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Drawing from the past

Posted by admin on April 28th, 2016

A couple of weeks ago I received a message on Face Book, from a chap called Kit.  He had sent this photo of a drawing ….. and asked whether I could confirm if it was one of mine.  He had picked it up in a charity shop and it had a label on the back, saying that it was by me.  As you can imagine, it was a bit of a surprise as on first inspection, it didn’t appear to be anything that I had done.

I looked at the image closely ….or as closely as I can these days and although there were certainly some similarities in some of the marks, the broader ink lines didn’t seem like something I’d do…….certainly not now or any time in the last twenty years.  That said however, there was something about it, something that seemed familiar, somewhere back in my memory.

rocking horse drawing

Newcastle drawing 1984

In the end however, I decided that I should get back to Kit and say that it probably wasn’t by me and if it was, then it was an early piece done sometime after leaving college in 1983.  I explained that at the time and indeed for a good number of years, I had very little money and could not afford to photograph virtually any of my work …. no digital cameras then, just expensive film and processing.  I was working as a sculptor in the 1980’s and doing a large number of drawings and very little of this work was recorded.  I also said that I sold very little work in those days but did give pieces away at times. If it was one of my drawings then it was probably one of these pieces and done when I had a studio in Newcastle upon Tyne or a little later when I was based in Shrewsbury.  More than that I couldn’t really say.

Kit got back to me to say that this actually started to make a bit more sense as he was based in Newcastle.  I looked at the drawing once again ….. and I started to think that I did recognise it, although quite how it had got to be in a charity shop in Newcastle after all these years …… I had no idea.  I asked Nita to take a look and she suddenly said that it appeared to have an vague image of a horse in it.  My gut reaction was that it couldn’t then be something by me ….I’m not or never have been a ‘horse’ person.  But there was still that familiarity about the image.  Then I remembered.  One of the first pieces of work I made when I set up my studio in the old Exchange Building at the side of the Tyne Bridge, was a piece of sculpture based around the idea of a rocking horse …..and I did a lot of drawings at the time…. this would be one of them.

The thing that clinched it however was when Kit said that the drawing appeared to have been done on some strange kind of paper ….it had an orange plastic backing and a soft yellowing kind of surface.  Sadly not a specialist kind of art paper or anything ….in fact, the complete opposite.  As I said earlier, I was completely skint at the time and could barely afford to pay my studio rent and could certainly not afford to buy purpose made and expensive art materials.  All my sculpture was constructed out of the contents of skips and on one occasion as I walked down one of the city centre roads towards my studio I spotted a skip full of lengths of old vinyl wall paper.  It had been stripped from the walls as part of a big refurbishment and when I took a closer look, it had a wonderful soft paper backing …..perfect for drawing on.  I spent a good time pulling all the strips of paper out of the skip and carefully rolling them.  As it turned out, there was enough to last me several years and many of my drawings were done on this recycled paper.  While I was pulling the paper out of the skip one of the builders came up to see what I was doing.  When I told him that I was an artist and needed materials he promised to put anything else of use to one side for me.  He was good as his word and over the next month or so I picked up plenty of timber for my sculpture.

So then, this drawing, created over 30 years ago, has re-surfaced.  It’s kind of nice to think that it has survived all this time and that Kit has not only found it but got in touch with me and reminded me of the work. Hope you continue to enjoy the drawing Kit.

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From spring to winter in just a few metres – the Ochil Hills

Posted by admin on March 5th, 2016

We had a fabulous day last weekend walking up in the Ochil Hills near Stirling.  We visit these hills most years at some point and they make a great short winter day ….as we experienced on Saturday.

scottish landscapes

Spring ….. looking towards the summit of Craighorn

We weren’t planning to go far as once again Nita had to work a 12 hour shift at the hospital the following day so we decided to walk up onto Craighorn, the 583 metre high top that we returned over on our last visit to this area.    As we drove over towards the Ochil’s it certainly looked like being a very fine day with clear blue skies and stunning early morning colours and as we got closer Nita said she could make out a little snow on the upper slopes ….but not much.

Scottish Landscape Photos

Winter ….near the summit of Craighorn

We started walking from the small car park near Alva and were soon far too hot as we plodded up the steep twisting estate track that climbs up towards The Nebbit……it was the perfect early spring day.  The track splits after the initial steep bit and we took the one that contours around the side of The Nebbit and above the impressive Alva Glen with it’s even more impressive gorge……it looked beautiful in the bright sunshine.  Once beyond The Nebbit we left the path and headed straight up the front of Craighorn on steep but very pleasant grassy slopes.  This was quite hard going in the warm sun and jumpers, jackets and hats were being stripped off in order to keep reasonably cool…..I was even worrying about not having any sun-block for my head!  We gained height fairly quickly and as we did, the views opened up.  Looking south we could see the big sweeping lines of the Forth and off to our right, considerably more snow than we’d anticipated from the road side view earlier.  It was still nice and warm though and with the shelter given by the near by hills, there was very little in the way of wind.  We sat down and enjoyed the warm sun, the great views and the peace and quiet.

Scottish Landscape photos

Ben Ever from the perfect lunch spot

As the steep slopes gave way to the broad gradually rising ridge of Craighorn however, we finally found the wind and saw the extent of the snow over on Ben Ever and Ben Cleuch …it was really quite white and I was already thinking about putting the jumper back on ….but while we kept going, it was fine.  By this stage we must have been above 500 metres and although there was an occasional patch of snow, it was still mainly open grass ….and it appeared to be like this all the way up the final slopes.  Then, within just a few metres of both ascent and distance, what had been a pleasant early spring day, turned into winter!  Suddenly there was quite a lot of snow around.  It was still quite thick in places and icy too …… and the temperature seemed to suddenly have plummeted. In all honesty this was more down to the fact that as we had been walking, dark heavy clouds had appeared and the wind had picked up considerably too.  We had a mad dash to get all our warm gear on ….and then we were fine!  Even having walked the hills all my adult life and been out in some very unpleasant conditions over the years, it never ceases to amaze me quite how quickly you can go from having a warm pleasant wander ….to being seriously cold ….and needing all the gear.  We always tend to carry quite large and heavy rucksacks, even in the summer and sometimes when I see other folk walking along with tiny light weight bags and very little gear, I do wonder. That said however, I certainly wouldn’t be without all the gear I carry.  It’s so much better to have the gear and not need it than to be caught out and get seriously cold or wet ….or worse.

scottish landscape photos

The Nebbit and the Forth from the sunny slopes of Craighorn

We wandered along the length of Craighorn before finding a sheltered spot for lunch ….and then simply retraced our steps.  It was so beautiful and although Nita could see plenty of other walkers over on Ben Ever and Ben Cleuch, we only saw one other person…. a hill runner who was moving far too fast to get cold I guess.  I really like these little hills and next time we visit we’ve promised ourselves to explore some of the many other tops and glens in the area.  Anyway, they are well worth a visit, especially so on a crisp winter day.

scottish landscape photos

Early spring colours, the Ochil Hills

-o-o-o-o-

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Diary of a trip to Assynt – week 1

Posted by admin on June 9th, 2015

Saturday 23rd May 

Had the perfect start for our trip and drive north, with clear blue skies and the hills of the Southern Highlands looking stunning in their spring colours.  Warm too, it being 17 C when we stopped for breakfast at the Green Welly in Tyndrum.  But the bright conditions weren’t to last, even by the time we were a few miles up the road driving across Rannoch Moor, we could see the high grey cloud moving down from the north west.  By the time we were in Glencoe village it was grey all over and just 9°C!  Little did we know that this was a taste of things to come?  The remainder of the trip north to Assynt was under increasingly dark skies and the final few miles along the single track road to the cottage we’d booked for the first week on the Storr peninsular, saw the rain start falling.  We’d picked a beautiful spot to stay all the same and even in the gloomy light and rain of the first evening, Nita could see wild geese grazing the rough pasture outside the cottage window.

Sunday 24th May 

Woke to bright sunlight and beautiful views across the land to the sea.  In between, in the hollow in these small hills, lay a wee loch and a short wander from the cottage took us to its shore.  I was surprised to find small banks of reeds growing around the edge which made for interesting patterns and possibly, some drawings in the future.

Monday 25th May  

Quinag, Assynt

Below Quinag, heavy shower

Heavy showers and high winds forecast, so decided on a lazy day checking out access to the ground leading up to below Sail Gorm on Quinag.  I’ve wanted to try and get up to below this part of the hill for some years in order to do some sketching and perhaps make a recording or two.  We found a convenient parking place and access, at least to start with seemed good …..we just needed a little dry weather.  Even the water proof drawing pen my colleague Alex Boyd had given me, would not do too well in the very  heavy showers that kept racing in from the north west.  Got some great views of Quinag as it was engulfed in one of these showers.  Time to head for lunch at the Scourie Hotel!

Tuesday 26th May

Assynt, Sutherland

The Old Man of Storr

More heavy showers and strong winds and so not a day for the high tops.  Instead, Nita suggested we walk the few kilometres from the cottage, out to Storr Head and the Old Man of Storr.    The 1:25000 map showed no fences all the way from the road near the cottage but we soon found  our way blocked and we had an annoying  hour and a half trying to find our way as two more tracks were blocked by fences and gates.  We did finally get to the open ground and had a fine walk out to Storr Head via a small hill that even at I think, 169m, gave impressive views.  The Old Man of Storr, a huge sea stack, was well worth seeing and the roar of the sea crashing against its base, made for some interesting recordings hopefully.  We returned along the cliff tops to the Storr lighthouse and then back to the cottage along the single track road in bright early evening sunshine.  Despite a few heavy showers early on, we arrived home dry!

Wednesday 27th May

Heavy rain and gales all day.  Feet up, heaters on, food, drink and much reading  / listening to books.  It finally eased around 21.00 and a few bursts of late sun had us driving the couple of miles to the nearest beach.  Big waves and very strange light …but good to get an airing.

Thursday 28th May

Scotttish Landscape

On the lower slopes of Canisp, 28th May 2015

No let up in the cold, showers and wind ….but it did seem that conditions would be a little better, so we decided to go for a proper walk and we headed for Canisp.  We’d done two big walks on this hill in the past.  One of them, on a fine hot day, saw us reach the summit of this fine hill.  The other attempt saw us do a circular walk up to a point about 600m on the hill before being turned back by high winds.  It seemed that conditions would be similar today and so we planned to walk the same route.

Sutherland, Scottish Landscape

Between showers, Canisp, 28th May 2015

This involved crossing a large footbridge over one of the streams flowing from below Canisp.  When we got to it though ….well, it was there ….but not crossing the stream.  At some point in the past it had been swept away and was left high and dry on the bank of the stream!  All was not lost though as we were walking in one of Scotland’s finest limestone areas ….and this stream simply disappeared underground a few hundred metres up-stream!  With the water levels being so high, it hadn’t completely disappeared and we spent quite a time picking our way through and across small but luckily narrow rushing streams.  Back on course we had a fabulous walk.  At first, enjoying some bright patches of sunlight but then becoming engulfed by a series of huge hail showers that blasted down with real force.  The landscape around Canisp is so wild and rough  and these conditions really made you feel quite isolated …..there was no-one else stupid enough to be out  that day, not on this hill anyway.

Friday 29th May

Suilven, Scottish Landscape

Suilven from the near the Stoor lighthouse, 29th May 2015

After the long walk the day before, we decided to head back to the Storr lighthouse so that I could do some sketching and try and make some more sound recordings.  It was still cold but the sun was shining and the cliffs and churning waves looked great.  Had a well earned cup of tea at Living the Dream …. sat with our mugs of tea looking out over the sea…. a magnificent end to a very enjoyable first week in Assynt.

We headed a few miles south for our second week, staying in one of the caravans close to the beautiful beach at Achmelvich.  More about this second week in Assynt in my next blog.

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Blog 250 staggering at times, but not quite out!

Posted by admin on March 2nd, 2015

Wow, I can’t quite believe I’ve written 250 of these blogs …but well that’s what the records say. My first blog was posted on 3rd March 2009 and talked about the exhibition I’d just had at Great Glen House in Inverness. This is the headquarters of Scottish Natural Heritage and it was a very interesting place to exhibit my work. I have to say that it doesn’t seem like over five years since Nita and I hired a van and drove up to Inverness with the paintings.

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

A lot has happened since that show in 2009. The following summer saw me living and working as guest artist with the Künstlerbund in the city of Speyer in southern Germany. I worked there for four months and had a really enjoyable and exciting time, creating I think, 14 paintings and 3 pastel drawings. One of these drawings was the large 4.5 m x 1.5m drawing based on the vast great cathedral that dominates the centre of the city.

Just before leaving Scotland to travel to Speyer, I was asked to act as patron to “the gallery on the corner” in Edinburgh. This magnificent little gallery is run by Autism Initiative Scotland and works both as a professional gallery supporting artists affected by autism and other health issues, and as a place for young people affected by autism to learn new skills in retail gallery work and / or practical art …in the workshops attached to the gallery. It was a fantastic launch in April that year and since then; the gallery has gone from strength to strength. Many trainees have completed their apprenticeships and are producing some excellent work. I’ve been privileged to be part of this project and try and visit several times each year to follow the progress of the gallery ….and indeed to exhibit some of my own work there. In 2013 I was invited to hold an exhibition there and it was during the preview for this show that I first met Dan Thornton ….the Seattle based landscape photographer and documentary maker

Talking at the gallery that night, Dan and I quickly realised that although we worked in very different ways, we both thought very similarly about the landscape. Before the evening ended, Dan and his colleague David Feeney asked if they could join Anita and me on our next walk into the hills.

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

As it happened, the next walk we’d planned was to go back to Glen Rosa on the Isle of Arran. Just a couple of months earlier we had been walking in this magnificent glen with our friend Guy. It had been a very cold day with snow on the higher slopes of the hills and large patches right down to river level at the head of the glen. As I walked up the glen that day I first started to think about doing another Speyer sized drawing. Where as that drawing had been based on the idea of walking around the cathedral, I thought I could do another based on walking through Glen Rosa. When Dan and David joined us for this second walk in the glen….. I started to tell them about my plans for the drawing.

As you know, my plans came to fruition and just a few months ago I created this new large 4.5m x 1.5m drawing. After the walk that day, Dan had asked if I’d be interested in him making a full hour long documentary about my work and its close connection to the Scottish landscape. He was particularly interested in focusing it on the big Glen Rosa drawing project. Since the walk in 2013, Dan has made a number of visits to Scotland and has taken many hours of footage for the documentary. As I write we are now at the stage of seeking sponsorship to cover the costs of editing and producing the film. It’s all come along way since our meeting at “the gallery on the corner” in Edinburgh.

Of course, much else has happened since my first blog. I’ve had plenty of exhibitions and have walked many Scottish hills and glens in this time. It’s been a very exciting period of my life and this last six months with the trip to Brazil and the subsequent commissions has continued in a similar way. And it’s still going on.

Just last week, my colleague Alex Boyd, told me that he had been speaking with the people at the Isle of Arran Distillery and had told them about my work and the big glen Rosa drawing. They’ve been in contact with me and have asked me if I could hold an exhibition in their exhibition space during September and October. They are particularly keen to show the large Glen Rosa piece and have a perfect 5m long wall for it. I’m really delighted with this opportunity as I’m very interested in seeing the big drawing touring around Ayrshire…..and in particular going to the Isle of Arran. The distillery really is the perfect place for it as it is located beneath the very mountains on which the drawing is based. A very big thanks to Alex for opening up this opportunity for me.

So then, there’s lots of work to do to get ready for the three exhibitions that I have lined up this summer. First though, is to get 3 large pieces ready for the “Ailsa Gallery” who will be taking the work to the Glasgow Art Fair at the end of April. After that, I have my exhibition at the John Muir Trust “Wild Space” in Pitlochry during May and June and then quickly followed in August with an exhibition at “the gallery on the corner” in Edinburgh again.

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

Right then, that’s the end of blog 250. Here’s hoping that there will be many more things to write about over the next five or so years as I creep my way towards Blog 500!

 

Link to Press Releases and Information created over the last few years.

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    Contact Details

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