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August, 2010 | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Archive for August, 2010

Exhibition on

Posted by admin on August 27th, 2010
speyer-preview

Speyer Exhibition Preview

I think last week I said I was trying to finish a large painting before we hung the exhibition on Monday. Well …it was finished but not until well into Sunday! After that I had to remove all the painting gear that I’d accumulated over the last four months so that we had two clear clean gallery spaces for the exhibition. This took quite some time and it was 10pm by the time I had everything done. The trouble was that I still had one 80 x 80 cm board that I’d primed with gesso a few weeks earlier and that I’d planned to do a new drawing on. So, even at the very last moment I thought I could get a final drawing completed and announced to my partner Anita that instead of going to bed I’d be working late! And I did …until around 03.00! The result however was not as hoped for and the piece I did was dreadful….but I enjoyed myself even if I did feel shattered the next morning when Markus, Mike and Andrea arrived first thing to hang the exhibition!

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Speyer Exhibition Preview

The work went up fairly quickly and by lunchtime we had it almost complete and looking good ….leaving just a few things still to do. The local press arrived in the evening for a preview and at the end, Michael Lauter announced that I was now on holiday.

We had the Preview last night at 8 o’clock, but it was a worrying few hours as all day the sky had got darker and the humidity higher. It had to end with a bang and the 1st thunder storm arrived at 5 o’clock…great stuff. As it turned out though, we were lucky and by 8 o’clock, it was dry again and around 60 people gathered in the courtyard as Holger (Chairman of Kunstlerbund) and the Mayor opened the exhibition and Markus gave a wonderful speech, recounting how I came to be working in Speyer. This being the Pfalz, there was plenty of local wine flowing and by the end of the evening I had sold 2 paintings and was having discussions with a local businessman re him buying my big, 4 metre long drawing for his restaurant in Speyer.

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"Markus' Speech"

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"Meeting the Mayor"

What a night, finally got to bed at 3:30, but not before we’d been treated to an amazing piece of unaccompanied, improvised singing from one of Speyer’s best loved singers and musicians, Klaus Fresenius…quite brilliant.

Click here to see my Speyer Art Exhibition Paintings

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Show time!

Posted by admin on August 21st, 2010

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Speyer Exhibition Poster

Well then, this is almost it ….time to show what I’ve been doing during my stay in Speyer. Needless to say, I’m still working on one painting …but it’s getting there and I’m hoping to have it finished by this evening. The preview is at the Kunstlerhaus on Thursday evening at 8pm and the original plan was to hang all the work on Tuesday evening. I’m one of those people who always works right up to a deadline. However, for local journalists to write a review of the show they need to see it by Monday evening. This is no problem but has meant a bit of last minute re-scheduling on both my part and the members of the Kunstlerbund.

So then, the plan now is to hang the show on Monday morning / afternoon. Four of the artists from the Kunstlerbund are coming to the Kunstlerhaus at 9 am on Monday and between us we’ll put the exhibition together. I have 12 paintings completed and the one large piece I’m still working on ….so with a bit of luck 13 pieces as well as the one large drawing and two other medium size line drawings.

This is very much a ‘work show’ rather than a full blown exhibition. Most of the paintings (done on 6mm mdf) will be presented unframed – just two pieces framed for the main wall. Anyway, even though I say it myself, I’m starting to think it’ll look quite good.

It’ll be good to get the work up on the walls and especially good to get them reviewed in the papers. After Monday I have a couple of days off …

On Thursday we hold the main preview evening attended by the cultural mayor of Speyer. She had visited at the start of my stay and so it’ll be interesting to see what she thinks of my paintings almost four months on. The members of the Kunstlerbund were busy on my behalf last week, addressing and sending 200 invitation cards. We have more of the cards still to give out, so hopefully it’ll be a good turn out. Anyway, for anyone who is reading this and can get to Speyer on Thursday evening please accept my invitation to the preview. The exhibition is open to the public on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 27th, 28th & 29th August, 11.00 – 13.00 & 15.00 – 18.00.

Now I’d better get back to that final painting!

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Last week I bought a goat….

Posted by admin on August 17th, 2010

view-from-the-top

View from the top

It’s been a busy week again….so apologies for the very late arrival of last weeks blog. I’ve been trying to get my last few paintings finished and have also been busy socialising….there have been dinner invitations, art events and a meeting with the local press, and I’ve been out walking each of the last two weekends,……oh, and I bought a goat! So then, it’s been quiet hectic but very good fun.

Before telling of the walks I’ve done I feel it only right that I first explain about the goat. On Saturday I was invited to join some friends to see an exhibition of work by a group of young Rwandan artists. This was more than just an exhibition, it was part of fund raising event organised by a charitable organisation working in Rwanda. They were raising money in order to purchase these animals for the communities there. It seemed a simple but effective way of providing help and an interesting way for people to donate something to the charity. The exhibition was good with a number of very striking paintings. There was also an exhibition of photographs, displays of craft-ware and live music and good food …it made for a great evening out.

As I said though, I’ve also been out walking a couple of times …and what a difference a week makes. A week ago I had a phone call from Mike Lauter asking if I’d fancy going for a walk somewhere. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and bright sun.

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Above the forest, late afternoon

We headed for the hills and after about 40 minutes drive the road we were on started to climb very steeply through the trees, zigzagging its way up hill. At the high point a number of cars were parked and a sign stated we were at a little over 400 m. We headed off along a broad path and as it was quite late in the afternoon, met a lot of people heading back towards their cars. We were then onto a small footpath the gradually climbed through the trees …it was beautiful with the deep shade and bright spots of sunlight. After a while we reached the top of the hill and crowning it was a magnificent ruined castle that gave superb views out over the valley below and across the wooded hills for as far as we could see. Our route back followed another path that went right around the hill, gradually descending to reach the place where we started ….and of course, taking in a small Inn / cafe along the way.

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Could be Scotland!

Yesterdays walk was to a different place, but was a longer walk ….and the weather …well it could easily have been Scotland on one of its more infamous weather days! Instead of the bright sun and beautiful views, we found ourselves in cloud for much of the walk and rain that fell heavy and torrential for most of the 4 hours we were walking. But as we all said, it was good to get out and stretch the legs and at the outward point of our trip there was conveniently situated another fine inn.

I’m hoping that when I get back to Scotland in a couple of weeks I’ll be able to enjoy a few late summer days walking in the Highlands before the winter rain and gales arrive ….if not, then at least yesterdays walk will have got me back into the swing of cloud and rain and a house full of wet gear!

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Painting from experience

Posted by admin on August 6th, 2010
'Between Creise and the Buachaille, winter'

'Between Creise and the Buachaille, winter'

It’s amazing to think that this time in four weeks I’ll be back in my studio in Irvine. My time here has gone by very quickly and I’m now getting in ‘panic mode’ as my final exhibition looms and I’ve still much work to do!

I’ve now completed eight paintings and have another four still on the go. I’ve also been working on a couple of small ‘Scottish’ pieces for forth coming exhibitions and have a couple more of these on the go too.

It’s been interesting working on the two different types of subject matter…..the bigger paintings based on the cathedral in Speyer and the Pfalz landscape and the smaller Scottish landscapes. It’s made me realize just how important it is to really get to know your subject when it comes to doing a painting. My Scottish paintings are all based on the places I walked (sometimes many times and in all conditions) and so when I get back to the studio I not only have numerous photos and some sketches, but I have many many hours of actually being out observing and experiencing the landscape I’m painting. These experiences are in a way stored in my memory and are used in all my Scottish paintings. As such it has meant that despite my being in Germany for the last three months, I’ve been able to work on these small Scottish scenes with the use of just a couple of photos as memory joggers.

'Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April'

'Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April'

‘Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April’, is based on one of the views from the summit of this fine steep grassy 900 m hill and I’ve stood here on a good number of occasions. It makes a good short walk but it is very steep so it gives your legs a good work out – we normally head here in April to tone up the muscles before our two weeks walking holidays in early May each year. The point is that although I haven’t been there this year, I’ve all the memories of the previous times I’ve climbed the hill and all the different conditions I’ve seen it in, the different light and in rain and cloud and sun. If I’d only been out occasionally over the last eight years rather than every few weeks, I’d not have been able to do this painting ….working from a photo on its own is very difficult …even if you have got good eyes to see it.

This is why for the most part I’ve put all my attention on painting the Speyer Cathedral while I’ve been living here. It is the most obvious thing to paint in this city, but as I can’t easily get out into the countryside, it has offered me something which I can visit regularly and get to know. Over the time I’ve been here I’ve built up a mental impression of it …so that I have much more to work on than just a few photos. This is where I’ve had problems trying to produce a couple of paintings of the typical Pfalz landscape. I’ve only been out into the wine growing region a few times and have only experienced it very briefly. I took a few photos and as I’m a landscape painter I wanted to do something before leaving that was of the local landscape …rather than just the man made landscape of the city……and I’ve been struggling! It’s just that I really don’t know the subject I’m trying to paint. The colours and light are very different here and I haven’t got a head full of ‘information’ to fall back on.

I’m not sure whether I’ll complete these two paintings …we’ll see I guess. It’s certainly made me realize how important it is to get out and as I’ve done very little hill walking this year it’s made me determined to find the time as soon as I’m back in Scotland. Fingers crossed for some good September weather in the west of Scotland.

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  • Tel: 07568 380552 or 01294 216427
    E-mail: keith@keithsalmon.org