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Exhibitions | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings - Part 8

Archive for the ‘Exhibitions’ Category

Changes

Posted by admin on October 2nd, 2011
Open weekend studio J

Open weekend studio J

For the last few days the news seems to have been full of the autumn ‘heat wave’ and record temperatures for September and October.  That’s all very well if you’re one of those folk living in England or Wales…if you live in Ayrshire and no doubt much of the west of Scotland or Northern Ireland…well, it’s not been quite so good.

As you know from my previous blogs and posts on Face Book, this weekend is the WASPS Studios Open Weekend and yesterday I awoke to find the skies dark and the rain teeming down.  And it didn’t get any better through the rest of the day..it just rained and rained and rained.  Not surprisingly visitor numbers were down ….well, they were the worst at the Courtyard for any single day since we started the Open Studios Weekends six or seven years ago.  I’m not sure of the exact number but it was in the region of 35 I guess. Seeing as we normally get around 200 visitors over the two days we’ve got a lot of catching up to do today.   However, considering the day long deluge, it really was quite good that we got 35 visitors yesterday and everyone who donned their hats and coats and came down to the studios deserves a medal I think …so a big thanks to all of those.

Open weekend studio JWhen I got up this morning at about 06.45 it was still chucking it down with rain and as the light increased, things looked no different from yesterday!  However, it’s now about 08.45 and I do believe it’s just stopped ..I can hear some birds singing in the garden so perhaps they sense a change to slightly better brighter conditions later in the day …let’s hope so.  The studios are open again today from noon until 5pm so with a bit of luck we’ll see a lot more people this afternoon.

The weather though isn’t the only thing to change this week.  Last weekend I arrived at my studio to find a very bad pong emanating from somewhere under the floor boards or from behind a wall cavity.  Very unpleasant and I had to work all last weekend with the front door wide open.  As I said to a couple of local ladies who stopped to look in through the front door, ‘I think we have a dead ‘mouse’ under the floor boards’.  As the weekend progressed it became patently obvious that the ‘mouse’ should have been spelt ‘rat’!  Ahhhhhh.

Thankfully, there are several empty studio spaces at the moment and head office agreed for me to move into one of these temporarily while they decided what to do …and most importantly, for the period of the Open Weekend.  So, much moving of gear, especially as builders arrived on Wednesday to take up part of the floor in search of the culprit….which they couldn’t find.  Since then, the pest man has been, the builders have been back again and the architect is now involved.  It really is a case of trying to find how the thing got into the wall or floor space.  Oh well, as one of my colleagues said, ‘every rat has a silver lining’!  The studio I moved into for the Open Weekend, is superb.  It’s in the main courtyard and is twice the size of my current space.  Within a day of moving in, I realised that I wanted to make the move permanent.  I’ve been doing this slightly larger work this summer and Studio E was becoming very congested with all the paintings and materials.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have tried ‘swinging that cat’ the other week …it might have caught the rat!

Open weekend studio JOpen weekend studio J

Anyway, to cut a long story short …I’ve asked head office to let me change studios immediately and so I’ll start moving the rest of my gear into studio J on Monday.  It’s going to be great having more space although I’ll miss the wonderful view I had out over the river and saltings …but sometimes you just have to move on …and I think all things considered, that this is the right thing to do.

The work looks great on the wall so hopefully a good few people will get to see it and the new studio, later today.   Oh, and by the way, for all of you down south in your shades and flip flops …have pity on us up here …it’s just started raining heavily again!

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Behind the paint

Posted by admin on September 24th, 2011
'From the studio, Irvine harbour side'

'From the studio, Irvine harbour side'

The last week has been a fairly typical week recently ….lots of painting.  But behind every finished and exhibited painting there’s a safe full of other tasks.

I’m now on the final run up to the Wasps Studios Open Weekend, my exhibitions in Speyer and Dundee and ….the Battersea Affordable Arts Fair.  I have I think now completed the minimum amount of work needed for these shows but am still trying to complete another two 80 x 80 cm paintings and another one 76 x 23 cm piece.  Whether I will get these three pieces completed is debatable as from now on the back room tasks start to take precedence.   Thankfully many of these have already been taken on by my partner Anita (who reckons the pay rate for artists assistant is ****!).   While I’ve been wielding the paint brushes she has spent many hours doing this less romantic side of the job for me.

I’ll not only be shipping work out to Germany for my exhibition but am also finally in the process of setting up Papal on this website so that it will make it easier for customers to purchase paintings.  Before I can do this though I’ve needed to think carefully about how I ship work ….in other words I’ve needed to find out about and order boxes.  This doesn’t seem a great deal of effort but with there being a number of different sized paintings with several different framing options, it’s been vitally important that we’ve found the very best box ‘solutions’.  Part of the problem is storage space….or the lack of it!  As anyone who has visited my studio will know …there aint a lot of space there ….and as I said last week …the house is rather chock a’ block too.  The boxes I’m getting have a minimum order of 25 …so they’ll take up quite a lot of space…. hence the need to work out the very minimum number of different size boxes.  It’s all taken a lot of time especially as we’ve needed to get samples sent out and each of the different boxes tested out …but we’re getting there and Nita has just  placed the first order for me.

Other back room jobs this week have included sending out around 50 invitations to the Open Studios Weekend, delivering the last five paintings to the Waverley Gallery in Prestwick for framing …and collecting the one large painting (122 cm x 61cm).  I also spent an entire morning putting together a press release for our local paper the Irvine Times…..this to try and get some coverage for the Open Studios event next weekend.  The local papers have always been very helpful in the past and I received an email from the Irvine Times saying they’d put something in next week’s edition …perfect..it makes the time I spent on the press release worth while.  Hopefully it’ll bring a few extra folk through the doors and perhaps a sale or two for some of the artists taking part.

I’m leaving the actual organisation of the studio right to the last minute …well I’ll start tidying and cleaning on Thursday morning after we’ve been down to pick up the work from the Waverley  in Prestwick.   The tidying is the biggest job but I should have that done and the couple of walls painted by the time I go home on Thursday evening …quite late in the evening I reckon especially as I’ll also have to transport  one of the work benches, all paints and a good number of paintings home for the weekend.  Friday will be a day of setting up …selecting and hanging the paintings, printing and fixing labels, putting out a selection of business cards and other postcards, fixing clear signs directing folk to my studios and arranging lighting.  There’s probably a load of other jobs that I’ve forgotten now but will no doubt come to me on the day …and cause PANIC!

On top of this there’s a statement I need to write and send for my Queens Gallery exhibition, a van to be hired for delivering the work there and to the Strathearn Gallery on the 10th, and after the Open Weekend on 1st and 2nd, we have to wrap and box all 19 or 20 paintings ready for shipping to Germany.  These all have to be very carefully measured and weighed before I contact the shipping company.  Oh well, it keeps me busy …and Nita too.  It’s amazing isn’t it …you think you’re just doing a nice bit of relaxing painting……!   I love it, though it might not be so good when Nita sends her bill in!.

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Not long to WASPS Open Studios Weekend – October 1st and 2nd

Posted by admin on September 9th, 2011
New business post card

New business post card

It’s that time of year again ….just three weeks until the annual WASPS Open Studios Weekend. It’s always a good opportunity to promote your work to a wider audience and to make a sale or two if lucky. It’s also very enjoyable meeting the visitors …and a little tiring too. A normal exhibition preview lasts for perhaps two or three hours and that is quite hard work ….we’re going to be open 11 am – 5pm on Saturday and 12 noon – 5pm on the Sunday. By the end of each day my voice is usually fading and croaking!

I used to give myself most of the preceding week to prepare for the event but this year I’ll be working away on the last of the 80 x 80 cm paintings right up until Wednesday evening …so it’s going to be a mad rush on Thursday and Friday. To be honest, the Open Weekend is usually the one chance each year to have a complete tidy and sort out of the studios …I think the studio ‘Hoover’ has a bit of a shock each September as everyone seems to be fighting for it! I normally clear all my paints, pastels and other materials and equipment …stashing everything under my bench …everything is then covered with large white pieces of cloth to hide the gear and give the studio at least a slight appearance of tidiness. The walls are in pretty good shape thankfully seeing as the studio was refurbished just over a year ago …but two of them will need a lick of paint …I tend to splash acrylic on the wall behind and to one side of my easel.

As anyone who has been following my Face book page will know …the studio is pretty cluttered at present. I’m gradually getting all the work together for the show in Speyer (around 20 pieces) and the show at Queens Gallery in Dundee (around 18 pieces). I also have another six ready for The Strathearn Gallery who are taking them down to Battersea Affordable Art Fair. If I had the desire to do so …I could still, just about, swing the proverbial cat around …but not a big cat! So then before the Open Weekend I have to decide which work is going on the wall and all the rest will have to be taken home …not much room for swinging cats here either …but we should find space. The ‘cats’ in this case, being Anita’s parents who normally visit us for a few days at the start of October …and whom have been asked to give it a miss this year ….everywhere is slowly filling up with paintings, boxes and bubble wrap …absolutely no room for a spare bed this year I’m afraid. Hopefully I haven’t caused too much upset and I’m sure we’ll get to see them later in the year.

New business post card

New business post card

One job I have just got done is to get some new business post cards printed. I ran out of the last lot a good few months ago but realised I needed some new ones for the Open Weekend. I have a standard post card printed with two images of paintings or drawings …and then the contact details on the reverse. I’ve just had two different designs printed by Kestrel Press in Irvine …and I’m pleased to say that they look good. A great service too …I took the images to them on Monday and a chap arrived at the studio yesterday afternoon with a box containing the 1000 cards …brilliant. They make nice things for people to take away …I know many end up on kitchen walls or fridge doors …but you never quite know who will see them and with my website address etc on them …who knows what will come from someone taking a couple when visiting. It’s a very nice bit of advertising ….that works.

Right that’s me again for this week …must get back down to the studio again. For anyone interested, check out the new WASPS website [http://www.waspsstudios.org.uk.d8digital.com]. It should be up and running by later today. If it is, you should find full details of the WASPS Open Studios Weekend …it’s not just the Courtyard in Irvine that takes part …all the WASPS studios throughout Scotland are involved …if you live in Scotland there should be one that you can get to. I’ll post more details nearer the time.but put October 1st and 2nd in your diary …it’s a great opportunity to see a lot of different work.

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Small world

Posted by admin on September 4th, 2011
'Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar'

'Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar'

If you’re reading this and you are the gentleman from Pennsylvania who visited my studio about a week ago …then, ‘hello’ and thanks.  I think you said you live about an hour and a half drive from The Green Drake Gallery and Arts Centre in  Millheim ….and so for you and anyone living in the region …here are a few details about their current exhibition ‘A Taste of Scotland’ and other events at the gallery and town.  As I’m so busy at the moment I’m going to cheat with this blog  and instead of typing out all the details I’m simply pasting an email I received from Karl Leitzel at the gallery:

……………………………………..

Hi everyone,

The Centre County Grange Fair is coming to an end today, so summer must be nearly over! We hope you’ve been having a good one.

We’re busy hanging our September special show, “A Taste of Scotland”, featuring additional work by all three of the Scottish artists we represent – Margaret Evans, Ken Bushe, and Keith Salmon. You’ll love these three different approaches to the Scottish landscape. Our show reception is NOT the usual first Friday, but instead will be Friday Sept. 16 from6-9 pmso that Margaret Evans, who will be here that week teaching a workshop, can be with us. The band Celtica will be providing – you guessed it – Celtic music that evening on our stage! And that same week, the Elk Creek Cafe is tying into the theme on Thursday evening with music by “Smash the Windows”, featuring Bruce Young, Peggy Shutes, and Patty Lambert playing Irish (close enough!) and New England jigs and reel as well as waltzes for your dancing pleasure. Our show will, however, be up for the full month of September.

We are also planning to soon start offering live music on our stage more often on Friday evenings starting at 7:30. More on that soon.

Speaking of Margaret Evans, there is still room in her two-day pastel workshop September 16 and 17. If you work in pastels and would like to spend a delightful two days in scenic Penns Valley working with a premiere instructor, please see our web site (link below) for more information. We also have listings for additional fall classes. If you’ve been wanting to learn a new art medium or pick up where you left off at some time in the past, now is the time!

Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend, and come on out to the big Crickfest celebration at the Coburn Park this Sunday if you can! Lots of food, music, and eco-friendly information and activities. And, of course, the Green Drake will be open our usual 12-4 on Sunday, so stop in and see us if you’re in the area.

Green Drake Gallery andArtsCenter

101-BWest Main Street,PO Box609

Millheim,PA16854  814-349-2486

Website: http://GreenDrakeArt.com

……………………………………..

'Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain'

'Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain'

Anyway, I hope you can get along to see the exhibition and enjoy some of the events taking place in and around Millheim.  Can I ask you and anyone living in or having a connection to the area, to spread the word.  Thank you.

The images with this blog show two of the paintings I currently have on display at The Green Drake Gallery and Arts Centre.








– o – o – o – o – o – o –

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Gripe of the week…..!

Posted by admin on August 26th, 2011
Work in progress, 'Towards Beinn Toaig ..winter'

Work in progress - 'Towards Beinn Toaig ..winter'

No nice walks or interesting trips to report this week I’m afraid …it’s just been a week working away down at the studio. So I guess this is going to be a rather short blog.

Normally at this time of year there are quite a few visitors on the harbour side in Irvine and we normally expect a few of them to call into the Courtyard to have a look at what some of the artists are doing. This year though, it does seem to be quite quiet …partly due I’m sure to the rather damp summer we’ve been having. But along with this, few of them seem to be calling into the studios. Until last summer we used to have good signage on the studio building ….not just saying Courtyard Artists Studios …but also saying ‘visitors welcome’. Then, last summer we had the long waited ‘make-over’. The builders moved in (while I was away in Germany), and completely transformed much of the studio building … creating new studio space in the roof, adding much needed windows and therefore light and heating and water to all the spaces. On top of this new doors were fixed, the wee kitchen space and toilets re built and the structural problems fixed. Finally the building was completely painted to make it look so much better from the outside. When I returned from Speyer I was really impressed by what they’d done My studio space which had had a big problem with damp and rotting floor boards was now dry and with a new floor ….it was looking good for 2011.

With the addition of the new studio spaces we’d also had several new artists and craftspeople move in and this was very good. The one thing though that they’ve not bothered to do after all this good work ….is to replace the signage. Now then, this may seem a minor thing after spending £150,000 on building work …and perhaps a bit of a gripe on my part …but it’s been a year now and we still haven’t got any signs saying what we are …and, as importantly …that people are welcome to come in….and purchase work if they wish. Hence, this summer we’ve seen a drastic reduction in visitor numbers and with it …sales. Of course this could be put down to the general state of the economy …but even so, if folk passing don’t know what we are …they’re hardly likely to come in and buy a painting. It seems sad but interesting to note that one year on, four of the six new artists have already left ….finding it difficult to pay the rents …which are still very good value but are still difficult for young artists just starting out, to meet. During my time at the Courtyard I’ve always made sure that I invite people in and made them welcome. Through this I’ve always managed to sell a good number of works directly from the studio …at the same price as they are up in galleries. By doing this and giving a little of my time each week to show people what I’m doing, I have always managed to cover my studio rent each year. Of course I realise that to say there is a direct correlation between these artists leaving and the fact that we have no signage and visitors, is perhaps stretching it a bit …but I do think that after doing so much good work on the building, this final lapse has done much to undermine some of the very artists the building is supposed to help. I do realise there are planning regulations etc, but surely all we need is a new version of the old signs, no new snazzy designs …it surely can’t be that difficult. The summer of course is now nearly over …visitors will have gone by the end of October and so a whole season has been lost. We have our Studio Open Weekend coming up on 1st / 2nd October ….so any guesses as to whether we’ll have our signs up for then?!!

Right, that’s my gripe of the week over and done. As I said, I’ve been painting all this week. The first four of the thirteen new 80 x 80 cm paintings have just come back from the Waverley Gallery in Prestwick where they’ve been framed. Five more are currently being framed and I’m working on the last four right now. One of these, based on a smaller piece I did three or four years ago, is coming on quite well. I bought a special ‘thickener’ for acrylic paint the other week and have been using this recently. It gives the paint a nice sticky and slightly granular texture and when dragged down using a big brush, gives just the kind of marks I like. The painting still has some way to go …but I took this photo of it just before leaving the studio last evening.

Finally ….good news. My five paintings have arrived safely at the Green Drake Gallery and Arts Centre in Pennsylvania. I don’t know why I worry so much …but I always find it a little stressful when shipping work. Anyway, that’s that, …..just wait now until the exhibition opens in a few weeks. More details to come nearer the time.

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‘One small step’ – my first real venture into the United States of America

Posted by admin on August 14th, 2011
'Above the Rest and Be Thankful'

'Above the Rest and Be Thankful'

As I write this my partner Anita is kindly putting the finishing touches to wrapping and boxing the five paintings I’m sending to the Green Drake Gallery in Pennsylvania. These five pieces together with two others they already hold will be part of their ‘Taste of Scotland’ exhibition that takes place in September.

They’ve asked for a selection of sizes and so I’m sending:

One of the new large 80 x 80 cm paintings, (‘Winters afternoon, Beinn Dorain’).

'Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain'

'Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain'

Two of the 30 x 30 cm paintings, (‘Below Liathach, Torridon’ & ‘In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran’)

'Below Liathach, Torridon'

'Below Liathach, Torridon'

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

Two of the small 12.5 x 12.5 cm paintings, (‘Approaching shower, the Fannichs’ & ‘Above The Rest and Be Thankful’)

'Approaching shower, the Fannichs'

'Approaching shower, the Fannichs'

The gallery already have two of the 76 x 23 cm paintings. I sent these a short while after the gallery opened back in the early summer.

As all the smaller pieces are normally framed with a mount behind glass it has been a little bit of a problem knowing how best to package and send them. In the end we decided the best way would be to remove the glass for the shipment ….the gallery will add new glass on arrival. As for packaging, Anita did some searching on the Internet and found a very useful company down in Yorkshire that produce made to measure cardboard boxes. For the purpose of this shipment I’ve just ordered a few sample boxes in order to test them out. These arrived very quickly and are perfect. Not only will they make it a far quicker wrapping process but they also look far more professional too. The first two boxes are now complete and they seem very secure and sturdy …..if it wasn’t for all the extra weight I’d be tempted to send them with the glass. Best not tempt fate though! As I now generally work in ‘standard’ sizes, I’ll be placing a proper order for the three different sizes of box …though the minimum order is 25 I think …so finding somewhere to store them is going to be interesting! Anyone who has visited my studio will know that it’s not exactly the largest of spaces. Oh well, I’ll worry about that one later.

I’m planning to arrange for the courier to collect the packages on Tuesday or Wednesday next week and so as it is a three day delivery service to the United States, they should have the paintings by next weekend.

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of response I get to the work over in the Green Drake Gallery. As I say, they’ve had two pieces for a couple of months now and although they haven’t sold they have I’ve been told had a few folk interested. It’s a big step taking on the cost of shipping work over to the United States, but I think it’s well worth investing some time and money into trying to get a toe in the door in the US market. Of course though, the economic news coming from that side of the Atlantic isn’t any brighter than here in Europe …so who knows? Well worth a try though and I guess this is just another thing that the Jolomo Award has allowed me to do. Full details of the ‘Taste of Scotland’ exhibition nearer the time.

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Sign of the times

Posted by admin on July 29th, 2011
Towards Blairmore from the ferry

Towards Blairmore from the ferry

Well then, that’s the exhibition at Blairmore Gallery finished. We had extended it for a week and yesterday we travelled up to collect the work. As the title of this blog implies, it wasn’t the most successful of shows sales wise, but it was I think a good show and selection of work and was seen by a lot of people …both local and visitors. I think that today’s economic situation is starting to take a toll and a lot of businesses catering for anything other than essentials, are probably starting to feel the pinch. Paintings are not I guess at the top end of most folks list when it comes to expenditure these days! That said, things are still ticking over and the important thing about exhibiting your work is that people see it. They may not be able to buy any of it at present but if they like it enough they may remember it when the economy starts to pick up. The exhibition at Blairmore has been an excellent way to promote and showcase my work to a large number of visitors to Scotland and as Blairmore usually displays several pieces of my work throughout the year, this may well pay dividends further down the line.

West, across the Firth of Clyde

West, across the Firth of Clyde

We’ve had superb weather in this part of Scotland over the last week, but yesterday when we got up it was dark and grey and as we drove north up the coast road towards Largs, the views out across the Firth of Clyde to the Isle of Arran were rather sombre to say the least. The fine sky-line of the Arran mountains was gone …their summits cut off by a thick layer of cloud.

A passing sea plane ...above the Firth of Clyde

A passing sea plane ...above the Firth of Clyde

From Ayrshire, you can get to Blairmore Gallery one of two ways. Either you can drive all the way … a lengthy drive that involves heading north up to Tarbet on the side of Loch Lomond and then heading up and over the Rest and Be Thankful (where we were walking on Beinn an Lochain the other week). On reaching Loch Fyne you then have to turn south and drive back along Loch Eck to the turn off for Blairmore village. It’s a beautiful drive in good weather but as I say, it’s a good way and takes around two hours. The alternative route and the way we generally go, is to drive north up the coast to Gourock and catch the Western Ferry over to Dunoon …a few miles to the south of Blairmore. This saves much driving and a little time …although you do have the cost of the ferry. This however is currently just £20 return for a car, driver and one passenger (if the ticket is purchased prior to getting on the ferry) and so with the cost of fuel these days, there’s very little in it …and this way you get a twenty minute break and a pleasant boat trip across the firth.

When you see the ferries arrive they really don’t look very big but it’s amazing just how many vehicles they fit on. When we arrived yesterday one ferry had not long left and another was arriving …just a few hundred metres off the shore. In the summer they seem to run three ferries at one time which means you don’t really have too long to wait if you just miss one. We were just second in the line and as such were right at the front of the ferry with views out across the firth towards Dunoon. In fine weather you can get out of the car and stand and enjoy the views of the firth and the hills on all sides. It’s a busy piece of water too and there’s always something to watch. On one occasion when I was travelling back on this ferry with a colleague, we briefly spotted a couple of porpoises and another time Nita spotted a submarine. Nothing quite so exciting yesterday though, just a single yacht making the most of the breeze and a small cruise ship heading south. The weather was though improving slightly and the cloud had risen off of some of the hills but there was virtually no colour anywhere.

A grey morning on the Firth of Clyde

A grey morning on the Firth of Clyde

The work is now back in my studio and I’m already sorting through it and reallocating it. We’re heading up to the Gallery on the Corner in Edinburgh next week to deliver several pieces and to collect several others that they’ve had since the spring. I’m also now working out the exact selection of paintings for the show in the Queens Gallery in Dundee in September and the Speyer exhibition in October ….so it’s all go still.

Blairmore Gallery have retained five paintings for their permanent selection and as I’ve said in the past …it does make a great little day out …especially if you drive up via Loch Lomond and return via the ferry…..and who knows, you may even see a porpoise en route!

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Paint, paint, walk!

Posted by admin on July 25th, 2011
Cruachan reservoir

Cruachan reservoir

Yes, I know, this blog is late!  No real excuses except I’m busy getting all the work together for the various exhibitions coming up this autumn ..and it’s already the end of the third week in July.  And of course, new paintings demand new information, new inspiration … in the way of me getting up and out into the hills.  So then, this week has once again been made up of painting with a day walk added for good measure.

The new paintings are coming on well I think and I now have 9 of the larger 80 x 80 cm pieces completed (or almost) ….but I’ve sold one of these at my Blairmore exhibition …so in practice I have eight.  I currently have two more pieces on the go and plans for another two following a very informative and beautiful walk on Saturday.  This would give me the ten large pieces for Speyer in October with a couple of others for the exhibition in Dundee in mid September.  But I would still like to get a couple more finished at this size too.  That I think means six more large pieces to complete before the end of September …and no doubt a few smaller pieces too.  It certainly means putting in the hours at the studio and so days like today where I’ll be bashing away at this computer are going to have to be cut back a little …. I’m afraid my next few blogs may be somewhat shorter and more thrown together than normal!!!

In the studio - Sunday

In the studio - Sunday

In the midst of all this rushing around I also have the Wasps Open Studios Weekend to prepare for ….this is being held on Saturday / Sunday 1st & 2nd October.  I’m not sure quite how many of the Courtyard Studios artists are taking part this year …but I think that the usual crowd of us will be there again this year …so as always, it’ll be a good and varied selection of work on display.  If you’re a local to Ayrshire then make a note in your diary.  If you want to be added to my mailing list for this and other events just drop me an email to; keith@keithsalmon.org or click on the red link at the bottom of the page to subscribe.

Loch Awe from the hydro road

Loch Awe from the hydro road

As I said though, the week ended with another fine walk.  Once again we were tracking the weather via the Mountain Weather Information Service and matching it with available days …not many this week with my partner Anita working more but shorter shifts for the next few weeks.  Saturday though looked good for both of us and indeed the weather was superb over in the west of Scotland and so a trip to the Ben Cruachan group of hills seemed like the place to go.  Over the last few years we’ve walked most of these large and rugged mountains but there is one hill we’ve never visited …Beinn a’ Bhuidh.  This slightly more modest hill rising to just below 900 m sits above the Cruachan Reservoir and just to the SE of Ben Cruachan.  It’s location as a view point both for the fine mountain scenery and the large expansive views west along Loch Awe and right out to the sea and the mountains over on the Isle of Mull …well, I doubt it can be beaten.

Towards Ben Cruachan

Towards Ben Cruachan

We decided to go for the short steep option ..but one that gave us the maximum view.   Parking at the side of the main road a kilometre to the west of Lochawe village we followed the hydro road up to the Cruachan reservoir dam.  It gains quite a bit of height and is a bit of a slog but the views out over Loch Awe and the Pass of Brander are superb and it makes a good and pleasant start to the walk.  From the dam though …well, it’s straight up with the deep blue of the reservoir looking stunning with the rocky Cruachan peaks all around.  Beinn a’ Bhuidh is quite rocky too and the higher sections are made up of numerous small broken crags and jumbles of boulders which need avoiding or clambering over.  The steepness doesn’t really let up until almost at the top but with all the rocky outcrops and the huge and ever expanding views as you gain height, it makes for an enjoyable haul.  We returned virtually the same way but the weather was so good that on both the ascent and descent, we spent much time just sitting and looking …and at one point …dozing.  It was so peaceful and so beautiful.  Interestingly, the rock formations of the main Cruachan hills were quite amazing.  As the afternoon progressed the shadows started picking out the various layers of the rock.  These seemed to change direction in different places and reminded me very much of some of the marks I make in my paintings.  As I sat looking at this wonder of nature I was already planning my next couple of paintings.

West from Beinn a' Bhuidh

West from Beinn a' Bhuidh

We got back to the car about 7pm and had a stunningly beautiful drive back through the southern highlands under a cloud free sky with the hills almost glowing in the low evening sun.

Sunday was to have been a trip up to Stirling to attend the preview of an exhibition by Lorraine Nicholson, but with everything building up, my blog and work of the week still not written and paintings urgently needing finishing …well, I just had to get back down to the studio.   It was worth it though as I did manage to finish one piece and had a couple of folk in to see the work.  No sales but they were enthusiastic and went away with some of my post cards …so who knows where those may end up.  It’s a good way to promote the paintings and of course each card has my website address included on the reverse.  Right then…back to the painting!

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A good week

Posted by admin on July 9th, 2011
Creag Mhor from Stob an Fhir Bhogha

Creag Mhor from Stob an Fhir Bhogha

It has been a busy but profitable week….alas, not financially, but I’ve certainly got a lot of painting done.

The week started well though with a very enjoyable day on the hill. With the forecast looking very good we’d decided to go back to Glen Lochy and once again head for Creag Mhor …the 1047m Munro that lies at the western end of the glen. As reported we’d been here back in the spring but on that occasion thoroughly messed up our navigation and failed to get to the top …so then, this was to be our second attempt. We hadn’t though appreciated quite how hot it was going to be ….and it’s a fairly long walk to the base of the hill. It really was baking as we headed along the glen and there was hardly a breath of wind to ease the heat.

From Beinn Heasgarnich

From Beinn Heasgarnich

After about an hour and a quarter we stopped for a drink and on realising we still had another kilometre or so to go in this oven we decided to change our plans and head straight up and climb the nearer of the two Munros – Beinn Heasgarnich….hoping that by gaining some height we might get into a breeze or some cooler air. This involved a steep haul up grass, picking our way between small crags until at around 800 m the angle eased and we reached a large and rather boggy flattish area. Beyond another steep and craggy section led to the top of Stob an Fhir Bhogha at 1029 m. It certainly became less hot but not because of height or finding the breeze. Instead, very rapidly, cloud appeared and by the time we were half way up there was virtually no blue sky visible and it was becoming very dark…..but thankfully cooler. To the south of us we could clearly see Ben More and as it is almost 100 m higher than the hill we were on, it gave a good indicator as to whether the cloud base was getting lower. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case, but apart from the occasional glimpse of the sun we were walking in quite gloomy light for the rest of the day.

Beinn Heasgarnich

Beinn Heasgarnich

From the top of Stob an Fhir Bhogha it’s just a very simple and gentle wander across almost level stony tops to reach the summit of Beinn Heasgarnich at 1078 m. Despite the now grey skies, the visibility was very good and we could make out many of the peaks …Ben Nevis stood out very clearly to the north.

Despite there being a number of cars parked at the end of the road when we set out, we only saw three other walkers all day …one of them who turned up at the summit just five minutes after our arrival. We returned by a slightly different route, one that was less steep but slightly wetter …but at least we got to see lots of tiny yellow frogs …some of them no bigger than a 5p piece! Needless to say I didn’t see as many as Nita.

Beinn Heasgarnich

Beinn Heasgarnich

 

The painting has as I said gone well this week. I’ve completed another of the new 80 x 80 cm pieces and have two more on the go and several more planned. Nita had been over to Kilmarnock to get some more board cut for me and so in between the real painting I’ve been madly priming these boards. I’m quite pleased with the way things are progressing and I feel that I am at long last starting to move these paintings on a bit …it’s quite exciting. I’m arranging for a photographer to visit the studio at the end of the month so should have some decent images to show you in a couple of weeks.

It’s the annual North Ayrshire Open Exhibition soon. Today is the hand in day today and I am entering a small piece and one of the new larger paintings. Nita put this big piece in a frame the other day and it is the first time I’ve seen one of these new larger pieces framed up …I’m very pleased with the way it’s looking. Mind you, as with all ‘open’ exhibitions …you can never be sure if your work will be selected. It’s a bit of a gamble, though it’s always a little depressing if your stuff is rejected, but that’s the nature of the beast I guess!!! Fingers crossed! The exhibition opens a week today and runs for two weeks. Most years it contains around a hundred or so paintings and a small selection of sculpture. Its well worth a visit so if you live in Ayrshire do call in to see it. I’ll be posting full details shortly.

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Exhibition of recent work – Blairmore Gallery – June 10th – July 20th 2011

Posted by admin on June 8th, 2011
'After the storm, Loch Lomond from Ben Vorlich'

'After the storm, Loch Lomond from Ben Vorlich'

I’ve been exhibiting work at Blairmore Gallery near Dunoon, for the last five or six years and this year I’ve been asked to put on an exhibition of my painting and drawings for six weeks.

The gallery, formerly known as Gallimaufry, is not I guess your normal gallery.  It is a wonderful mix of art, craft and quality giftware ….with the added bonus of serving very fine fair trade tea and coffee too.  The walls of the coffee shop make the space for the exhibitions and so you can sit and enjoy the art while drinking your tea.   It’s a combination that seems to work and the gallery has just won a four star award from Visit Scotland.  The great part about this little gallery is that it is not just a great place for visitors …it really is at the heart of the little community of Blairmore. There is a very friendly ‘buzz’ about the place that makes everyone feel welcome and at ease …whether just calling in for some refreshment or searching for a painting.

I’ll be showing 15 paintings and 4 drawings in this show …the majority of them being recent work, completed either this year or during the last few months of 2010 …so, there’ll be a lot of new pieces to see.  As the gallery space is quite small, the majority of the work will be on the small side …30 x 30 cm paintings and drawings, and three of my 76 x 23 cm paintings.  I am though including two of my new larger 80 x 80 cm paintings along with two 61 x 61 cm pieces.  This will make it quite a challenge for the proprietors Sylvia and Steve, to hang but it should look good I think.

 

'Misty morning, Goat Fel from near Brodickl'

'Misty morning, Goat Fell from near Brodick'

 

 

'On the east ridge of Ben Lui, spring'

'On the east ridge of Ben Lui, spring'

 

So then, if you live within striking distance of the gallery, it makes a great day out.  To learn more about the gallery visit: www.blairmoregallery.com or contact them Blairmore Gallery, Blairmore nr Dunoon | Tel: 01369 840253 | info@blairmoregallery.co.uk .

I hope you can get to see the exhibition.

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    Contact Details

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