Scottish Landscape Art – Scottish Landscape Paintings

‘Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt’

‘Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2014, 30 x 30 cm

It has been an exceedingly busy and hectic summer this year and as such we haven’t managed more than a few walks in the hills.  We also haven’t managed to get away for  our annual break in the NW Highlands.  This is a painting I did they other year after a great walk up Cul Mor …… it brings back memories of what was a fabulous spring day in the Scottish mountains.    I’ll have to make do with the memories for the time being ….. and then get back to the hills once the big Seattle drawing / sound project is complete.

‘Towards the Bridge of Orchy from the West Highland Way October

‘Towards the Bridge of Orchy from the West Highland Way, October’, Oil, 2016, 80 x 80 cm

Price: £1750

This is one of the paintings that will be on display in my studio this weekend as part of the WASPS Open Studios Weekend.

The painting is based on a view we had just under a year ago as we returned from a walk on Ben Inverveigh and shows the Bridge of Orchy Hills bathed briefly in late afternoon sun.  The colours of the grass and trees were really vivid for a few minutes.  The painting is done using thick traditional oil colour, making for an interesting tactile and visual piece.

I hope you can get along to the Courtyard Studios this coming weekend.

WASPS Courtyard Studios Open Weekend 2016

Saturday / Sunday 1^st / 2^nd October

Open: 12 noon – 5pm both days

Entry: Free, all welcome

Below-suilven-a-wet-spring-afternoon

 ‘Below Suilven, a wet spring afternoon’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2016, 30 x 30 cm

I completed this small painting several months ago but after what has been an exceedingly busy summer, only managed to get it into a frame quite recently.  Anyway, it is now framed and hanging on the wall in my studio….. reminding me that I haven’t done anywhere near enough hill walking this year and that I need to get the boots back on again soon!

The painting is based on a walk we did the other spring when we were up in Assynt.  From the forecast, we reckoned we’d have enough time to walk to the base of Suilven and back before the bad weather arrived. ….but got that wrong!  We had walked to the mountain in blustery but sunny conditions, but, how quickly conditions can change on the west coast of Scotland.  Despite getting wet, we certainly got some great views of this fantastic mountain as the mists rolled in…. and I’ve created several paintings and sketches based on what we saw.

This painting will be just one of many on display in my studio (J) as part of the Courtyard Studios Open Weekend, 1^st / 2^nd October 2016.  Open 12 noon – 5pm both days, entry free.  I do hope you can get along as there are 10 artists taking part this year with a huge variety of high quality work on show.

‘Late December afternoon, above Wanlockhead’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2007, 102 x 200 cm

As you know, I occasionally undertake commissions and this was one of the larger ones I completed.  The painting, which as you can see from the dimensions was quite tall, was commissioned to go on a large stairwell wall.  It therefore had to work both close up and from further away as well as from below and looking downstairs from the top landing too.  Suffice to say it took me some time to work out the composition of this painting.

The piece was based on a view I had during a walk with our local mountaineering club Air Na Creagan on a beautiful late December afternoon in the hills near Wanlockhead.  The low afternoon sun was creating some wonderful colours and deep shadows as we looked across and into a small steep sided glen.

This large painting took several months to complete and I produced several small ‘test’ pieces (30 x 60cm) before starting it.  I always like working on large scale pieces but due to the difficulty in exhibiting them, commissions are usually the only chance I get to work on this scale.  I’m always willing to discuss ideas for large scale works so if you have a big wall in your home or business, do consider a commission.