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A perfect October walk

Posted by admin on October 14th, 2010
Breaking through the cloud, Beinn Odhar

Breaking through the cloud, Beinn Odhar

It’s been ten months since we were last out on a hill with our friend Guy but on Monday we made up for it in style. I’d been trying to fix a date for a walk with Guy since returning from Germany and when we had to cancel the other week due to a problem with the car, it looked as if his comment earlier in the summer, that we’d probably need our axes and crampons by the time we got out together again, might come true!

By the weekend though the forecast for the week ahead was looking good ….especially in the west of Scotland and so with my paintings for the ScotlandArt exhibition finished and both Nita and Guy not working, we booked Monday as the day. We planned to go back to Beinn Odhar above Tyndrum, but this time instead of just doing the quick walk to the summit and back, we aimed to do a bigger circular walk. This ascended by the same route but returned via a long broad grassy ridge stretching behind the village of Tyndrum. We’d looked at this ridge a few times in the past and this seemed the perfect day to test it out …it’d be more than a short walk …but not too big a day for our rather unfit legs!

Towards Ben Lui

Towards Ben Lui

After meeting Guy at the station at just after half past six in the morning we got to Loch Lomond as it was getting light and things were looking good. Ben Lomond was clear as were many of the other hills and the cloud was breaking higher up. The drive up to Crianlarich along the shores of the loch at this time of year on a fine day is great. The trees are all turning to their autumn colours and with almost no wind, these were all reflected in the loch. The higher tops of the Glen Falloch hills and Ben More were still holding cloud but it all looked very promising …exactly how promising though we were still to find out.

On the ridge to Meall Buidhe

On the ridge to Meall Buidhe

Ben Odhar was clear and its upper slopes were catching the early morning sun as we set off up the West Highland Way out of Tyndrum heading for the base of the hill. It was definitely autumn and there was a real chill in the air and frost on the parked cars. We left the WHW at its high point between Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy and headed straight up the hill. There’s no messing with this route, its steep grassy slopes for much of the way, passing some old mines about half way up. It never ceases to amaze me that people came to work here each day at some point in the past.

Towards-Meall-Buidhe

Towards-Meall-Buidhe

Very quickly as we gained height, a thick blanket of low cloud rolled in and we were soon in mist with no views to ease the steepness of the climb. But it really wasn’t very substantial cloud and we had a feeling that we might just bob out of the top with a bit of luck. And that is exactly what happened. Around about 750m the sun broke through and we found ourselves looking out over a layer of white cloud that stretched south of us. Above was clear blue sky and the sun was very warm. But it’s the views of all the other hills sticking up out of the cloud that really catch the eye …it was stunningly beautiful. We could see the chain of hills from Ben More to Ben Lomond, along with Ben Lui and its neighbours. Strangely north of our hill there was little or no cloud and we could see all the way down into the glen below in this direction.

Just below the summit

Just below the summit

Just above this point the steep slopes ease to a small level section in which a small loch sits immediately below the final steep and boulder strewn section of the hill…..a perfect spot sit and just take in the beauty of the location and these amazing conditions. The final clamber up to the cairn at the top of Ben Odha at just over 900m opened up even bigger views and all of our cameras were working overtime!

Our route back led first down steep slopes SE to another wee loch and then followed the broad grassy ridge in a southerly direction across to Meall Buidhe at 653m. By this stage much of the mist had cleared and so the whole time we were walking in warm bright sun. From Meall Buidhe it was a case of following the ridge to its end and then descending to a bridge over the railway and onto the West Highland Way again. We were now at a point a few kilometres south of Tyndrum and so it was just an easy and very pleasant walk back along the WHW to the car.

This was a fantastic day and the circular route and stunning conditions made for a perfect October walk.

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Battersea Park Affordable Art Fair – with The Strathearn Gallery, Crieff

Posted by admin on October 8th, 2010

'Below Cul Mor, Assynt', Acrylic & Pastel, 2008, 80 x 110 Ref-95

'Below Cul Mor, Assynt'

Earlier this year, Fiona at The Strathearn Gallery in Crieff, asked me if I could let them have six paintings for the Battersea Park Affordable Art Fair. The gallery is taking a stand at the fair this autumn and it seems a great opportunity.

Of course, it’s always difficult deciding quite which pieces to send and to be honest I changed my mind a few times before finally settling on the six paintings. Fiona has asked for two small pieces, three medium and one large. I had the choice of two large pieces but in the end have gone with ‘Below Cul Mor, Assynt’. This is quite a bold piece for me, with bright colours and broad sweeps of paint. It is based on the view of the main rocky summit of the hill from the small loch that nestles below it in an area of beautiful exposed horizontal beds of red sandstone. We sat here for a while a couple of years ago, contemplating the steep and at the top, rocky ascent ahead of us.

The three medium size pieces were slightly more difficult to select. At first I was going to include three of my long thin 76 x 23 cm paintings, but in the end I’ve omitted one of these and have included instead the slightly larger piece, ‘Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain’. I think this will work well with the Cul Mor painting as it has similar sweeps of paint and is another quite bold piece.

When it came to the two small pieces I was swayed by popular opinion. Last weekend at the Courtyard studios Open Weekend I had a number of my small 30 x 30 cm paintings on display and a couple of them were getting a lot of attention. These were ‘Autumn grasses, Beinn Inverveigh’ and ‘On Beinn a’Ghlo, autumn’.

'Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009 Ref 137

'Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain'

I’m currently sat in the kitchen typing this and upstairs Anita has the six paintings. In the past I’ve managed to send paintings to galleries that have on occasions had marks on their frames and on one infamous occasion, even sent one small piece with its glass missing! The joys of limited vision I’m afraid and so now I ask Nita to check all the work before we wrap it up and send it off to the gallery.

So then, that’s us away up to Crieff tomorrow to deliver the work to The Strathearn Gallery. From Irvine it’s about an hour and three quarters in the car I guess and once beyond Glasgow the route goes through some very pleasant country….so it’ll make a nice trip. Rising just to the north of the town, are the hills surrounding Loch Turret. You may remember we were walking up here early this year and we’re now planning another walk in the area one day soon. I’m hoping it’ll be warm enough to sit and do some sketching as I really want to get some paintings done of this beautiful area.

'Autumn grass, Beinn Inverveigh', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009 Ref 136

'Autumn grass, Beinn Inverveigh'

If you’re in London and can get along to the fair, the details are:

The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea Park, London

The Strathearn Gallery stand number is: I 14.

The fair opens on Wednesday evening 20th October.

The last day of the fair is Sunday 24th October.

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A busy week

Posted by admin on October 4th, 2010
Courtyard Studio Artists 2010

Courtyard Studio Artists 2010

To say it’s been busy this week is a bit of an understatement. Of course it is the perfect excuse for why this blog is so late, ….well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

As I’ve already said in past blogs, I’m busy working on six paintings for an exhibition with Scotlandart.com at their Edinburgh gallery starting at the end of October. These paintings have to be ready and delivered in about two weeks. They’re coming on well. Two are finished and framed, two more are finished and just need putting into their frames and two are well under way and hopefully will be finished by the end of the week. I’m pleased with the four completed ones and they’ve been getting quite a lot of interest from visitors to the studio …so hopefully some of these people may go to see the exhibition once it opens.

All painting stopped on Monday evening as on Tuesday I had to travel down to London for the private view of the ‘Jolomo Landscape Painting Awards 2009 Finalists Exhibition – One Year On’. This was held at the Royal Opera Arcade Gallery in Pall-mall and luckily the organiser had managed to book us a room at the Civil Service Club not far away. It was a good journey down by train and very quick too …just five hours from Irvine to Euston and so we didn’t have to set off too early and arrived in ample time to get to the gallery by 6.30pm. It was a busy event and a very enjoyable evening. It seemed to go well with lots of interest and several paintings sold …so it’ll be interesting to hear how the remainder of the week long exhibition went. These events are always pretty tiring I find and so by half past nine we were in need of food and a beer and found somewhere just off of Trafalgar Square to recover and relax .

As we were holding our studio open weekend at the Courtyard at the weekend, there was no time for us to stay down in London to enjoy a few days of gallery visits and wandering the city. It was straight back to Scotland on Wednesday morning and a mad day and a half on Thursday and Friday morning, getting the studio ready for the weekend event. This is normally something that takes me around four days but Anita was on holiday all that week so she did a lot of work to help me. We just about got everything done by mid afternoon on Friday and then after a quick change we rushed for the train and headed over to Edinburgh for the preview of a group exhibition at the Gallery on the Corner ….in which a close friend, Lorraine Nicholson, was showing some of her photographs and paintings. It was a good show with some excellent work. The exhibition runs for two weeks so well worth a look if you’re in Edinburgh. The journey back wasn’t quite so good though. We managed to miss the half past eight train and the nine o’clock one was cancelled due to a lack of a driver. The half past nine train was then a little late leaving but at least got us back into Glasgow well in time to catch the eleven o’clock train to Irvine. We were back home by midnight …and it was at this point I decided that this blog would have to be late ….there was no way I was going to try and write it at that time of night!

We were back down the studio first thing on Saturday morning, hanging the last couple of paintings, putting labels up, sweeping the floor and going around with the spirit level checking that everything was straight. The first visitor arrived just on eleven and just as everything was completed.

It was a good weekend. The weather was fine and this brought out lots of people. I’m not sure of the exact numbers but I’d estimate around about two hundred over the course of the weekend …so pretty good. I have a couple of potential sales along with much interest …so I’m more than happy. I think most of the other twelve artists made sales or potential sales and I know one artist got a commission …so at the end yesterday evening we were all happy, if just a little tired.

Courtyard Studio Artists 2010

Courtyard Studio Artists 2010

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Back on the Harbourside

Posted by admin on September 16th, 2010
On Irvine Harbourside

"On Irvine Harbourside"

You know, it really is good to be back on the Harbourside. Over the last week I have seen it under a great variety of conditions. Summer is definitely on the way out here and we have had the first of the autumn gales. What makes it extra special at this time of year are the big tides.

With my studio set just the width of the road and the old wooden quay away from the river, I am in a prime location to watch the changing seasons and conditions. On Friday it was a beautiful day here – bright skies, white clouds and the afternoon sun bringing out all the late summer colours of the saltings that lie between the River Irvine and the River Garnock. It was so good that I had to down brushes for a bit and just stand in my studio doorway, taking it all in. There were the ever present calls of curlews, oyster catchers and gulls…it was just great.

By Monday though, it was all change. I walked up the Harbourside to my studio, head down against the wind and rain and with all the usual views across the saltings completely gone – shrouded in a thick murk that was blowing in from the sea. It was great! – well, it was once I’d reached my studio and could watch it from my doorway. We have these old fashioned little street lights along the front of the harbour and for some reason, when there is a gale blowing, many of them create an eerie, but very atmospheric, whistling sound. Even in these conditions though, the light is still very special. Added to this, was a very high tide and as the day went by, the water rose, covering nearly all of the saltings and leaving just a narrow spit of mud and grass between the two rivers. I didn’t have my monocular this day, but normally, in these conditions, the birds congregate in an ever tighter group as the water rises. On this occasion, it didn’t completely cover the narrow strip of land, so I guess their feet stayed dry!

Harbourside, Irvine

"Harbourside, Irvine"

"Harbourside"

Anyway, after spending the summer painting the buildings in Speyer, it has got me thinking that it might be quite nice to do some work once again, based on the harbourside. When I first moved to the studios back in 2003, I did a number of paintings and drawings based on the buildings and river here. I am not quite sure how I would tackle it now, but here are a few of those earlier attempts.

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A change of scene

Posted by admin on September 9th, 2010
New Look Courtyard

New Look Courtyard

When I left Irvine for Speyer on May 11th, big changes were afoot at the courtyard studios. WASPS had decided to refurbish the studios and while doing so, were taking the opportunity to create several new spaces in the roof space. The work was planned to last until around the start of July and in a way, it was perfect timing for me as I would miss much of the disruption. As it turned out, I heard tell of the disruption every few days as Anita was ‘studio sitting’. My space is in the old part of the building. I’m not quite sure how old, but a chap came in the other year and told me that my studio used to be his office back in the 1950s…when he was a customs officer. Since then it had fallen into disrepair….understatement. When the builders moved in, they found that a section of the floor joists had rotted through and it was only the patchwork of pink and yellow carpet that was holding the floor up! The rear wall, covered by a chipboard outer, was completely crumbling away and Gordon, one of the other artists, described it as being like a waterfall when it rained…explains the dampness I think.

Anyway, I flew back to Scotland last Thursday evening and went down to my studio on Friday…and what a difference. For starters, the dreadful pink outer walls are now a slightly better, if somewhat strange, green colour….but it does look a lot better and people have started to notice us. As for my own studio, they have done a great job…a new floor, the waterworks completely repaired and a new door that actually fits the frame…and a heater! With a bit of luck, it will be a much more pleasant experience during the winter months and I’ll not need to dress up like the Michelin man.

New Look for the WASP Courtyard Studios, Irvine, Ayrshire

The WASP Courtyard Studios, Irvine, Ayrshire

So then, it has been straight back to work, as I have to get 6 pieces ready for a group show at Scotlandart.com which opens in late October. It’s great to be back in Scotland but although there’s lots of work to do, I am going to make sure there’s time to relax too. Today Anita and I have been to see the magnificent exhibition of the Lewis chessmen at the National Museum of Scotland and the Impressionist Gardens exhibition at the RSA, both in Edinburgh. We’re heading up for a walk near the Cairngorms on Sunday and have already organised a day on the hill with our very good friend Guy…I can’t wait. Well and truly back in business I think.

*** Please note that WASP Courtyard Studios will be having its traditional Open Weekend from the 2nd and 3rd of October. So why not come along and see the changes. Everyone is very welcome!  ***

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Well then, that just about wraps it up…

Posted by admin on September 3rd, 2010

at-the-kunstlerhaus

At the Kunstlerhaus

I’m awake and up early this morning and after two or three days of heavy rain it looks like I might have one last sunny day here in Speyer before I fly back to Scotland. It’s quite amazing really to think my stay in Germany is almost over. I guess it’s a time of mixed emotions …. I’ve had a great time, met some amazing people, great artists and thoroughly enjoyed living in this beautiful and friendly little city …..but ….on the other hand I think I’m about ready now to get back to Irvine, albeit with its litter strewn streets. I’ve missed my walk along the harbour side to my studio each day, hearing the sound of the yachts clinking at their moorings, the raucous cries of the gulls and the beautiful song of the skylarks on the other side of the river….and perhaps it’s that very special Scottish thing …the quality of light, that I’ve missed the most. I always say to people who visit my studio in Irvine, that I just love the harbour side because it doesn’t matter what the weather is doing, whether it’s pouring with rain or bright sunshine, summer or winter …the light is always wonderful. It’s a very special place.

But before getting back to it there are a few final things to be done and said here. I am currently sat amidst the remnants of my exhibition. The show ended on Sunday evening and although it’d only been open for three days, I’m pleased to report that it was a real success. There was a real ‘buzz’ about the preview last Thursday and this followed through over the next few days, resulting in over half the available pieces being sold. Interestingly, the four ‘Scottish’ scenes I painted here (that were not for sale as they are for the forthcoming Jolomo Finalists exhibition in London next month) generated a lot of interest ….indeed I could have sold a couple of them several times over! So then, a good boost to my bank balance and my studio rent is secure for another year …great stuff.

You know the big drawing I’ve been going on about for the last month or so? Well, that is probably the most interesting tale from the whole exhibition. I did this drawing …well, just because I could. What I mean is, because I had a five metre long wall to work on. At home I can just about fit a 2 metre wide painting board on the wall so this was an opportunity not to miss. When we came to hang the exhibition it seemed right to include the drawing …it did, even though I say it myself, look good, but I never really thought, (it being 4 metres long and a metre and a half high) that anyone would want to buy it. As it turned out, I actually had four people interested, including the new Lord Mayor. In the end, a local businessman bought the piece for his popular city centre restaurant. He invited Anita and me down to the restaurant to see the wall where he was planning to hang the drawing …and it’s a great space in a great location. He already has two big pieces of artwork hanging in the restaurant and so my drawing will fit in well I think. There was of course the question of just how exactly the drawing would be hung, but after a visit from a local carpenter and much discussion, a solution has been arrived at. People here who’ve seen the drawing seem to be genuinely pleased that it will stay in Speyer …and in a place where they can get to see it …the restaurant where it is to hang has a reputation for high quality food and wine …so a good excuse to go and see the picture! Of course this now gives me a good excuse to visit Speyer again …as if I needed one!

Despite my worries about how I’d cope with little sight and not speaking the language, it’s been a wonderful time. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful and I’ll leave on Thursday with some great memories and some real friends. The arts are so well supported here, both by the city and its inhabitants …but then again, why not, the city has many fine artists living and working here. The Kunstlerbund is a group the city can be proud of and I’ve been delighted to have been their guest this summer. I am the 23rd guest artist to live and work in the Kunstlerhaus and I’m sure whoever the 24th lucky artist is, he or she will have an equally enjoyable and inspiring time as I.

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Exhibition on

Posted by admin on August 27th, 2010
speyer-preview

Speyer Exhibition Preview

I think last week I said I was trying to finish a large painting before we hung the exhibition on Monday. Well …it was finished but not until well into Sunday! After that I had to remove all the painting gear that I’d accumulated over the last four months so that we had two clear clean gallery spaces for the exhibition. This took quite some time and it was 10pm by the time I had everything done. The trouble was that I still had one 80 x 80 cm board that I’d primed with gesso a few weeks earlier and that I’d planned to do a new drawing on. So, even at the very last moment I thought I could get a final drawing completed and announced to my partner Anita that instead of going to bed I’d be working late! And I did …until around 03.00! The result however was not as hoped for and the piece I did was dreadful….but I enjoyed myself even if I did feel shattered the next morning when Markus, Mike and Andrea arrived first thing to hang the exhibition!

speyer-preview-2

Speyer Exhibition Preview

The work went up fairly quickly and by lunchtime we had it almost complete and looking good ….leaving just a few things still to do. The local press arrived in the evening for a preview and at the end, Michael Lauter announced that I was now on holiday.

We had the Preview last night at 8 o’clock, but it was a worrying few hours as all day the sky had got darker and the humidity higher. It had to end with a bang and the 1st thunder storm arrived at 5 o’clock…great stuff. As it turned out though, we were lucky and by 8 o’clock, it was dry again and around 60 people gathered in the courtyard as Holger (Chairman of Kunstlerbund) and the Mayor opened the exhibition and Markus gave a wonderful speech, recounting how I came to be working in Speyer. This being the Pfalz, there was plenty of local wine flowing and by the end of the evening I had sold 2 paintings and was having discussions with a local businessman re him buying my big, 4 metre long drawing for his restaurant in Speyer.

speyer-preview-markus-speech

"Markus' Speech"

speyer-preview-meeting-the-mayor

"Meeting the Mayor"

What a night, finally got to bed at 3:30, but not before we’d been treated to an amazing piece of unaccompanied, improvised singing from one of Speyer’s best loved singers and musicians, Klaus Fresenius…quite brilliant.

Click here to see my Speyer Art Exhibition Paintings

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Show time!

Posted by admin on August 21st, 2010

bildschirmfoto-2010-08-19-um-18-34-59

Speyer Exhibition Poster

Well then, this is almost it ….time to show what I’ve been doing during my stay in Speyer. Needless to say, I’m still working on one painting …but it’s getting there and I’m hoping to have it finished by this evening. The preview is at the Kunstlerhaus on Thursday evening at 8pm and the original plan was to hang all the work on Tuesday evening. I’m one of those people who always works right up to a deadline. However, for local journalists to write a review of the show they need to see it by Monday evening. This is no problem but has meant a bit of last minute re-scheduling on both my part and the members of the Kunstlerbund.

So then, the plan now is to hang the show on Monday morning / afternoon. Four of the artists from the Kunstlerbund are coming to the Kunstlerhaus at 9 am on Monday and between us we’ll put the exhibition together. I have 12 paintings completed and the one large piece I’m still working on ….so with a bit of luck 13 pieces as well as the one large drawing and two other medium size line drawings.

This is very much a ‘work show’ rather than a full blown exhibition. Most of the paintings (done on 6mm mdf) will be presented unframed – just two pieces framed for the main wall. Anyway, even though I say it myself, I’m starting to think it’ll look quite good.

It’ll be good to get the work up on the walls and especially good to get them reviewed in the papers. After Monday I have a couple of days off …

On Thursday we hold the main preview evening attended by the cultural mayor of Speyer. She had visited at the start of my stay and so it’ll be interesting to see what she thinks of my paintings almost four months on. The members of the Kunstlerbund were busy on my behalf last week, addressing and sending 200 invitation cards. We have more of the cards still to give out, so hopefully it’ll be a good turn out. Anyway, for anyone who is reading this and can get to Speyer on Thursday evening please accept my invitation to the preview. The exhibition is open to the public on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 27th, 28th & 29th August, 11.00 – 13.00 & 15.00 – 18.00.

Now I’d better get back to that final painting!

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Painting from experience

Posted by admin on August 6th, 2010
'Between Creise and the Buachaille, winter'

'Between Creise and the Buachaille, winter'

It’s amazing to think that this time in four weeks I’ll be back in my studio in Irvine. My time here has gone by very quickly and I’m now getting in ‘panic mode’ as my final exhibition looms and I’ve still much work to do!

I’ve now completed eight paintings and have another four still on the go. I’ve also been working on a couple of small ‘Scottish’ pieces for forth coming exhibitions and have a couple more of these on the go too.

It’s been interesting working on the two different types of subject matter…..the bigger paintings based on the cathedral in Speyer and the Pfalz landscape and the smaller Scottish landscapes. It’s made me realize just how important it is to really get to know your subject when it comes to doing a painting. My Scottish paintings are all based on the places I walked (sometimes many times and in all conditions) and so when I get back to the studio I not only have numerous photos and some sketches, but I have many many hours of actually being out observing and experiencing the landscape I’m painting. These experiences are in a way stored in my memory and are used in all my Scottish paintings. As such it has meant that despite my being in Germany for the last three months, I’ve been able to work on these small Scottish scenes with the use of just a couple of photos as memory joggers.

'Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April'

'Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April'

‘Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April’, is based on one of the views from the summit of this fine steep grassy 900 m hill and I’ve stood here on a good number of occasions. It makes a good short walk but it is very steep so it gives your legs a good work out – we normally head here in April to tone up the muscles before our two weeks walking holidays in early May each year. The point is that although I haven’t been there this year, I’ve all the memories of the previous times I’ve climbed the hill and all the different conditions I’ve seen it in, the different light and in rain and cloud and sun. If I’d only been out occasionally over the last eight years rather than every few weeks, I’d not have been able to do this painting ….working from a photo on its own is very difficult …even if you have got good eyes to see it.

This is why for the most part I’ve put all my attention on painting the Speyer Cathedral while I’ve been living here. It is the most obvious thing to paint in this city, but as I can’t easily get out into the countryside, it has offered me something which I can visit regularly and get to know. Over the time I’ve been here I’ve built up a mental impression of it …so that I have much more to work on than just a few photos. This is where I’ve had problems trying to produce a couple of paintings of the typical Pfalz landscape. I’ve only been out into the wine growing region a few times and have only experienced it very briefly. I took a few photos and as I’m a landscape painter I wanted to do something before leaving that was of the local landscape …rather than just the man made landscape of the city……and I’ve been struggling! It’s just that I really don’t know the subject I’m trying to paint. The colours and light are very different here and I haven’t got a head full of ‘information’ to fall back on.

I’m not sure whether I’ll complete these two paintings …we’ll see I guess. It’s certainly made me realize how important it is to get out and as I’ve done very little hill walking this year it’s made me determined to find the time as soon as I’m back in Scotland. Fingers crossed for some good September weather in the west of Scotland.

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Almost finished

Posted by admin on July 30th, 2010

wall-painting-the-cathedral-speyer-acrylic-pastel-2010-100-x-140-cm-2

'Wall painting, the cathedral, Speyer'

It’s been a week of painting and rain. The days of painting outside in the shade of the courtyard have passed it seems and instead it’s been a case of working in the studios and trying to get as much artificial light as possible. It’s been very dark much of the time with big heavy showers that beat down on the leaves of the vine and make a real din. The vine apart, it feels a little more like home and certainly the temperature has been more Irvine like. Now of course, having typed this, the sun is coming out …..so perhaps this will be the start of another warm spell.

Anyway, enough of the weather and on to the painting I think. I’ve been working on several pieces this week and have had a mixture of success and failure …so about par for the course I guess. Last week, I received an email from Scotlandart.com inviting me to take part in their ‘New Gallery Artists’ exhibition to be held in late September. They’ve asked for six pieces which with the other commitments I have this autumn isn’t going to be easy. But, of course this is an excellent opportunity and it’s a great set up they have at Scotlandart.com. So then, after thinking about this for two days I decided I really couldn’t miss this chance and therefore have agreed to take part. It’ll mean a few extra shifts and I’m going to start a few Scotland based paintings in the next few weeks so that I don’t have a mad rush on my return to Irvine at the start of September.

The main achievement this week though has been getting my big ‘wall’ based painting near completion. There’s still a little bit of work to be done I think but in general it’s about there. As I said in the blog a couple of weeks ago, the painting is a view of a section of the cathedral wall here in Speyer. But I’ve over-laid the view with a more close up view of the stones. It’s quite a vague image of subtle lines and colours put down in layers of paint and pastel. I’m finding it quite difficult to assess as most of the painting is made of these very fine scribbled marks …and so when I stand back I lose all this and am left with a very vague structure. This though is rather what I wanted to create –somewhat of a ghostly image of this ancient building with all its layers of structure and history.

As anyone who paints will know, it sometimes takes a good while to decide about a piece of work once it reaches this stage. I think this painting is just going to have to sit and stew for a while as I get on with other work. I moved my bed into the studio a few weeks ago at the height of the hot weather (it’s much cooler than my room upstairs) so I’m kind of living with the work! Anyway, I’m putting a photo of this piece up on this blog but even though it’s signed ….it may still change.

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