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Information Updates | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings - Part 9

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What a week!

Posted by admin on January 28th, 2012
Windfarm on Eaglesham Moor

Windfarm on Eaglesham Moor

Late …….it’s been a difficult week ending with me getting a nasty cold and feeling quite rough this last couple of days.  I had planned to get the blog etc written on Friday but everything seems to be taking me an age.  The week started off well though with a fine wander around the Eaglesham Moors, following the broad paths connecting all the wind turbines.  It was a very windy day but a mostly dry one with just a few short sharp showers.  We walked for about six and a half hours, with a couple of detours off the main tracks to take in a couple of low hills en route.   This was the first real outing for our friend Guy, who you may remember, broke his leg on the low hills above Largs last spring.  It’s taken a long time to heal fully and so this mainly level and gentle walk was an ideal starter to get his leg back into the habit of wearing boots.  I think he enjoyed himself and apparently he has had no adverse reactions from his leg.

Windfarm on Eaglesham Moor

Windfarm on Eaglesham Moor

Big problems though down at the studio …one of my colleagues has been told he’s lost his lease.  It’s all rather complicated but there has been much talking, listening and thinking being done….and not much work.  The tenant in question is a really dedicated artist and has been one of the regulars here for many years and has always been very active in promoting the studios.   It will be a great shame if he has to leave and the studios will, in my opinion, be poorer for it.  A majority of artists at the Courtyard have put a letter / petition together and will be sending this to WASPS to air our concerns about what has happened ….but as I say it’s all rather complicated so quite what the outcome will be is anyone’s guess.

Windfarm on Eaglesham Moor

Windfarm on Eaglesham Moor

I have been asked this week for work by three places in Ayrshire ….a new gallery in Ayr as part of a Courtyard Studio exhibition starting in May, a new gallery in Dalry…..and a top restaurant also near Dalry.  As I haven’t got much lined up this year it will be interesting to see how things work out.  Full details to come soon.

I am also working with a sculptor I met in Germany….Jürgen Fischer.  He works in bog oak and lived and worked in Ireland for eight years.  His stuff looks very good and very stylish …we reckon our two works would look good together and could make an interesting exhibition.  We’ve decided to see if we can organise two exhibitions …one in Germany…possibly Berlin and one in Scotland or Ireland.  I spent this morning putting together a CD of images and information for him to take when he starts seeking venues in Germany.  His work is quite big ..1.5 – 2m tall so we’ll need a good size venue.  I have a couple of places in mind for a show over here and will start making some enquiries fairly soon.  We’re thinking about trying to set these exhibitions up for 2013 or 2014.  A lot of work but it could be very interesting I think.

Finally, we had a very good and enjoyable preview for the ‘Six into 12 plus Hornel’, exhibition at the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock the other Friday.  Despite it being a cold and very wet evening, there was a great turn out and the gallery was busy for much of the two hour long preview.  I was delighted with how my work looked in such a big space …it held its own among what was a very strong selection of work by the other five artists.  Everyone seemed to be pleased with how it looked and went and so a big thank you to Kate Davies and her team at the Dick Institute and to East Ayrshire Council for supporting this group of Ayrshire based artists.  I’m planning to go for a proper look around soon (too much talking at previews) and will try and take a few more general photos of the exhibition then.

Preview of Six into 12, Dick Institute, Kilmarnock

Preview of Six into 12, Dick Institute, Kilmarnock

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A brief lull ….

Posted by admin on December 29th, 2011
'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

It’s the morning of Wednesday 28th December and I’ve just seen my old college mate Mervin off.  He’s been staying with us for the last couple of nights and is now driving up to visit his mum and sister who live on the Isle of Bute in the Firth of Clyde.  He drove up from his home down south on Boxing Day and the plan was to go for a walk over on the Isle of Arran on the 27th (yesterday).  That said though, it was very much depending on the weather, more so than normal as we’ve had another succession of gales blowing in from the south west recently that have been disrupting the local ferry services somewhat.  It was certainly pretty windy all through Christmas Day and Boxing Day but the forecasts seemed to agree that there would be a short lull in proceedings during the early hours of 27th before another band of rain and wind arrived from the south in the afternoon.

It wasn’t great, but better than nothing and despite having driven around 300 miles the day before, Merv agreed that it would make sense to catch the early, 7 o’clock ferry to Brodick.  We only live a short distance from the ferry terminal at Ardrossan but even so this still meant leaving the house by about quarter past six in the morning!  The one advantage though of this early ferry (as I’ve no doubt said before) is that you can get a good breakfast on board during the 55 minute long crossing and arrive fuelled and ready to go.  I must admit though that I was a little surprised to find it still completely dark as we walked off the boat in Brodick ….don’t ask me why …I just never thought about it.  The ferry was quiet although we did meet one other chap who like us was heading for a walk …in his case, up Goat Fell.

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

At this time of year, especially on days where there is heavy cloud, the light is very poor and makes seeing where I’m going even more difficult than normal …and even slower more to the point.  For this reason I knew I’d not have enough daylight to get to the top of one of the hills and back and so we decided to walk up Glen Rosa between the mountains instead.  Mervin had never been to Arran and so we thought that this would at least give him an idea of the wonderful quality of the mountains here.  When he next makes a visit in the summer we can then go over and get up onto the tops.    The forecast seemed to be about right as the crossing was quite calm and there was little wind.  Even the grey clouds were above the summit of Goat Fell (the highest point on Arran) and it was looking good as we walked towards the start of Glen Rosa in the first light of the day.  Much of the snow that had been on Arranjust the other week had gone but Nita and Merv said they could still see some on the higher slopes and crags.

It was so quiet as we entered Glen Rosa; just the sound of the river rushing along and the odd pheasant and crow calling…..it was so peaceful.   We did meet the local farmer walking back to his farm and he reckoned it was wonderful in the glen that morning with the river flowing fast and clear.  He was right and it was hard to believe that it was just two days after Christmas.

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

After a mile or so the glen takes a hard turn to the north and the path crosses a bridge over another very busy stream that flows down the steep hillside in a series of waterfalls ….needless to say really, it was looking and sounding impressive.  Beyond the bridge the path gets narrower but over the years it has been well maintained and makes for good walking ….if for me, a little difficult in the gloomy light.  Care very definitely needed as in places the River Rosa, flowing on our right, cuts a small almost gorge through the rocks and there is a long drop into the torrent if you miss the edge of the path!

We had no real aim for the day and so fairly ambled along taking in the wild scenery of the glen and watching as the cloud slowly descended onto the tops once again.   Luckily Mervin did get to see the wonderful pyramid that is Cir Mhor, standing dramatically at the end of the glen, but then it too, slowly succumbed to the clagging mists.  We reached the head of the glen just before midday after many stops to take photos and eat Christmas cake.  At this point the path splits, one half crossing the River Rosa and climbing up to the Saddle between Cir Mhor and North Goat Fell, the other heading up to join the ridge on the other side of Cir Mhor.  We didn’t really have time to go much further and the river was high enough that to attempt crossing it would almost certainly have ended in wet boots or worse!  Up to our left though Merv could see a large boulder  several hundred feet  up on the hillside and we headed up towards this for a short while in order to get some views over looking the river…..but very quickly the cloud that had been getting lower by the minute, decided to let out some of its rain.   It was only fine, but the kind of stuff that really soaks you.  Mervin made it to the boulder and then it was just a case of walking back out in the increasingly heavy rain.  The light got even more gloomy but there was a strange stillness in the glen ….thankfully the rain might have arrived but the accompanying gales had not.  We made it back to the ferry terminal in Brodick as it was once again getting dark and had time to get out of the wet gear before catching the ferry home.  It wasn’t a classic Arran walk, but very enjoyable all the same and just great to once again get out into the fresh air and the quiet.

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

'In Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran'

The gales though, are back with a vengeance this morning and Mervin left here not knowing whether he’d be able to get over to the Isle of Bute …reported disruption on the main ferries again.  There is though a small very short crossing over to Bute that is apparently still running …but this involves a long drive around to get to it.   He just left here armed with food and a large flask of hot tea just in case he gets stuck and has to wait for the winds to abate …it could be a long day for him.

On the subject of brief lulls ……there is not going to be a blog next week I’m afraid …normal service will resume the week after that.  I will however, endeavour to post regular updates on my Face Book page for anyone interested, so why not check that out if you’ve not yet visited it.

I hope you’ve all had a good time over Christmas and have an equally fine few days over the New Year.  Back in 2012!

Posted in Information Updates, Inspiring Mountain Walks, Mountain Photos, Personal, Visual Disability Tags: , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment »

A week of work

Posted by admin on December 22nd, 2011
'December afternoon, near Cononish'

'December afternoon, near Cononish'

Following our fabulous short day in the snow above Loch Lomond last Saturday, I’ve been down the studio every day since.  The new layout seems to be working much better and I’m already starting to feel more at home now.  The light is still difficult but it is at least fairly constant and that has made a big difference.

Our walk on Beinn Dubh though, did me a lot of good.  Just getting out into the fresh air, bright light and vivid colours on Saturday has given my painting the kick up the ******** that I probably needed.  I’ve said it enough times before, but I don’t think you can really paint the landscape if you don’t get out into it and really experience it.  Almost two months of work and no walking was taking its toll. We’ve already another walk planned for the day after Boxing Day so I’m already looking forward to that.  Mind you, it’s gone very mild here now and the snow over on Arran is melting fast ….it’s twelve degrees here this morning so even up on the tops there will be a bit of a thaw.  Whether there will be any snow left by the 27th I don’t know, but it’ll still look good if there’s a bit of brightness around.  I’ll keep an eye on the forecasts and see what happens.

Of the last four days, I’ve spent two of them working on one of my new 80 x 80 cm oil paintings.  I’m very slow and tentative at the moment …as I’ve said, I’m not really sure what I’m doing with them, but I am enjoying using this different type of  paint and am quite excited by it.

'In Glen Lochy, early winter'

'In Glen Lochy, early winter'

For the last two days, I’ve been working on two very small paintings.  I had no intention of doing anything this small (standard post card size) but received an email from the folk at Scotlandart.com in Edinburgh, saying that they were going to hold a short exhibition of unframed / un-mounted post card sized works in early January ….and asking me if I’d like to take part.   They had a similar show back in January this year and I quite enjoyed doing something for it then.   The show is an opportunity for people to see and purchase small and relatively inexpensive pieces of work by artists they may follow or be interested in.  I guess these small works are there to tempt!  Anyway, I’ve finished the two pieces (see images of them here) and will be sending them off to the gallery immediately after New Year.  I don’t have the exact dates / details of the show yet but will post all the information as soon as I have it.  So then, if you’ve room on your wall for a small piece of work then this could be a great opportunity to find something different.  All the works will be the same size and there should be an excellent choice of different artists work on show.  Watch this space for more details.

Finally, it’s that time of year again so here’s wishing you all a Very Happy Christmas.   I’ll be working at the studio until 8 pm on Christmas Eve and then hanging up the paint brushes for a few days I think.  As well as the planned walk ….probably over on Arran on the 27th, we’re also planning a day over in Edinburgh in order to see the Elizabeth Blackadder exhibition before it closes.  I’ve heard great reports about it and I always like her work ….so am looking forward to that too.

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Moving around

Posted by admin on December 8th, 2011
New Art Studio - December

New Art Studio - December 2011

It is now just over two months since I moved into my new bigger studio and yesterday I decided to move everything around!  I guess it takes time to work out the best use of a new space and the way I’d set things out on first moving in, well, it was far from that.

I’d put my easel and palette (a large piece of white ‘kitchen’ board on a battered and very old Black & Decker Workmate) close to the door.  This is the main source of natural light in this studio, so it seemed to make sense.  Opposite this are the stairs to the upper studio and the gap between the two had to accommodate my chair …a rather large rocking chair to be exact!  Suffice to say it didn’t leave much room to get past and into the main body of the studio.  This didn’t really matter to me; after banging my shins on the rockers of the chair a few times, I’d learnt.  However, this wasn’t good for anyone visiting as they had to negotiate their way past these obstacles in order to get to see the finished work hung on the end walls.  As I say though, in my defence, I had placed the easel in this position in order to get as much of the natural light as possible …so not that daft!

New Art Studio - December

New Art Studio - December 2011

However, this eye of mine is a strange beast and it does odd things in different types of light.  I always see colour now in a very subdued way but rather perversely not only does my sight fail almost totally in very dim conditions, it also fails if the light gets too bright.

In this new studio, the lighting is a series of six fluorescent tubes hung in two sets of three along the length of the space.  With the studio space above, the ceiling is quite low and so these tubes appear much brighter than in my old studio, which was in the old part of the building and had a very high ceiling.  So then, the problem I’ve found is that although my easel gets the maximum amount (not very much in reality) of natural light during the day, once the light outside fades, and the fluorescent tubes take over ….well, it’s just too damn bright for me.  At this time of year especially with the kind of dark gloomy wet days we’ve been having much of the time here on the west coast of Scotland, there has been precious little day light anyway and I’ve really been struggling to see what I’m doing.  Not that this is really that different from normal except that now under this great glare of fluorescent light …I can barely see anything of the colours ……except the very strong contrasting ones that is.  Any subdued colours just fade into a fuzzy nothingness!  Not great!

'Winter slopes, Glen Lyon'

'Winter slopes, Glen Lyon'

I had been working on one of my larger 80 x 80 cm pieces for almost three months and the other day I managed to completely wreck it.  The painting has been a bit of an experiment in all truth.  I’d been trying to create something that was full of marks and done in thick paint.  This was proving difficult but under this strange and intense light, it proved a step to far.

'October morning, Glen Lyon'

'October morning, Glen Lyon'

So then, with one wrecked painting, many hours and many pounds worth of paint down the drain, I decided yesterday that it was time to change.  The far end of the studio has less natural light but also, rather conveniently for me, slightly less fluorescent light too.  I have then taken all my painting gear up to the far end of the studio and hung some of my finished paintings on the wall on the right as you enter the studio.  It’s going to be much better for visitors, (no obstacle course) and the slightly less intense and more constant light should, with a bit of luck, prove better for painting.  I’ll let you know how things work out.

Finally, if you live in Ayrshire, why not pop along to The Framework Gallery in Troon.  They have a great selection of work by many Scottish artists and they now also have five of my paintings, (four small and one large).  Although you can see images of my work on this website, there’s nothing better than seeing and experiencing a painting for real.

The Framework Gallery
83 Portland Street
Troon
Ayrshire KA10 6QU

Tel: 01292 316144

Website:  www.frameworktroon.co.uk

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Starting again!

Posted by admin on December 2nd, 2011
'Harbourside, Irvine'

'Harbourside, Irvine'

It’s been a long time since I did some painting using oil paint ….probably about seven or eight years. On Wednesday afternoon though, I finally got the oil paints back out and slapped a very pale yellow onto the surfaces of two new canvases. It was quite strange. I’d forgotten quite how different the feel of the paint was from the acrylic I normally use…..and of course there was the strong smell of the oil paint in the studio too. It was good and quite exciting to be getting back to this type of paint, but it was kind of scary too. Although I still have much to learn about using acrylics, I certainly feel quite confident these days when handling them ….with the oil paint on the brush for the first time in years, it was a different thing ….if not a feeling of panic then certainly trepidation.

One of the reasons I first changed from oil to acrylic was that, (as I’ve told a few people) I’m a bit impatient and didn’t like the time it took for oil colour to dry. At the time I didn’t have the technical ability to paint confidently, wet on wet. My small paintings took a long time and although I think I ended up with some quite good little paintings, they did have the tendency to look as if they’d taken an age.

By moving to acrylic I hoped I could work faster and in doing so, create fresher, faster marks and brush strokes. I think this has worked well up to a point and as my paintings tend to be built up in many overlapping layers of paint, using a fast drying paint has been ideal. I’ve worked hard over these last few years to get vibrancy out of the acrylic colours and I’ve learnt a lot about mixing and applying colour. Without really thinking about it, I’ve developed a fairly distinctive palette.

'Harbour Blues IV'

'Harbour Blues IV'

I have over the years bought and tried many different commercial colours but these days tend to fall back on just eight main colours, plus of course, white. I do own a small tube of black paint but I’ve had this for years and it’s rare indeed for me to use it. I do use a number of different painting mediums from ones that thicken the acrylic to gloss and matt glazes and varnishes. I have many pots of paint on or under my bench that I’ve bought but find little use for …I can mix most of my colours from the main bunch, but it is nice to have these extra pots and as my paintings develop I’m sure most of them will get put to use. That is, all except one pot ….of fluorescent pink!!! Ahhhhh! I bought it by mistake last year, thinking I’d picked up a pot of permanent Geranium. I couldn’t quite believe it when I got it back to the studio and realised my mistake ….the joy of fuzzy eyes! To start with I conned myself into thinking I’d find a use for it …or could mix it into something else ….WRONG! The pot sat underneath my bench luminously glaring up at me, challenging me to find a use for it. I couldn’t even give it away. I did ask a couple of my colleagues but I think they thought I was taking the proverbial! I really don’t like throwing things away but in the end this 500ml pot of fluorescent paint, ended its days in the wheelie bin.

So then, when I ordered some new oil paints the other week I restricted myself to the normal eight colours, some turps, linseed oil and a small bottle of Liquin. Despite knowing that oil paints take longer to dry ….I was still somewhat dismayed to find the first layer of paint still wet when I got to the studio yesterday ….I have a lot to learn but it’s really exciting to be starting again. Hopefully some of the things I’ve learnt while using the acrylics will put me in a good position now I’m returning to using oils …but there’s going to be much to learn and much trial and error I think. It’s great though, that I now have a studio that is big enough to accommodate my working in both oil and acrylic. Now, when I’m waiting for oil paint to dry, I can move to my other palette and continue with the acrylics on a different painting. It’s all go!

'Harbour Blues'

'Harbour Blues'

The images that accompany this blog are of several of my earlier small oil paintings.

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A mixed bag

Posted by admin on November 27th, 2011
'Below Ben Oss'

'Below Ben Oss': One of the paintings to be displayed in the Framework Gallery, Troon

I honestly can’t say that it’s been a particularly productive week so far this week but it has been quite busy all the same.

My week started with a visit to my studio from photographer Chris McNulty and a journalist friend called Julie Anne.  Chris had photographed a load of my work back last year and in return had asked if I’d spend a few hours doing an interview and get some photos.  It seemed a good deal to me and so Monday was marked down as the day for the interview.   My studio is linked by stairs to an upper space which is occupied by another artist.  This said however, since I took on the new studio I think I’ve only seen her once and so when I arranged with Chris and Julie Anne to do the interview at the studio …I hadn’t thought that anyone else would be there.  My mistake.  When we arrived at the studio she was working and also had some customers in buying a drawing.   We postponed temporarily and went for a chat and a coffee in the Harbour Arts Centre bar and when we returned forty five minutes later, everything was quiet and with no voices in the background we could get on with the interview.  Chris was taking photographs much of the time and after an hour or so they reckoned they’d got enough to carry on with.  Quite what they got though I really don’t know …I’m convinced now that I didn’t make any sense and I’m kind of dreading hearing it when it’s completed.  Oh well with a bit of luck Julie Anne can edit it and make me sound, if not intelligent, then at least not too stupid!!  It could be a tough job for her though!

Tuesday had been earmarked as the day to go up to Queens Gallery in Dundee to collect the work after my exhibition there.  Sales weren’t huge but two paintings did sell including one of the new 80 x 80 cm pieces.  It happened to be the last piece I completed …..just in time for the exhibition.   Tuesday turned out to be a beautiful day with almost clear blue skies and it made for a lovely drive to and from the gallery.  The countryside looked stunning in the bright winter light ….but very wintry suddenly with virtually all the trees bare now.  It was quite a quick trip really especially as we managed to get a parking space opposite the gallery which meant a quick turn around.  We were back in Irvine by about quarter past two and I managed to fit in almost five hours of painting …so not bad.

Wednesday was a nice relaxing day of painting.  For the first time for a while I could just paint.  I didn’t have to get the piece completed, or anything …..I could just experiment.

Back at the start of October at the Open Studios Weekend I’d met Peter from Framework Gallery in Troon.  I’d shown a few of my small paintings with him when I first moved to Irvine and he has always been enthusiastic about the work.  Anyway, we discussed my taking a few pieces along to the gallery on my return from Germany and yesterday I did just that.  I took four of the small paintings and one of the new 80 x 80 cm pieces and he has agreed to try them all.  It’ll be nice to have some work on show in Ayrshire again and once it’s on display (early December I think) I’ll post details and set up a link to the Framework Gallery website.  Full details to come shortly.

I was also contacted the other evening by Ali Abubakar …the chap who runs the Scottish Art Circle website.  He is planning to advertise members work on the site in the run up to Christmas and he has asked me to let him have details of four pieces that are currently available for sale.  He’ll then post this along with the artists contact details so that any visitors to the site who are interested in one of the paintings can simply contact the artist directly.  It’s an excellent way to increase the number of people seeing the work and so I’ll be getting back to him with the information and images shortly.

As for today?  Well, it’s been a bit of a strange one.  I had an appointment at the dentists this morning and arrived on time and waited.  After half an hour they very apologetically announced that due to a slight emergency, they’d have to cancel my appointment ..and that of another lady.  Couldn’t be helped, these things happen, but I then had to decide quite what to do with the rest of the day …as by this time it was almost lunch time.  I decided to catch a bus home and get on with the many things I have to do on the computer ….writing the weeks blog being just one of them!  One good thing though, while I was writing this earlier, I had a knock on the front door and two large parcels arrived ….the order from Great Art, containing a range of oil paints and mediums and a bunch of 80 x 80 cm canvases.  As I said in the past, I’m quite looking forward to working with oil again ….probably take a long time to find out exactly what I’m doing but now I have a larger studio I can work on both oil and acrylic and pastel pieces at the same time.   With a bit of luck I’ll have most of the ‘paperwork’ done by this evening and I can have an enjoyable few days down the studio now.

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Catching up

Posted by admin on November 11th, 2011
Inside my new studio (Studio J)

Inside my new studio (Studio J)

I’ve been back from Speyer for a week now…..and it was only yesterday that I started to feel like I was getting back into the swing of painting again!  Anyway, before anything else …the good news.  The paintings which were left in Speyer last week ….are now back in Irvine.  The company had insisted that the best they could offer (after failing to collect the packages on the day they were booked to) was a four hour collection slot one day this week.  I was trying to contact one of the chaps in the Künstlerbund to seek his help with this …when on Tuesday morning I had a phone call to say that the packages had been collected on the Monday and were due in Irvine on Wednesday!  I didn’t quite know what had happened until I got through to Mike Lauter a little later.  It appears that Mike having heard from Andrea about the problems we were having ….rang the companies local depot ….and had words.  What those words were I don’t know, but they gave him an exact collection time and arrived promptly’ …..a much better service and Mike didn’t have to wait around half or all the day waiting for them.  So, an even bigger thanks to Mike for fixing this.

It has as I say, been a week of catching up…..emails, letters, phone calls etc….but I seem to be getting through all that now.  The biggest thing really though has been trying to get back into the painting.  Since the end of September when the ‘rat’ forced me out of my old studio and into the new one, it’s been pretty hectic and so with the Open Weekend at the start of October, then all the preparations for the Speyer and Dundee exhibitions ……and then the two weeks in Germany ….well, I hadn’t really got much painting done.  I’ve always found in the past when we go away for our two weeks holiday in May that on returning it takes me quite a time to get back into work again.  Not doing any serious painting for the best part of five weeks has meant that it’s been a bit of a shock to the system the last few days.

My new studio building (Studio J)

My new studio building (Studio J)

I really like this new studio and once I’ve found places for everything and got into some kind of routine it should be very good.  It’ll take a bit of time though because with my sight so bad, I rely on memory as to where everything is.  When you move to a new place suddenly you have to once again rely on your sight to find things!  Suffice to say, I spend a lot of time at present wandering around peering vaguely and patting surfaces in the hope I’ll find whatever item it is I’m looking for …oh, and after five minutes of this there’s usually some choice language too!  It’s incredible how a magnifier or a certain paint brush or palette knife can simply disappear ….only to reappear in my back pocket or on the table in front of me fifteen minutes later!  Eventually though, as I get used to the space and layout of the new studio, everything will have its own place in the general mayhem that constitutes my work place …..and time wasting searches like this will become fewer.

The Courtyard Studios, Irvine

The Courtyard Studios, Irvine

The new studio is certainly in a good position, being right in the middle of the main studio building, facing into the courtyard and the main entrance way between The Ship Inn and the old courtyard studios building.  I will I’m sure miss the lovely view I had and the sounds of the birds I had in the summer …but I feel much more part of the small community of artists at the Courtyard now.  Indeed, with Gillian, David and Sheila working at the studios, the whole place has a much more lively appearance than a few years ago.  Yesterday for instance, only a couple of the doors were closed …most were open and busy …..it’s looking good for the future.  You’ll see from the photo of the building, that we still have no sign, but the last we heard was that  we’re waiting on planning permission which should be granted by end of November ….so keep your fingers crossed for us and if you live in Ayrshire don’t be afraid of calling in to see what we’re doing.

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A look back at Speyer

Posted by admin on November 5th, 2011
Autumn colours south of Speyer

Autumn colours south of Speyer

Well then, I’ve just returned from two weeks in Speyer, Germany.  As most of you will know, I was invited back there this year to hold a short exhibition of my Scottish landscape paintings at the Künstlerhaus.  The exhibition opened on the evening of Friday 21st October and my partner Anita and I travelled out on Wednesday 19th.  I had sent the work out a week or so earlier and several members of the Küstlerbund had kindly agreed to unwrap and hang the work prior to our arrival.

Suffice to say, the trip out went well without a hitch and we arrived at the Künstlerhaus in Speyer to find Holger Grimm (president of the Künstlerbund Speyer e.V) and several other members waiting to welcome us …and a table laid with wine and food!  It was a great reception and a wonderful way to start the trip.  They had done a fantastic job of hanging the work and it all looked good.

Speyer exhition preview - Photo by Ulrich Harer

Speyer exhibition preview - Photo by Ulrich Harer

We did have a little work still to do on Thursday and Friday before the preview though……on the way across, around a half of the packages containing the paintings, had been damaged …..and although the paintings had survived intact …a number of the frames had knocks and scrapes.  Thankfully these were wooden painted frames and Anita had bought with her, some filler and paint for just such an event.  After a day and a half of careful, filling, sanding and painting, always fixed and looking good again ….but what can you say about a company who manage to damage half of the packages they handle?!  All part of being an artist I guess …though I may have to look for another courier company …one who handles your gear with care.

Speyer exhibition preview - Photo by Ulrich Harer

Speyer exhibition preview - Photo by Ulrich Harer

It seemed quite strange being back at the Künstlerhaus where I’d lived and worked for four months last summer …and it really didn’t seem like a whole year had gone by since I was last there …amazing.    The preview went very well, Mike Lauter and Andrea Niessen had arrived early to set up the bar …as the evenings were getting cold, they’d decided to serve hot spiced wine and by the time people were starting to arrive, all was ready.   It was a good turn out and the first lady through the door bought one of my paintings …so a great start.  Indeed, some friends had actually turned up on Thursday evening …for a ‘pre preview’ …as they wanted to buy a painting …so there was already one red dot before we even opened the doors on Friday evening!

In the exhibition

In the exhibition

After a few words from Holger, Michael Lauter then made a speech …but with my lack of German, I’m not sure what he said …but it seemed to go down well …and so, if you’re reading this Mike, a big thanks for all your work and help.

It was a very good evening that ended with about a dozen people sat talking, drinking wine and eating pizza until around midnight!  Mike and Fred helped Nita and I clear up and so it must have been about half past one in the morning before I eventually turned the lights out in the gallery and headed upstairs to bed.

This trip though wasn’t all about work ….we’d hoped that it would be a bit of a holiday too ….and that is exactly how it turned out.  During the middle week we had many kind offers to visit people for meals or to go out and visit places with them …as a few people said, we had a busy programme!

View from the castle, Heidelberg

View from the castle, Heidelberg

We had a wonderful day with Stewart, Evelyn and Markus, walking one of the trails through the vineyards and hills to the south of Speyer.  The autumn colours were beautiful and just got brighter as days went by.  On Wednesday, under clear blue skies, we drove with Mike Lauter to Heidelberg, the beautiful university city nestling under the hills on either side of the Neckar.  We wandered along the side of the river to the old bridge and then across it to the old town for lunch.  High on the side of the hill overlooking the city is the wonderful old castle and like all tourists (and there were a lot of us) we just had to visit it and enjoy the stunning views from its battlements.

Visits to the studios of Künstlerbund members, Andrea Niessen and Martin Eckrich made for a fascinating day on Friday.  To get a flavour of what they each do …visit: www.andrea-niessen.de  and www.martin-eckrich.de .

The exhibition ended on Sunday 30th at 6pm and we  had a good turn out each weekend.  I seemed to get a good response to the work which was very pleasing and hopefully did a little to aid the Scottish tourist industry ….a lot of folk said they’d have to visit Scotland after seeing the paintings!  In the end, six of the paintings sold which was very pleasing and certainly made the whole trip more than viable.

The plan had been to repack the unsold work and arrange for its collection on Wednesday.  This would mean my being at the gallery to oversee the collection.  But, as they say ….the best made plans….’…..the courier company failed to collect despite my sitting waiting from8 am until11 pm!  Ahhhhhh!  We had to leave Speyer at 8.30 am the next morning and so it wasn’t until we reached Frankfurt airport that I had a chance to call and find out what was happening.  They’re now claiming I wasn’t there when their driver called ….but this is just *****!  The problem is that the work is now still in Germany and I have to ask someone in the Künstlerbund to wait for a newly arranged collection.  The courier company say that they can’t give a definite time and don’t seem to get the point that it’s their mess and they need to make an exception.  All is on hold now until next week …so hopefully I’ll have good news re this in my blog next week.  Anyway, this little hitch apart,  it proved a very enjoyable and successful trip and my thanks go out to everyone in the Künstlerbund Speyer e.V and everyone else who made us so welcome throughout our stay in Speyer.

Right then, that’s about it for this week.  I can’t wait to get down my studio again …it’s been a few weeks now since I did any serious painting and I’m getting withdrawal symptoms!

Photographs by Anita Groves and Ulrick Harer.  Many thanks both.

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‘Paintings from the hill’, Gallery Q, Dundee– October 22nd – November 11th 2011

Posted by admin on October 21st, 2011
'Winter on Ben Lui'

'Winter on Ben Lui'

Just a very short blog this week …I’m writing this early in order to get it away to John at admin before I go out to Speyer on Wednesday.  This blog is just to give you the details of my exhibition at:

 Gallery Q, (Queens Gallery) in Dundee,

160 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DU

‘Paintings from the hill’, Saturday 22nd October – Friday 11th November 2011
The exhibition contains 17 paintings and drawings including three of the new 80 x 80 cm paintings.

The exhibition can be viewed at:  www.galleyq.co.uk

Also showing at the gallery at the same time is an exhibition of paintings by a selected group of artists including: Francis Boag, Helga Chart RSW, Claire Harkess RSW, Martin Hill, Eleanor Ironside, John Johnstone, Jean Martin RSW, Nichola Martin, Christine McArthur RSW, Morag Muir, Anne Skinner & Heather Soutar.

Gallery hours:
Monday – Friday10am – 5.30pm
Saturday              10am – 5pm
Contact:  Tel: 01382 220600
Email:  art@galleryq.co.uk

If you live in this part of ScotlandI do hope you can get along to see the exhibition.  Included in this exhibition are the three paintings illustrated with this blog.

'Overlooking Strath Earn, October'

'Overlooking Strath Earn, October'

'December afternoon, Glen Etive'

'December afternoon, Glen Etive'

Speyer Exhibition

Finally, I’ve just received this photograph taken this morning at the Künstlerhaus in Speyer.  It shows artist Andrea Niessen helping to hang my paintings ready for my exhibition there opening Friday 21st October.

Artist Andrea Niessen helping to hang my exhibition at the Künstlerhaus in Speyer

Artist Andrea Niessen helping to hang my exhibition at the Künstlerhaus in Speyer

London Exhibition

Finally, finally ….just to remind anyone living down in London or SE England …I’ll be showing six paintings at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park this week.  Open Thursday 20th – Sunday 23rd.  My work will be represented by The Strathearn Gallery on Stand 114. Images of the six paintings can be seen on my Face Book page Keith Salmon – Scottish Landscape Artist.  Open hours: Thursday 11am – 5.30pm, Fri, Sat & Sunday 11am – 6pm.

If you do get along to any of these shows ….I hope you have a good time.  There will be no blog next week as I’ll be over in Germany…without my computer!  So a wee break before my next ‘ramble’ …hopefully posted by November 5th or 6th.

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100 not out …but no telegram from the Queen!

Posted by admin on October 7th, 2011
A little bit of Europe at the summit of Beinn Dubh

A little bit of Europe at the summit of Beinn Dubh

Well, according to my records …this is my 100th blog ….give or take one or two that is.  I’ve quite enjoyed writing these blogs, admittedly, some more than others.  Some weeks it’s easy …..there has been something definite to write about …a walk, an exhibition or something to have a moan about …like the council dismantling the crane on the harbour side.  Occasionally though, nothing obvious has taken place during the preceding week and then it’s more difficult.  On these occasions any resemblance of writing disappears and as you’ve no doubt noticed …all you get is a bit of a ramble.

Now then, by pure chance, ‘a bit of a ramble’ is just what we had on Tuesday!

But before I go on to tell of this I need to set the scene …and go back to an evening in September 2008.

Loch Lomond from Beinn Dubh

Loch Lomond from Beinn Dubh

I had been working in my studio and to my surprise at about seven o’clock in the evening, there was a knock on the door and four people came in to have a look at the work.  Stewart, a Scotsman now living and working in Germany, was visiting family in Irvine along with his wife Evelyn and two friends from the same region in Germany.  They had just been into The Ship Inn (where Stewart and Evelyn first met …I wont say how many years before) ….and on coming out onto the street they’d noticed the Courtyard Studios sign and decided to take a look.  The main reason for coming in was that their friend Markus is a sculptor and was interested in seeing what was being done in Irvine. At the time I had been working on a large 200 x 100 cm painting and Markus was really interested in this.  After quite a time he told me abut the artists group he was a member of over in Speyer…and went on to say about the annual scholarship offered each year to an artist from around the world.  He asked me if it was something I might consider applying for …and very casually I said yes.  Well, I didn’t really expect anything to come of this, but Markus good to his word, went back to Germany at the end of his holiday and passed details of my work and website onto the members of the committee of the Kuenstlerbund Speyer eV.

In January 2009 I received a phone call from them formerly asking me to apply for the 2010 scholarship.  The rest, as they say, is history.  For anyone reading these blogs, you’ll no doubt have followed the preparations for my trip to Speyer last summer …and the weekly reports from said city.  And of course, it didn’t stop on my return to Scotland in September last year for as you know, I’m just about to go back to Speyer with an exhibition of my latest Scottish landscape paintings.

Take-off point for Paisley!

Take-off point for Paisley!

So then, it was rather nice timing to learn a few weeks ago that Stewart, Evelyn and Markus were to be visiting Irvine again in early October.  They all turned up at the Open Weekend last Sunday and it was great seeing them all again.  Needless to say we ended up going for a pint of Guinness in The Ship later and arranged to meet up again on Tuesday morning in Luss on the side of Loch Lomond.  Markus had particularly wanted to see the loch, and what better way to see it than from one of the many hills rising around it.  It was a perfect excuse to go and walk my favourite little circuit in the Luss hills.  The only problem though was the weather.  There had already been much rain and severe gales and it seemed to be getting worse through the week..and getting colder too.  There was even forecasts of snow on the higher hills come Thursday.  So, Tuesday seemed the best of a bad bunch …showers and very strong winds forecast (gust to 75 mph) …but relatively high cloud …certainly above the Luss Hills if not the Munros.

We had a great little walk and Markus certainly experienced the Scottish hills in ‘real’ Scottish weather ….bursts of bright sunshine, heavy dark clouds sweeping across the skies and temporarily shrouding everything in sheets of rain …and all blown along by an increasingly wild wind.  Once above 500 m it was quite a battle just to make progress at times.  The gusts were so strong that we were almost blown off our feet and it was very slow progress over the last few hundred metres to the small cairn marking the summit of Beinn Dubh at a little over 600m  Wow….wild or what, but we made it.  Our plan had been to walk the usual horse shoe circuit around and over Mid Hill before descending to the single track road in Glen Luss, but it would have taken us a long time battling against these severe gales …so we decided to go back the same way with the wind behind us.  How we all didn’t end up being blown all the way to Paisley I really don’t know.

As I say to my colleagues sometimes …if you invite people into your studio, you never quite know what will come of it.  Little did I think back in September 2008 that three years later I’d have completed a four month long scholarship in Germany, held an exhibition of my Scottish paintings there …and been for a crazy walk in the Scottish hills with a Scottish / German translator, a German sculptor and a German teacher (retired!) …it could almost be the opening line for a joke!

Anyway, thanks again to Stewart, Evelyn and Markus for visiting my studio back in 2008 …it’s been a great adventure since then. I hope they enjoy the exhibition in Speyer in a couple of weeks time when we all meet up again at the preview on Friday 21st October.

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    E-mail: keith@keithsalmon.org