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Blog 250 staggering at times, but not quite out!

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

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

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

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

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

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

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

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

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

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

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

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

Exhibition at Great Glen House, September 2009

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

 

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

Plans

Yesterday I had a meeting with Alison and Graeme from the Harbour Arts Centre here in Irvine.  The meeting was to start to discuss my plans for the forthcoming exhibition and big drawing project, scheduled for the end of November through until 12th January.

Starting point, the Dom drawing, Speyer 2010

Starting point, the Dom drawing, Speyer 2010

There were a good number of things I wanted to check with them not least the practical side of doing the big drawing.  I wanted, in particular, to check just how much access I’d get to do the work…… creating a 4.5m x 1.5m drawing is going to take quite a lot of time.  Thankfully I needn’t have worried as I should be able to get to work on the drawing for up to 12 hours most days and should be able to work some of the days over the Christmas / New Year period if I’m running late!  This is quite a relief as I was thinking I’d only have about five weeks in which to complete everything…now it seems, I’ll have nearer 6 – 7 weeks.

Test drawings in my studio

Test drawings in my studio

As you know, as well as creating the drawing in the gallery, I’ll also be holding a standard exhibition of smaller works and we’ve decided that on the preview evening, I’ll speak about my work and the drawing project for five or so minutes so that everyone has an idea of what they’re looking at and what will be taking place throughout the course of the exhibition.  Slightly more unusual though is that we’ve also agreed to hold a ‘Post view’ at the end of the exhibition.  By this stage, I should with a modicum of luck and a bit of hard work, have finished the big drawing and it seems a good idea to invite everyone back to see what it looks like.  I’ve also proposed that I donate the finished drawing to the North Ayrshire Council art collection and the post view evening could be the ideal opportunity to formally hand the drawing over.

Among other topics discussed was the idea of setting up a web cam so that we can promote the project to an audience outside of Ayrshire.   Having something that would be ‘live’ however, made us all a little nervous I think and after some thought Graeme suggested that instead, we set up a time lapse camera that would record the work regularly throughout a 7 hour period.  At the end of each day, the resulting footage could be checked and uploaded to a website so that folk could follow the progress of the drawing on-line….but just not ‘live’.  It seems a very good idea and I’ll be very happy with that.  I’m leaving Graeme to sort all this technical stuff out…..needless to say I’m not very good with things like that!

More test drawings

More test drawings

Alison also asked me whether it’d be OK if she arranges for some schools to visit while I’m working on the drawing.  She’s suggested that I could perhaps do a formal talk in the Harbour Arts Centre theatre the same day.  This seems like another good idea and I’m more than happy to do this.  Over the last few years I’ve been asked to speak about my work on several occasions and although it involves quite a lot of preparatory work, it has always been worth while.  Indeed, I’ve recently had two enquiries to work as a guest speaker which is quite exciting especially as one of them is abroad.  Anyway, more of that another time; for the moment I have enough to think about with this project.  As you can see though, things are well under way and I’m really looking forward to starting the drawing in five months or so time.    I’ll keep you up to date on how things progress.

An invitation to exhibit my work in Germany

Jürgen's work

Jürgen’s work

When I was last over in Speyer in November 2011, (exhibiting a collection of my Scottish paintings in the Künstlerhaus) I got talking to a chap called Jürgen Fischer.  He had come along to see the exhibition with a friend and he told me that several years previously he’d lived and worked on the west coast of Ireland.  He is a sculptor and he’d spent his time creating work from the bog oak he found there.  As we talked we realised we both had a very similar outlook to these wild and rugged landscapes and shortly afterwards he wrote and suggested that we try and hold an exhibition together sometime.

As you know, I didn’t hold any exhibitions last year. I wanted instead, to use the time to try and develop my work.  This year though, I have organised two exhibitions …the first you know about ….the exhibition at ‘the gallery on the corner’ in Edinburgh back in March.  The second one will take place at Blairmore Gallery near Dunoon from 19th August – 5th October 2013.  I’ll be posting more details about this as the time approaches.  The gallery owners there have kindly invited me to hold exhibitions on a number of occasions over the past 5 or so years and I’ve always enjoyed showing work there …it’s a great little gallery and one that’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Jürgen's work

Jürgen’s work

Jürgen's work

Jürgen’s work

Jürgen's work

Jürgen’s work

Jürgen's work

Jürgen’s work

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I received an email from Jürgen asking me whether I’d like to hold an exhibition with him in Germany in the autumn.  Wow ….great stuff ….and of course I’ve said ‘yes’.  The details are to be confirmed, but with a bit of luck we’ll be holding an exhibition together for a few weeks in late September – early October.   It is going to be quite a congested time but well worth it if it all goes to plan.  Anyway, I’ll give full details once I have them, but in the meantime, here are a few photos of Jürgen’s work.  I’m already thinking that I may well do more large graphite drawings for this exhibition …I think they will work well with his sculpture. It’s certainly going to be an exciting few months with much drawing and painting needing to be done!

Latest Glen Rosa drawing, 'Towards Cir Mhor, a winter afternoon'

Latest Glen Rosa drawing, ‘Towards Cir Mhor, a winter afternoon’

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A new drawing….but not of a mountain!

The first of the new Dom drawings

The first of the new Dom drawings

Despite much time spent working on my computer this week and much sitting in meetings, I have managed to do some painting and drawing.  I have even got two pieces close to or perhaps even completed.  The drawing I’ve done is a bit of a look back ….it’s a new Dom drawing.  You’ll no doubt remember that in Speyer in 2010 I did a number of pastel drawings of the Dom, (the huge cathedral).  One of them, as I talked about in last week’s blog, was big, and now hangs on a wall in the lobby of a new hotel and restaurant in Speyer.  I also did three other similar drawings on a smaller scale …about 1m x 80cm and two of these sold and the other I gave to a friend in Speyer.  Anyway, a few weeks ago this friend contacted me to say that a colleague had seen the drawing she had and had asked if she knew whether I had any other similar drawings left over from my stay in the city.  In short, I didn’t, but I said that I’d try working on some new pieces and see what happened.

It was quite strange going back to something I’d not actually seen for over 18 months and although I have the original small working drawings and sketches I did along with a selection of photos ….they don’t in all honesty give me that much information.  Instead, what I do have is the memories of walking around the huge building, its massive bulk and height radiating the intense light of mid summer.  I’ve decided therefore, to try and create drawings that are more about these aspects of the building…..drawings that are slightly more solid than the original ‘big sketches’ I did.  I have as I say, just completed the first of these new drawings and am quite pleased with the way it’s gone.  It’s used up a lot of pastel though and before I can really get my teeth into the next one I’m going to have to order more materials.  It’s a start though and has made a very interesting change.  I’m not sure what the chap over in Speyer will think of these new pieces once they’re done but hopefully he’ll like them…..and if not, it doesn’t matter as I’m having a great time just doing the work…….and that, when all is said and done, is what it’s all about.

Back to Glen Rosa…

Heading into Glen Rosa

Heading into Glen Rosa

You may remember that back in the summer of 2010 when I was working over in Speyer in southern Germany, I made a very large drawing.  On that occasion it was based on the idea of walking around the outside of the huge cathedral that dominates the historic city of Speyer.  It was like a very large, (4 m x 1.5 m) sketch, made using different shades of grey oil pastel.  At the time I thought it might be my only opportunity to create such a large drawing and it was hugely enjoyable working on such a scale.

In Glen Rosa

In Glen Rosa

More recently, I started working on some new small graphite drawings based on the hills and mountains.  I’ve been quite excited by these new drawings but even as I was doing them I felt that they would work much better on a larger scale.  To start with I was really only thinking about moving up from A2 size to perhaps double A1 size, but then when we visited the Isle of Arran and did a walk up Glen Rosa a couple of months ago, I started to get an idea for another really big drawing!  As we walked up the glen that day with the mountains all around and covered with snow, it started me thinking that this was almost the opposite to the Speyer cathedral ….where as the drawing I did of that was about walking around the huge building, here in Glen Rosa it was like walking inside a huge natural structure.  Perhaps, I thought, I could create a big graphite drawing that conveyed something of the experience of being in this spectacular place.

A wild place, Glen Rosa

A wild place, Glen Rosa

The walls in my studio aren’t really suited to doing a large drawing as they are made from concrete blocks and have many pipes and electrical conduits running down them.   It would however be possible to build a ‘false wall’ in front of this to create a large, smooth drawing surface and so this might be the way to go.  The other option though might be to see this not just as a chance to do a big drawing but instead to try and make this more of an event, a way to promote both myself as an artist and the work itself.  To do this I’d have to find a suitable public place to do the drawing and to promote the event as an opportunity for people to see the work in progress.  As I anticipate such a drawing taking at least 4 weeks, it might be good for folk to be able to watch the thing develop, see the changes and mistakes; in short, to see the process.  Taking this idea further, it might also be possible to set up a video cam linked to my website so that a much larger audience could watch the drawing develop.

Looking towards the Saddle

Looking towards the Saddle

It’s all ideas at the moment but on Wednesday we went back over to the Isle of Arran and headed once again for Glen Rosa. A few months ago I was invited to take part in some research work that was being done into the way visually impaired people perceive paintings.  The research was being done by a chap called David Feeney from Edinburgh, and he recently got back to me to ask whether he could visit my studio and bring along a friend of his who is a film maker / photographer.  It was an interesting few hours and to cut a long story short, they then asked if they could accompany Nita and me on one of our walks.  David was interested in seeing the way Nita and I work together as ‘walker and guide’.

 In Glen Rosa

In Glen Rosa

Our original plan was to meet at the Pentland Hills just outside Edinburgh but with heavy snow falling in the east, we decided instead to go over to the Isle of Arran and walk Glen Rosa.  The path up the glen is for me much more difficult than the paths on the Pentland Hills so even though we would not be going up high, David and his colleague Dan would get a much better idea of how the guiding process worked.  Of course it also gave me the opportunity to see the glen again ….and further develop my plans for the big drawing.  Conditions were once again perfect, with snow on the mountains and their tops disappearing into heavy and dramatic clouds.

The walk proved useful for all of us.  Dan got lots of film and photos taken, David asked many questions and I got lots of interesting information from both of them about how I might go about organising my big Glen Rosa drawing.  Nita had an enjoyable walk and took plenty of photos too and we were delighted to find that David and Dan had left us a bottle of wine and some chocolate eggs …..everyone happy!

Seven drawings

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‘Early morning, Rannoch Moor’

Earlier this week I took the seven new graphite drawings down to my framer in Prestwick. I’ve asked them to mount the drawings only as there won’t be enough space in the gallery to hang them. The drawings though will be on display in a stand and will be available for sale should anyone take a fancy to any of them.

It’s now about 07.15 and I’m rushing to get things completed on this computer as I have to get down to the studio quite early today. Over the last few weeks or so I’ve been posting odd photos of some of the drawings but I thought I’d take this opportunity to show them all together. Of course this has the advantage that I don’t have to write much this morning ….it’s one of those ‘picture blogs’ this week! Anyway, I hope you find them of interest.

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‘East over Rannoch Moor, early morning’

They’re all done on thick off white paper …I think it was 220 g paper and I’ve used soft graphite pencils scribbled down in over lapping layers. I’ve also cut back through the dark areas using a soft rubber and have tried to control some of these marks by light applications of fixative at points throughout the drawing process. They are all A2 size, so not huge …but I think they may well deserve to be taken to a much larger scale.

This is just a thought at present but it would be nice to do something on the scale of the large drawing I did when I was in Speyer in the summer of 2010. That drawing was just over 4 m long by 1.5 m high! It would certainly mean using a lot of graphite sticks.

Anyway, here are the rest of the drawings ….if you can get along to see them for real they’ll be on display at ‘the gallery on the corner’, 34 Northumberland St, Edinburgh EH3 6LS throughout March. The gallery is open, Tues – Sat, 11.00 – 17.00. I must dash now…..

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‘East from Ba cottage, early morning’

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‘Fresh snow, the Ochils’

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‘Winter patterns, Beinn Dorain’

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‘Winter slopes, Blackmount’

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‘In the Luss hills’

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A day of small drawings

'Canisp & Suilven, Assynt', Graphite on wood, 2012, 148 x 210 mm

‘Canisp & Suilven, Assynt’, Graphite on wood, 2012

As the title suggests, today has been a day of graphite pencils rather than paint and brushes.  It has made a good change and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my few hours at the studio.  Yesterday I started playing around with a few ideas for drawings about Ailsa Craig and spent my last hour in the studio scribbling in a sketch book.  I quite liked one of the small drawings and today decided to try and do another version …..this time using a graphite pencil on board.  It made for some very nice marks and after doing one I got into it and over the next few hours did another three small pieces in this manner.  One of them based on the idea of looking across to the hills over on the Isle of Arran and the other two based on sketches I did up in Assynt a few years ago.

2 'Ailsa', Graphite on board, 2012, 148 x 210 mm

‘Ailsa’, Graphite on board, 2012, 148 x 210 mm

It is surprising what interesting marks can be made working onto wood as opposed to paper and in a similar way that the pastels I use pick up the surface of the paint, here the pencil picked up the small ridges in the primed surface. I was using a fairly soft graphite pencil most of the time – 6B, but for finer marks I worked with a 2B.  Each of the drawings are quite small …just A5 size and I may include several of these in a local exhibition next month.  The exhibition organiser asked especially for small pieces at the lower end of the price range.  I’ll post full details about this in a few weeks time.

'Assynt skyline', Graphite on board, 2012, 148 x 210 mm

‘Assynt skyline’, Graphite on board, 2012

Of course, now I’ve done these small pieces I’m already wondering quite what a larger piece would look like done in the same way?  As I already have several boards cut that are either 60 x 60 cm or 80 x 80 cm, I’ll probably try something at this size.  However, I’m getting a vague thought that perhaps something considerably bigger might work really well …perhaps 90 cm wide by 160 cm high.  Using the same scale of mark as the small pieces would be very time consuming on a large area but would be very interesting.  If I do try something like this then I think I’ll have to buy myself a good audio book to listen too while I’m drawing.

When I was in Speyer two years ago I worked on a fairly abstract painting that was I think 80 x 140 cm and I scribbled very fine marks into the whole of the surface.  This took me a couple of days of very slow work …and I was thankful there of having a good book to read while I worked.  Oh well, I guess it’s just a case of watch this space ….I’ll hopefully have time to try something like this soon.

'Across to Arran', Graphite on board, 2012, 148 x 210 mm

‘Across to Arran’, Graphite on board, 2012

I’ve just heard from ‘the gallery on the corner’ in Edinburgh that they’ve just sold one of my 76 x 23 cm paintings.  As they also sold one of my 30 x 30 cm pieces not long ago, I’ll have to get some replacements to them soon.  I have work going to The Strathearn Gallery for their Christmas Exhibition as well as several pieces going to The Framework Gallery in Troon for their pre Christmas exhibition too.  As I say, full details of both of these exhibitions soon ….the point is, that I’ll have to get a few new small acrylic and pastel pieces done ….it’s all go…..but very enjoyable!

 

Seeing the best of Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis CIC Hut

Ben Nevis CIC Hut

One of the most difficult things about painting the landscape is I think, working out how to convey how big everything is. Without a point of reference ….something man made, capturing the vastness of a moor or mountain can be very challenging. With my fuzzy sight, I have just as much a problem when I’m actually out walking in these wild places ….judging whether I have an hour to walk to reach the top of a crag, or five minutes, without the aid of a map, is tricky. Occasionally though, you go somewhere that just reeks its huge scale.

On Monday we went to just such a place ….the base of the North Face of Ben Nevis.

We walked this, Scotland’s and the UK’s highest mountain several years ago by the standard ‘tourist’ path and although I stood at the top, I never really felt quite how big this mountain was. On Monday though, I got the idea.

Ben Nevis North Face

Ben Nevis North Face

A very good path leads up through the forest before following the stream that flows out from beneath the great cliffs of the north face. Your first view is from a small view point created in the forest but at this stage it just looked to me like another mountain. Once above the forest line though I started to realise just how big a lump of a hill Ben Nevis is. I thought the first cliffs were quite near but as we continued to walk towards them I realised we still had a good distance to walk. As we got closer the dark crags grew bigger and bigger and what I had thought was a single line of cliffs, became a series of great buttresses and a deep corrie – Coire na Ciste. Tucked up at the head of the glen beneath this and complex face, is the CIC Hut. It has been very well built so that it blends in with its dramatic surroundings and it was to this that we were heading.

Our friend and walking companion Guy had in the past climbed a couple of the routes on the North Face and it was his idea that we walk up to the CIC Hut. He assured me that it would not be time wasted and that I just had to see and experience this magnificent setting …he also suggested that it would be an excellent place to do some drawing and painting. Well, I can’t argue, he got it right on all accounts! We sat gawping at the face, so big, so complex and so beautiful. On this occasion I just brought my camera but this is definitely a place to return on another fine day to sit and draw.

I’m not quite sure why, but walking up this magnificent glen underneath the North Face of Ben Nevis, reminded me so much of the time I spent in Speyer the other summer …walking around the massive cathedral there. Just like on Monday beneath Ben Nevis, I used to end up with a crick in my neck from staring up at its highest towers and buttresses trying to work out how it all fitted together and how I might do a drawing or painting of it. In the end, I solved the problem in Speyer by matching scale with scale …in other words doing a very large drawing …4.2 m long by 1.5 m high. As we stood, tiny against this great natural structure …the highest in Scotland, I remembered the Speyer drawing and started to ponder on whether I ought to attempt another …this time based on the North Face of Ben Nevis.

Dom drawing, Speyer

Dom drawing, Speyer

  ‘Photographs by Gjuy Hansford and Mike Lauter’

A look back at Speyer

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.

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