counter hit xanga
Latest Blogs | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings - Part 13

The First Week: Glen Rosa Drawing Project – Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine

Posted by admin on December 3rd, 2014

“Glen Rosa Drawing Project – Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine – 27th November 2014 – 9th January 2015”

The first week!

Well then, yesterday saw me reach the end of day 7 on this huge drawing. As you can see, we didn’t get video of the first 3 days but in all honesty, it was pretty tedious! I have, as you know, been working on a whole series of test drawings in which I’ve tried to experiment with both the way I use the graphite and the overall composition. I have then a reasonable idea of the very basic composition and the type of image I want the finished piece to be, but of course, as soon as you increase the scale…everything is different. As such the first day was spent tediously measuring out the drawing area into rough blocks 0.75m x 0.75m and then very vaguely marking in a few of the main elements of the drawing.

Days 2 and 3 were pretty daunting as I wanted to cover the entire area of the drawing with finely scribbled line. The purpose of this is to give me something to start working in to and on to. This entire drawing is going to be created using different types of scribbled line; some thin and feint, some broad and dark, using 9B graphite pencils. As I said, putting in the first layer of fine marks seemed never ending. I started at the right hand side and worked my way left, but just like climbing a steep hill, where the summit never seems to get any closer, here the left hand edge of the drawing always seemed out of reach!… perhaps if I hadn’t spent so much time talking, drinking coffee and going for lunch, I may have reached the end of the first layer sooner!

From this point onwards I have been trying to create the basic structure of the drawing. My viewpoint is up at the head of Glen Rosa on the Isle of Arran, where the mountains curve around in a great arc. In this drawing I have, to start with, tried to indicate the shapes of the principal peaks and ridges. As with all my work, I’m not trying to produce an accurate record of the view or skyline, but merely create something that gives the feel of the place. Interestingly, I’ve had a number of people come up to me who’ve seen the drawing at this stage and who have immediately said that it looked like Glen Rosa.

I’ve almost completed this second stage of the drawing and have about another hours’ work to do…then things start becoming more interesting. In the next few days, I’ll be starting to increase the tones and scale of marks and will be starting to use erasers to rub back through the different layers. It’s very exciting and I’m thoroughly enjoying doing this piece. The Harbour Arts Centre is a great location for such a project and it is already generating a lot of interest, as visitors to the centre find this strange artist madly scribbling away. If you live in the area, do pop in at some stage. It would be great to see you. If I’m running out of time to get the drawing completed, I may just give you a pencil and tell you to get scribbling!

‘A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe’

Posted by admin on November 24th, 2014
'A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe', Acrylic and Pastel, 2014, 122 x 61 cm

‘A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe’

‘A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe’, Acrylic and Pastel, 2014, 122 x 61 cm, RP £1400

I completed this somewhat more traditional scene a week or so before I went off to Brazil and so with all that followed, didn’t really get much chance to see it before putting it into my latest exhibition at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine. I’m glad to say that it looks good and makes quite a change from the square format I usually use.

The painting is based on a damp misty morning as we drove north through Glen Coe towards Loch Leven and the Mamores. It was such a beautiful view with the mists breaking around this wonderful peak, that I asked Nita to stop so that I could just look and then take several photos. I rarely paint this kind of view but in this case made an exception ….especially as I wanted to create quite a large painting. This piece is 122cm x 61cm and would make a good centre-piece for any large wall.

The painting is part of my “In Sun, snow, mist and rain” exhibition at the Harbour Arts Centre, 114 – 116 Harbour St, Irvine, Ayrshire, KA12 8PZ. The exhibition opens on Thursday evening, 27th November 2014 and runs until January 9th 2015. Any paintings purchased for Christmas can be collected from the gallery a few days before ……check with reception at the Harbour Arts Centre.

I hope you can get along to the exhibition either on the preview, 7pm – 9pm, (all welcome, no invitation needed) or at some point before 9th January. Please spread the word!

Finally, back blogging again!

Posted by admin on November 24th, 2014

“In sun, snow mist and rain”
An exhibition and drawing project by Keith Salmon
Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine. 28th November 2014 – 9th January 2015

Well then, it’s been a good few weeks since my last blog and I can only apologise. I occasionally miss an odd week but in over four years have never missed 5 weeks on a row! As anyone who follows my Face Book page, Keith Salmon – Scottish Landscape Artist will know, I became unwell while away in Brazil at the start of October and unfortunately got worse on my return to Scotland. It ended up with me in hospital for 11 days and it’s been a slow recovery since getting home…..hence no blog! A very big thanks to all the staff on ward 3F at Crosshouse Hospital…..they looked after me so well.

Anyway, I’m getting back to normal now although playing catch-up with all the plans for my exhibition and drawing project at the Harbour Arts Centre ……opening on Thursday evening, 27th November, 7pm – 9pm. Of course, of course, Nita took up the reins while I was in hospital and kept everything on course for me. Thankfully all the paintings were ready and it was the organisational side, emails, getting the posters and invitation printed and out…….etc, that needed doing. She did a great job and I’m expecting a hefty bill when her invoice comes in!!!! So then, a big thank you to her for all the work she has done for me over the last six weeks ……as well as visiting me twice daily while I was in the hospital. I think she is more exhausted than I am. I think I need to buy her some chocolate or something!

The exhibition, containing I think, 31 paintings, was hung on Thursday last week. It was a little earlier than planned as Joe and Graham who normally hang the exhibitions at the HAC are both on holiday this week. They did an excellent job and I’m very pleased with the way it all looks and have already had some good comments from visitors to the centre. The big 4.5 m x 1.5m piece of paper is up on the wall and ready for me to start work on the Glen Rosa drawing. Having a few days extra now, I’ve decided to start work on it a little early……tomorrow in fact. This will be quite good for the preview though as it’ll mean there will be the start of the drawing for people to see, rather than a big blank piece of paper. I can’t wait to start ….it’s really exciting.

We’ll be making short time lapse recordings of each days work and these will go up on-line. I haven’t the full details yet but will post this information ASAP. I’ll make sure we have a link from my website to the footage so that anyone not living close by can follow the progress of the drawing. Of course I’ll not be working there every day as I want to start doing a bit of walking again. I lost well over a stone in weight and all my hard work at getting fit over the last 10 months has gone with the illness. I’ll probably start with a couple of low level walks to get the legs back into action before thinking about going up a hill again. I’ll no doubt keep you up to date with all the agonies of getting fit again!!

Right then, I do hope some of you can get along to the Preview on Thursday evening or manage to call into the Harbour Arts Centre to see the exhibition and the big drawing at some point over the next month or so. I look forward to meeting you. Please help spread the word ….thank you.

Keith Salmon Harbour Arts Centre Exhibition 2014

Keith Salmon Harbour Arts Centre Exhibition 2014

-o-o-o-o-

‘Towards the Blackmount, winter’

Posted by admin on October 23rd, 2014
'Towards the Blackmount, winter', Oil on canvas, 2014, 120 x 120 cm

‘Towards the Blackmount, winter’

 

‘Towards the Blackmount, winter’, Oil on canvas, 2014, 120 x 120 cm

This large oil painting was completed a few weeks ago before my trip to Brazil.  At the time I thought I’d need to leave it for a while to make sure I was happy with it……and the two week long break for the Open Weekend and the flying visit to Brazil, were perfect.  When I got back to the studio a few days ago and saw this painting, I decided that it was indeed finished.

The painting is based on an earlier smaller piece I did several years ago.  I wanted to try and develop the image in this larger painting and have used thick layers of oil paint put down with a large course brush to build up the surface.

This painting will be included in my forthcoming exhibition at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine.  The exhibition runs from November 28th 2014 – January 09 2015.  I hope you can get along to see this piece.

Back in Scotland…..and painting again…..take 2!

Posted by admin on October 23rd, 2014

I actually wrote this blog yesterday evening but after 3 hours my computer crashed and I somehow lost the whole document! So here we go again.

Well then, that’s us back in sunny Scotland and back to business as usual at the studio. We arrived back from Brazil after a very long journey, at about 01.00 last Thursday morning. Wow, quite a trip, especially as only about two weeks before I been bumbling along getting work ready for the Harbour Arts Centre show in November and planning the big studio tidy-up before the Courtyard Studios Open Weekend on 4th / 5th October.

On the initial tour of the Matarazzo Hospital exhibition

On the initial tour of the Matarazzo Hospital exhibition

Then, right out of the blue I get an email from a company in Brazil asking if I can get down to Sao Paulo for a few days before October 12th. To be honest, I didn’t really know quite what to make of it as sadly there are a lot of internet scams aimed at artists these days. I decided to send it to John who not only does all the admin for this website but also acts as my agent and advisor. He very kindly checked it out and got back to me the next day saying that all was OK and that if I was prepared to rush down to Sao Paulo at short notice, he’d try and fix everything with the people in Brazil.

Sketching the old buildings

Sketching the old buildings

Well, it was a hectic few days with emails winging there way back and forth between John, (who is based in Bogota), Lucila (the lady organising the trip in Sao Paulo) and I. Finally on Tuesday 7th we got the email from Brazil saying all was “go” and that they’d be booking the flights and hotel and getting back to us. Things in the Salmon / Groves house were somewhat crazy at this stage as we suddenly had to get everything arranged to go away the following evening ….Nita had to arrange time off from work, we had to get the cat to the cattery, (he wasn’t amused) and we also had to get everything packed. In the end the flight left Edinburgh at 06.00 Thursday morning and so it wasn’t quite as mad a rush as we’d thought ….but pretty mad all the same!

In the Matarazzo Hospital

In the Matarazzo Hospital

I had been invited to travel to Sao Paulo to take part in a large arts project in the city. The project involves creating a new art, culture and tourism centre on the site of the old un-used Matarazzo hospital. Before the work starts though it had been decided that they would hold a large contemporary art exhibition in the grounds and buildings of this fine old hospital. The exhibition ended on Sunday 12th October and one of the sponsors thought it would be a great idea to invite a professional artist who was visually impaired to visit the exhibition and to then create a small series of paintings capturing the spirit of the place and work. I was the lucky person to be invited.

A quick hop took us to Amsterdam and then we had the eleven and a half hour haul down to Sao Paulo. Phew, was I glad to get off that plane or what?! Thankfully we were met by a very nice chap called Gilsom who drove us the 45 minutes into the city and our hotel.

Friday proved a very busy one as we met up with a representative of the company sponsoring my trip (Absolut Elyx) and were then given a guided tour around the exhibition…..being followed the whole way by a small film crew who were there to record the meeting for the company. The afternoon found me being interviewed for one of the Sao Paulo daily newspapers. After that I was able to get down to some work and expertly guided as usual by Nita, I spent the rest of Friday and a good chunk of Saturday and Monday wandering around the exhibition, just looking, photographing, sketching and just taking everything in ….in short, doing exactly what I do when we’re in the hills. After 4 hours in very hot conditions on Monday (it was 38° C) I decided that I’d probably got enough to work with and we retreated to the cool of our very posh air conditioned hotel ….and finished with a cold beer!

One of the many exhibits

One of the many exhibits

We flew back the following day, but with a nine hour wait in Paris for the connecting flight to Edinburgh ….hence the 01.00 arrival home in Irvine on Thursday morning. Suffice to say that we were a little whacked by the time we finally put our heads down and only surfaced mid morning for an hour or so in order to go claim our cat back from the cattery…….he wasn’t amused!

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been all the way to Brazil and back ….perhaps it was just a dream? But no! We have the packet of Brazil nuts from the hotel mini-bar to prove it! Now the interesting bit begins…..I have five paintings to complete by late February.

I have my attention back on the Harbour Arts Centre exhibition and the big drawing project there in November / December, but reckon I’ll probably do the smaller Brazil paintings in the evenings after I’ve finished the days work on the big graphite drawing. I’ll then be able to do the final larger painting once the HAC show is over at the end of the first week in January. The finished Brazil paintings are to be shipped back to Sao Paulo and then put in a gallery and auctioned to raise funds for the on-going project. I’ll keep you updated on all this work … doubt that I’ll be spending much time at home over the next few months. Watch this space.

A few days in Brazil

Posted by admin on October 12th, 2014

Twelve days ago I was bumbling along, starting to get in a bit of a panic about preparations for our Open Weekend. Then, out of the blue, I received an email from Lucila Longi, an employee of a Brazilian PR company, working in Sao Paulo. She explained that a client of theirs was involved in a large arts project in the city and they were keen to know if I could travel to Sao Paulo for a few days to take part in the project.

One of the large sculptures in the Sao Paulo exhibition

One of the large sculptures in the Sao Paulo exhibition: ‘Made by Brazilians’

As you can imagine, this was somewhat of a surprise and I passed it on to my agent, John and asked him to find out more about the project. There were a number of quite frantic days of negotiation before finally, on Tuesday we got the go ahead.

The project is based in an old, large and disused hospital building close to the centre of Sao Paulo. The building is shortly to be converted into an Arts and Cultural Centre, but before the work starts, the sponsors have organised a huge exhibition there, consisting of a hundred Brazilian and international artists.

Entrance to the old hospital at Cidade Matarazzo, Sao Paulo

Entrance to the old hospital at Cidade Matarazzo, Sao Paulo

I have been invited to spend a few days visiting and recording the building and exhibition prior to the new development. On my return to Scotland, I have been asked to create several paintings that capture the spirit of the building and this remarkable exhibition.

This all happened very rapidly and with the exhibition closing today, they needed to get me down to Brazil straight away. The sponsors very kindly agreed to pay for both myself and Anita to travel to and stay in Brazil, as they appreciated I would need a guide.

Suffice to say, it’s been a remarkable few days. The exhibition is really excellent and the old hospital building is a great venue. With the exhibition now over, the curator is meeting us tomorrow, so that we can spend a final day taking more photos, videos and for me to do some further drawings. We’re flying back on Tuesday evening and will arrive in Scotland somewhat crumpled, no doubt, around 24 hours after leaving Sao Paulo. Phew! Quite a week! More about this later.

Photographing part of the exhibition 'Made by Brazilians' at Cidade Matarazzo

Photographing part of the exhibition ‘Made by Brazilians’ at Cidade Matarazzo

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

‘A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe’

Posted by admin on October 3rd, 2014
'A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe'

‘A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe’

‘A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe’, Acrylic and Pastel, 2014, 122 x 61 cm

This is one of my latest acrylic and pastel paintings. Based on a view we had as we were travelling north through Glen Coe a while back, it is rather unusual for me in that it is not only a low level view point but also done in a more traditional landscape format. I have to say that I’ve really enjoyed working on this piece although my partner Anita reckons I ought to paint more scenes of bright sunny conditions rather than these mistier, damp ones! She might have a point ….but I do love watching the mists break over and around the mountains. Anyway, this painting although just finished, will be on show at the Open Studios Weekend at the Courtyard studios this Saturday 4th / Sunday 5th October should you fancy coming down to see it for real. We’ll be open Saturday 4th, 11 am – 5pm and Sunday 5th, 12 noon – 5pm. Rumour has it that one of my colleagues will be having chocolate biscuits in his studio although if Nita and I get there first there may not be many left! You’d better arrive early!

A very rushed blog!

Posted by admin on October 3rd, 2014
Courtyard Studios, Irvine

Courtyard Studios, Irvine

No lengthy paragraphs describing beautiful Scottish scenery this week. We haven’t been anywhere near a hill or glen since our trip to Tyndrum the other week I’m afraid. It’s been a very hectic time both getting everything ready for the Open Weekend at Courtyard Studios this Saturday and Sunday and starting the preparations for my exhibition and drawing project at the Harbour Arts Centre starting on Nov 28th. This is still two months away but much of the organising and promotion has to be done in the next few weeks. This will involve much hammering away on this computer keyboard ….something that I’m not too proficient at. With all this on the go, another potential project has just appeared which, although not finalised yet, has been taking much of my thoughts. Suffice to say that it is very exciting and may well involve creating another large drawing or painting. Anyway, more about that as and when I know whether it’s happening or not.

I’ve almost got my studio ready for the Open Weekend now. I spent most of yesterday finishing the tidying. All the paintings are now in place so today’s jobs include labelling everything, and then painting the last bit of the floor ….remembering to make sure I have my bag and coat by the door and not at the far end of the studio on the wrong side of the wet paint!

Anyway, it should be a very good Open Weekend as Stephanie has been doing a great job at co-ordinating everything this year ….so a big thanks to her for all her hard work. So then, I hope some of you can get along to the Courtyard studios this weekend and as a final reminder:

Open Studios Invitation 2014

Open Studios Invitation 2014

‘Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt’

Posted by admin on September 28th, 2014
'Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt', Acrylic & Pastel, 2014, 30 x 30 cm

‘Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt’

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

People often ask me how I create these paintings and whether I just do them from photographs. This piece is an interesting case and kind of answers that question.

When we are walking I do of course take quick photographs. If the weather is good and the midges aren’t too thick, I stop and do very quick sketches. I use both of these as memory joggers ….but most of the work comes simply from the memories of the places we go and the hours and hours we spend each year wandering over the hills and through the glens of Scotland.

Back in May we spent a fine day walking one of the finest hills in Assynt, Cul Mor. We actually had some pretty fine weather for the whole of the walk and had some marvellous views out across this strange and beautiful landscape. As the day went on however, the cloud thickened and it became quite gloomy and threatening. We were well down the hill by the time the cloud started to drop onto the summits but I remember it being a very strange kind of light and scene. This painting then is actually based on a view point high up on the hill, but trying to imagine what it would have looked like if we’d still been up there as the cloud started to descend.

This new little painting will be one of those on display, (and for sale, price £485) in my studio during the Courtyard Studios Open Weekend, Saturday 4th October, 11am – 5pm, and Sunday 5th October 2014, 12 noon – 5pm. I hope you can get along to see it next weekend. Everyone welcome. For more details about the event please see my latest blog.

Getting ready for the: Courtyard Studios Open Weekend

Posted by admin on September 28th, 2014

Getting ready for the: Courtyard Studios Open Weekend, Saturday / Sunday 4th / 5th October 2014

I’m really busy at the moment getting everything arranged for my exhibition and drawing project starting at the end of November. As such, I decided a few days ago that instead of spending a whole week (as usual) getting the studio tidy and clean, ready for our annual Open Studios Weekend next Saturday and Sunday, I’d carry on working up until Wednesday evening and then have two mad, mad days rushing around getting everything ready.

Well, that was the plan. Yesterday however, it changed. I had a somewhat disruptive few hours and really wasn’t concentrating on the painting I was working on. This is always dangerous and it’s much better to stop working than to try and carry on ….and inevitably wreck the piece of work you’re doing. So, with several hours of the afternoon to go, I decided to start clearing all the stuff (boxes of pastels, tools, picture hanging cord, rolls of tape, boxes of nails, loose pieces of paper, old sketches……etc, etc , etc) off the top of my main table. This is always an onerous job as I only tackle it once a year…..yes; you’ve guessed it, the week before the Open Studios Weekend! Of course once I started it kind of created a chain reaction. Before I left the studio last night, my simple table-top tidying had already spread to moving paintings!

As you know, I’ve been working on three 120 x 120 cm canvases, two of which are finished and the third that still needs plenty of work. This final painting will have to be packed away in the large box the original canvas arrived in. The problem is that I was planning to do some more work on it today, leaving a surface of wet oil paint. In order to make sure that I’m not tempted to reach for the paint brush, I took the canvas off the wall yesterday and it’ll be boxed up today! So much for my plan to carry on painting until the middle of the week! That said, I do have several small acrylic and pastel paintings on the go and so may well get a day or two working on them. I’ll just have to remember not to pack away my acrylic paints.

This then is the run up to the Open Weekend. It’s always a bit crazy but thankfully this year Stephanie has taken on the job of organising the event and she is doing a great job. All I have to do is get my own space ready and myself down to the studio ready for an 11am start next Saturday morning. It should be a very good event this year with 14 out of the 17 artists taking part. This will mean a lot of very different work to see including all kinds of paintings and drawings, ceramics, jewellery, photography, hand book-binding and live music. Three of the artists will be running a workshop, talk or demonstration during the weekend…..check out the WASPS website for details. As usual the event is free to enter and everyone is welcome. We’re close to several very good bars, restaurants and cafes and the Magnum Sports Centre is just 2 minutes walk away ….so you can make a fine afternoon of it. Hopefully we’ll see some of you next weekend. Please spread the word. Thank you.

Courtyard Studios Open Weekend
Saturday 4th October, 11 am – 5 pm
Sunday 5th October, 12 noon – 5 pm

Courtyard Studios, 128 Harbour St, Irvine, Ayrshire, KA12 8PZ

Starting the pre Open Studios Weekend tidy-up!

Starting the pre Open Studios Weekend tidy-up!

-o-o-o-o-o-

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

    Contact Details

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