You’ll gather from the lack of blogs and other updates that things have continued to be rather hectic this summer. This then is just a quick update on what I’ve been working on since my last blog.
The majority of my time has been spent working on the Oregon / Seattle drawing and audio project. I finished the third big pastel drawing a few days ago and actually signed all three of the drawings! So then, that side of the work is now complete and all I have to do is find a safe way to ship them over to Seattle. My partner Nita has been searching the net for suitable shipping tubes and she has found something that should work well. On the audio side of the project, we are getting pretty close to completion. Graham and I have been mixing the individual one minute long sound tracks that will go with the drawings and we have just six more to mix. Graham is arriving at the studio later this afternoon and we plan to have a long session in the hope of getting these final tracks finished by the end of the evening. I’ve bought in a fresh pack of coffee and the coffee maker will no doubt be working overtime too!
‘A freezing February afternoon, Beinn-an-Dothaidh ‘
“This image is now available as a gift card. Please contact the artist for more details”.
Of course, there is the other side of this project too ….the technical side of how to deliver the soundtracks to people viewing the drawings in the exhibition. This is all being done by our American team in Seattle, Dan Thornton, Neel Joshi and some of their colleagues. The work will be an installation piece and as such they will be having to build a purpose made space for the work and then rig it with all the technology and sound equipment. They are currently building a mock-up to test the system prior to creating the work in the “9e2” exhibition space. Nita and I will be travelling out to Seattle with Graham and his wife about a week before the “9e2” exhibition opens to the public and so we’ll be there in time to help with the final preparations. It’s really exciting although somewhat daunting if I’m honest. The “9e2” exhibition is a very big event with many teams of artists and scientists creating installation and performance works and so to be part of this is quite something. I’ll be posting links to the “9e2” website shortly so that you can get a better idea of what the event is all about. ….and if you live in or around Seattle, get some tickets.
Since finishing the 3 Oregon drawings I have been back working on a couple of new acrylic and pastel paintings. Both of these are in their early stages but are based on views Nita and I had when we climbed Beinn Odhair near Tyndrum last month. We were lucky to see the hills under perfect conditions that day and the paintings depict two very different viewpoints. One of them shows the view of Beinn Odhair from below, as you head north along the West Highland Way. The second painting is a scene looking from the summit of Beinn Odhair, across to the magnificent Crianlarich Hills. I’ll post images of them on my Face Book page soon: Keith Salmon – Scottish Landscape Artist.
‘Below Clach Lethaidh, Winter’
“This image is now available as a gift card. Please contact the artist for more details”.
Finally, I just wanted to give warning that I have decided to stop writing my regular blogs. For a good number of years now I have been writing a blog almost every week …… indeed, I’ve written over 290 blogs since starting. It has for the most part, been very enjoyable. More recently however, with the continued slow deterioration of my bit of sight, I’ve found that it is taking longer and longer to do. Now, to write the blog, source and send photos and to write a weekly “Artwork of the week” for the homepage…..well, it usually takes me over 4 hours. As everything else is also taking much longer to do, I’ve decided that I need to prioritise. The 200 hours I spend each year writing blogs should now I think, be spent promoting my work in more direct ways. So then, I’ll be writing a few more blogs up until the end of October but after that I’ll just be writing 4 quarterly “What’s been happening” updates. This isn’t great I know, but it is just a case of adapting to my circumstances ….which is what I’ve done ever since my sight started to deteriorate back in 1990. I hope those of you who have followed these blogs over the years have enjoyed some of them …and haven’t winced too much with the bad grammar etc.. For those of you who use Face Book, you’ll be able to follow the day to day development of the work, on my business Face Book page: Keith Salmon – Scottish Landscape Artist.
‘Memories of a winter day, The Cairngorms’
“This image is now available as a gift card. Please contact the artist for more details”.
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