fairly abstract piece. The other is a reworking in paint of an earlier smaller Scottish painting. I’m hoping the two pieces will work well together. They’re both coming on well although there’s much work to be done but it does leave me with no new boards to start …..have to speak nicely to Mike and see if he’ll go get another four for me. Right then, typing finished …back to the paint….

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    E-mail: keith@keithsalmon.org