‘From Stob Ghabhar, early July’

‘From Stob Ghabhar, early July’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2013, 30 x 30 cm

This is one of four of my paintings to be included in the latest group exhibition at The Strathearn Gallery in Crieff.  The gallery is changing hands at the start of June and this is the change over exhibition.  There should as usual, be a great selection of work on display, so if you have a chance, do take a trip over to Crieff and go have a look.  The exhibition is:

‘New Beginnings’
The Strathearn Gallery
Saturday 1^st June 2013 – Saturday 3^rd August 2013
For more details you can check out the gallery website by following the link at the side of this page.

Best of luck to Fiona, Edith and Owen, who are now retiring.  Best of luck also, to Susan and Scott, who will be the new owners of The Strathearn Gallery from 1^st June.

Towards An Cliseam

Well, as most of you will know, we’ve just returned from a two week stay on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides.  Last May when we stayed up on the north coast of Sutherland, we managed to get a good Internet connection by driving up to a high point just outside the village of Betty Hill.  We had hoped that this year we’d be able to find a similar spot on Harris and I could keep up with the regular Face Book updates and at least one blog.  The fact that this is the first time I’ve written anything since 26 April, will tell you that our hopes were in vain.  We did make an effort and on the first day of our holiday we drove around checking out all the high points on the local roads ….but nothing.  We even drove up to Stornoway to buy a different Internet dongle ….but this was only slightly better.  We did get brief spells where there was a signal …but not long enough to actually use!  So then ….a brief update is probably now called for.

Rough ground – the hills of Harris

Neither of us had ever been to Harris before but I’d long hoped to do the trip as I’d read great reports of the hill-walking there.  We’d booked a small cottage in the village of Tarbert and as it turned out it was just two minutes from the ferry terminal, so we could see sea from one of the upstairs windows and the low hills rose up steeply behind the village.  Just to the west of the village the sea once again encroaches and a ten minute drive on the main road opens up spectacular views of the rugged Harris hills.  They really are quite dramatic despite being relatively low.  That said they are very rugged and there is a huge amount of rock everywhere.  The highest point on Harris and the whole of the Outer Hebrides is An Cliseam, a steep sided hill rising to 799 m.  Before getting to the island, I’d hoped that we might get to the top of this hill but with the weather doing its best ….much rain, wind and even snow on one day ….we didn’t even get around to attempting it!   That said, we did have four relatively fine days and managed several good walks with spectacular views.  You really don’t have to get very high on these islands to get huge views and even the numerous small hills of around 300 – 400 m give some rough and exhilarating walking.

Looking south from one of the low hills on Harris

The coastline is spectacular and on the west side of the island there are some incredible beaches of pale sand.  We did a drive down the west coast on the first Wednesday of the holiday.  The forecast had been poor but it turned out to be an almost clear blue sky making these incredible beaches look like something from the Caribbean …..only the strong and very cold wind told you different!  The following day it started raining at about nine o’clock in the morning and continued for thirteen and a half hours, turning to sleet in Tarbert around lunchtime.  By late afternoon we watched as the local snow plough returned to the village, (with snow caked on the front of it) having been called in action to help clear the main road over the hills to Stornoway.  When we went out the following day we found the snow down to below 100 m and the hills looked spectacular.  What a difference 48 hours makes ….one day walking on a beach in bright sunshine ….two days later walking in several centimetres of slippery snow.  This really is one of the reasons I love having a holiday in NW Scotland in May ….you never quite know what you’re going to get …a bit of winter or a bit of summer.

On one of the numerous granite slabs – photo by Nita

I had planned to get some work done this holiday but as usual the drawing stuff stayed in the bag.  I have though come away with some good ideas for new work and in fact I’ve already started one new large drawing.  As we approached the Isle of Harris on the ferry it was gloomy and wet with a slightly choppy sea.  We’d sat in the café by a window looking west and with the rain on and the spray hitting the window ….the view looked very much like one of my paintings or drawings.  This first piece of work since I returned is based on my memories of this slowly changing view.  It’s not finished yet but I’ll get some photos of it posted soon.

Suffice to say, we had a great time and it is a place well worth visiting ….we’ll certainly be going back again another year …it’s a real gem and thoroughly recommended.

Towards the main group of hills on Harris – Photo by Nita

Waves breaking on a Harris beach – Photo by Nita

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‘Winter scene, Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran’

‘A winter scene, Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2013, 30 x 30 cm

This is another small painting based on elements of the larger Glen Rosa drawings.  In order to see any detail around me when I’m actually out in the hills and glens, I have to use a monocular.  This gives a very narrow and flattened view of my surroundings and I like to use these rather clipped angles and compositions in some of my paintings.  Six or seven years ago when I was out walking Ben Wyvis with my old mate and colleague, the sculptor Keith Barrett, I lent him my monocular and at that point he turned  to me and said , ‘Now I see where your paintings are coming from….’.  When you’re visually impaired you don’t just get the fuzzy view through your eyes ….you also get what ever view or angle is created through whatever equipment or technology you use as a visual aid ….over time this tends to distort how you see things ….or think you see things.  It’s a different world as my partner says!

Jürgen’s work

When I was last over in Speyer in November 2011, (exhibiting a collection of my Scottish paintings in the Künstlerhaus) I got talking to a chap called Jürgen Fischer.  He had come along to see the exhibition with a friend and he told me that several years previously he’d lived and worked on the west coast of Ireland.  He is a sculptor and he’d spent his time creating work from the bog oak he found there.  As we talked we realised we both had a very similar outlook to these wild and rugged landscapes and shortly afterwards he wrote and suggested that we try and hold an exhibition together sometime.

As you know, I didn’t hold any exhibitions last year. I wanted instead, to use the time to try and develop my work.  This year though, I have organised two exhibitions …the first you know about ….the exhibition at ‘the gallery on the corner’ in Edinburgh back in March.  The second one will take place at Blairmore Gallery near Dunoon from 19^th August – 5^th October 2013.  I’ll be posting more details about this as the time approaches.  The gallery owners there have kindly invited me to hold exhibitions on a number of occasions over the past 5 or so years and I’ve always enjoyed showing work there …it’s a great little gallery and one that’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Jürgen’s work

Jürgen’s work

Jürgen’s work

Jürgen’s work

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I received an email from Jürgen asking me whether I’d like to hold an exhibition with him in Germany in the autumn.  Wow ….great stuff ….and of course I’ve said ‘yes’.  The details are to be confirmed, but with a bit of luck we’ll be holding an exhibition together for a few weeks in late September – early October.   It is going to be quite a congested time but well worth it if it all goes to plan.  Anyway, I’ll give full details once I have them, but in the meantime, here are a few photos of Jürgen’s work.  I’m already thinking that I may well do more large graphite drawings for this exhibition …I think they will work well with his sculpture. It’s certainly going to be an exciting few months with much drawing and painting needing to be done!

Latest Glen Rosa drawing, ‘Towards Cir Mhor, a winter afternoon’

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