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Latest Blogs | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings - Part 58

The Am Bodach paintings

Posted by admin on December 7th, 2009
55 'Approaching Am Bodach', Acrylic & Pastel, 2007, 30 x 30cm

'Approaching Am Bodach', Acrylic & Pastel, 2007, 30 x 30cm

Back in the late spring of 2007 my partner Anita and I, along with a friend, spent a long day walking the fine ridges in the Mamoores just to the north of Loch Leven and the Glencoe mountains.  It turned out to be a very fine day with a complete mixture of conditions from bright sun to thick cloud and heavy showers of rain and wet snow.

As we made our way along the ridge towards the final steep climb to the summit of Am Bodach, one of these showers descended and for a while we could see nothing.  As the weather passed, the ridge and the steep rocky mass of Am Bodach loomed ahead.  It was very dramatic and the steep section looked decidedly challenging to me.  As it turned out, it was just a good scrabble rather than a scramble and with the summit now clear it was a fine vantage point.

79 'Mists, Am Bodach', Acrylic & Pastel, 2008, 30 x 30 cm

'Mists, Am Bodach', Acrylic & Pastel, 2008, 30 x 30 cm

 

119 'Approaching Am Bodach', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 30 x 30 cm

'Approaching Am Bodach', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 30 x 30 cm

The painting I did worked quite well and seemed to sum up the time.  I do though, sometimes like to go back and work up a 2nd, 3rd or even 4th painting; trying each time to develop the image further.

The first three paintings have all been quite small, (30 x 30 cm) but recently I decided to try and make a bigger version …80 x 80 cm.

I’ve been working on this painting on and off for almost a month now and it am starting to come together.  Like it’s predecessors, it‘s not the most colourful of paintings but tries to capture the atmosphere, bulk and scale of this hill.   It has certainly caused me some head-aches and I’m not convinced that I’ve got it right yet.  So then, this is my excuse for the late arrival of this weeks blog…I was too busy with the problems of the new painting to remember to write!

Walking On Colour

Posted by admin on November 26th, 2009

136 'Autumn grass, Beinn Inverveigh', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 30 x 30 cm

I’ve just completed a small painting (30 x 30 cm) that I’ve called ‘Autumn grass, Beinn Inverviegh’*.  It’s based on a day a few weeks ago when a friend and I headed for a day in the hills.  The day though, was grim, but as it was the only day the two of us could get off we felt we had to get out somewhere despite the dreadful conditions.

The mountain forecast was very poor with winds predicted to gust to 80mph on the summits and prolonged heavy rain.   It was certainly not a day for the high tops, or one that involved any kind of stream crossing either.  In the end my friend suggested we could walk a section of the West Highland Way.  It would be low level on a good path and no navigational problems but we’d at least be out.  We decided to drive up to Bridge of Orchy and walk the WHW north for a few miles.  This at first climbs gradually up over the shoulder of Beinn Inverveigh before dropping back down to near Victoria Bridge and then on up onto Rannoch Moor.  We could go as far as we wanted and then just retrace our steps.

When we arrived at Bridge of Orchy the weather was pretty bad with rain, low cloud and high winds ..but, not as bad as forecast.

We donned the waterproofs and headed off and although it was dull and grey it was good to be out.  As we gained a little height and emerged onto the hill above the trees we realised that the cloud had risen a bit and was now just off the top of Beinn Inverveigh at around 650m.  The wind too, wasn’t any where near as strong as expected and so after a quick rethink we decided to leave the WHW and instead head up Beinn Inverveigh.

It’s a long heathery broad ridge stretching for several kilometres.  The views around to the bigger hills were still limited and very grey, but as soon as we gained a bit more height we realised that much closer to hand, indeed foot, everything was much brighter.  In fact the colours of the numerous grasses were quite astonishing, all kinds of yellow, red, ochre and umber, scattered still with occasional patches of bright green and speckled with small late flowers of yellow and white.  The textures were impressive too; the grass all matted and woven together by the heavy rain as it fell and drained away.

We reached the small pile of rocks marking the summit and it was a lonely place indeed on that day.  By this time the light was already poor and the weather after its brief improvement was filling in again.  We didn’t hang around too long and made back along the ridge in increasingly heavy rain and with the cloud now scudding across the top again.  But what a day, you go out expecting to see nothing and instead come back with a head full of colours!

136 'Autumn grass, Beinn Inverveigh', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 30 x 30 cm   * This painting is currently being exhibited at:Gallery 23

23 Parnie St

Glasgow G1 5RJ

Tel: 0141 552 6325

Email: artgallery23@btinternet.com

www.artists-scotland.co.uk

Interesting Times: An Artist´s Life

Posted by admin on November 19th, 2009

Work in progressIt’s been an interesting day today, partly because of the weather and partly because of the work.

I realised this morning that it has been just over five months since I picked up the Jolomo award …and of course the financial reward that came with it.  But you know, it’s been strange because I’ve actually found it difficult spending some of the prize.

I’ve been working as an artist on a full or part time basis all my adult life …certainly since leaving art school back in the mid 1980’s …..and typically, almost all of that time, I’ve been near enough skint.

In Newcastle upon Tyne where I had my first studio after leaving Falmouth School of Art, I had so little cash that all my work was made out of the contents of skips.  I worked as a sculptor then and the local builders working on Grey St, used to leave out any half decent bits of wood for me.  My drawings were all done on the back of old vinyl wall paper (I still have some of these …and they’ll probably last longer than the normal bits of white cartridge).

Even when I was working full time (doing a ‘proper’ job as my father put it) I still had little or no cash to spend on expensive art materials ..the type of jobs I could get with an art degree being somewhat limited in west Wales in the early 1990’s.  For most of these years my sketch books were the cheapest of kiddies drawing pads ..soft grainy yellow absorbent paper ….wonderful stuff, although you just had not to mind the pictures of Tom and Jerry on the cover!

By the mid nineties I’d had to give up my job as my sight was so bad …and for the next few years I carried on using the cheapest of materials, a veritable recycler even in those days, painting boards from the skip, paint, often left over from decorating.

Acrylic paints and big brushes

And so ….suddenly I can go out and buy whatever materials I like.  Well that’s the theory anyway.  The thing is that I’ve been so used to making do with as little as possible that it seemed quite odd today when it dawned on my that I needn’t worry about using a lot of paint …I could just go order some more.  It’s great to be in this position but in a way I’m glad that I’ve learnt to make do in the past …you really don’t need the complete contents of the art shop to do your work …not if you really want to do it.  You can always find something to use.  That said, I’m off now to order some more pots of heavy bodied acrylic paint …fantastic sticky stuff packed full of pigment.  This I guess is what the award is all about …giving you the freedom to develop your work, risk more experimental work and above all, not worry about it! Relax…

From the studio door ...high tideOh yer, the weather.  It poured all day …and is still pouring.   From my studio door I could watch the high tide racing in and completely covering the saltings opposite.  It was a wonderful spectacle,.  An interesting place to work …in very interesting times.

RSA Annual Exhibition: the “Nature of the Beast”

Posted by admin on November 5th, 2009

'NW from Conival, May', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 80 x 80 cmOn Friday 23rd October my partner Anita and I drove across to Edinburgh in order to hand in the two paintings I was entering for the RSA Annual Exhibition. 

Of course, things are never quite as simple as that!  We really don’t know Edinburgh well, especially the roads and with my not being able to see a map clearly, even with a powerful magnifier, it makes finding anywhere somewhat interesting.  Back in May I’d had to take work to George St in Edinburgh as part of the Jolomo Award and we’d found that if you get there early enough you can get parking.  So then, not being confident that we could find our way to the RSA, we decided to head for George St early enough to get a parking space, and then carry the paintings from there.  Seemed like a good plan …but of course we missed a turn somewhere on our way into Edinburgh and ended up driving around the city centre …eventually finding a car park somewhere below the castle.  This left us a 20 minute walk through the gardens with two quite large and heavy paintings …but not too bad.

On Friday 30th October I received an email from RSA saying that regrettably my two paintings had not been selected and that I’d need to collect them on the Saturday 31st.  So, back in the car and this time heading straight for the car park we’d found the week before ….and we found it again.  By the time we reached the RSA it was lunchtime and as we approached the door Anita said …there’s a queue out onto the pavement!  We joined it and then waited. 

'Below Mid Hill, Luss', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 90 x 60 cmThankfully it was a beautiful day with bright sun and it was nice just to stand and look at these fantastic buildings.  It was also quite fun listening to some of my fellow ‘failed to get selected’ artists moaning and complaining about the long wait!   It took about an hour and a half to get to the front of the queue and I felt rather sorry for the people working there, the woman who helped us find my paintings said she hadn’t had a minutes break since 10 o’clock and she looked in desperate need for a cup of tea.  There were still many many works to be handed back so it looked like it was going to be a long day for them all, but somehow they were all still smiling and doing a great job.  We eventually got back to the studio at around 5pm …both feeling a little shattered.  All that effort not to get the work into the show.  But that really is the nature of the beast.  If you enter these large competition exhibitions the odds are well stacked against you.  You know there will probably be several thousand other hopefuls entering too and that your work will be viewed for just a matter of seconds in the selection process. 

Why put yourself through all that? 

I guess it’s the prestige of having work in an RSA exhibition, but for me it’s also the whole adventure …the drives there and back, the getting lost, the lugging of paintings across the city centre, and the inglorious queuing to get the work back a week later …but of course the next time the work might just catch the selectors eye and then it’d all seem worth it!  Try again next year…..

RSA, RGI and Scottish Drawing Exhibitions

Posted by admin on November 5th, 2009

I’m really not the most organised person in the world, although I am trying to do better.  This said however, in the last few weeks I’ve missed deadlines for two important open exhibitions; the RGI exhibition and the Scottish Drawing exhibition in Paisley.  On both occasions I failed to read the relevant dates and rules, and so missed out on a chance to exhibit work in these shows.

I decided then that I really had to enter a couple of paintings for the RSA annual exhibition ….handing in days Friday 23rd Oct and Saturday 24th. 

I read through the dates and rules very carefully this time.  I got my partner Anita to read through the dates and rules carefully too!   Then of course it comes down to what paintings to enter ….and this is always the difficult bit.  You can never predict what a selection panel will like or dislike, so it really comes down to what you think is your very best work …always tricky!

This summer I’ve been trying to develop my paintings a little.  I’ve been using a bigger range of brushes, a bigger range of paint …the thick heavy bodied acrylics as well as the standard ones.  I’ve been mixing paint with mediums to create far more fluid colours.  Added to these I’ve still been scribbling into the paintings with oil pastel …but now with perhaps less abandon than in some earlier works.  I want to create good Scottish landscape paintings, but I want them to go beyond simply producing a view.  It’s vitally important to me that the paintings work as Scottish landscape and as paintings in their own right …to be viewed and enjoyed for their purely abstract and aesthetic values.  I’ve therefore been working hard on this side of my work ….I’ve had many failures along the way over this last few months, but a few of the pieces are starting to work in this way to a certain extent.

'NW from Conival, May', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 80 x 80 cmI decided then to enter two of these new paintings for the RSA exhibition.  Both of them are slightly bigger than I normally work on and this increase in size has allowed me to be a little more expressive in the way in which I put the paint down.  The two paintings are:

 ‘North west from Conival’, Acrylic & Pastel, 80 x 80 cm

 This painting is based on a walk we did on Conival, one of the two rough and wild Assynt Munros.   It was an almost perfect May day, warm, bright sun with odd clouds producing a wonderful patchwork of light and shade on this rocky and barren landscape.

 

‘Below Mid Hill, Luss’, Acrylic and Pastel, 90 x  60cm

This, the third painting of a small series of works I’m doing based on one particular winter / early spring day in the Luss Hills.  As we descended from the freezing temperatures and gale force winds on the tops, we were treated to an amazing array of colours as the sun caught the different grasses, bracken and heather lower down and the snow and ice higher up.

'Below Mid Hill, Luss', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 90 x 60 cmWell then, the two paintings are now in the hands of the RSA along with no doubt several thousand other hopefuls work.  With these ‘open’ exhibitions it’s always a bit of a gamble …you never really know whether your work will be accepted …but it’s always good fun entering.  I always say to people who come into my studio and who are entering works in such exhibitions …don’t get disappointed if your painting is rejected.  But of course, when the rejection letter arrives, it really is hard not to be just a wee bit aggrieved! 

Oh well, here we go again.  If my next blog is a bit on the grumpy side, you’ll know my two paintings failed to get into the show!

A Question of Scale

Posted by admin on October 16th, 2009

Landscape CommissionI was talking to a colleague at the Courtyard studios the other day.  He’d just completed a large painting as a commission and he said he thought that my own work would lend itself well to this scale. 

Most of the work I do is really quite modest in size …the practicalities of transporting big paintings and of course, selling them, rather dictate their dimensions.  That said however, when I was asked back in 2007 to produce a large painting two metres high by around a metre wide, I jumped at the idea and it was great fun and quite a challenge. 

I’d done some large drawings in the past but never worked on a painting this size before.  The materials I use and the ways I work with them (acrylic paint and scribbled pastel line) work well together on the smaller scale, but I was very unsure whether this would work in a big painting.  The location for the painting was also a serious consideration …it was to hang on a large stairwell wall, and so would be seen from a short distance away as one approached the stairs and very close to, as one passed by at the small landing half way up.

The clients gave me a completely free hand in the subject and design of the painting and it seemed important to me to create something that worked from both below and above.  I had been walking with our local mountaineering club Air na Creagan earlier that year, in the low hills around Wanlockhead in the southern uplands and we’d been treated to some amazing winter colours and deep shadows on this late December afternoon.  I decided to base the painting on this and to create a composition that had a view point that gave depth in the foreground as if looking into a steep sided glen, but also led the eye upwards towards the hilltops and sky. 

Above Wanlockhead

It was quite a lengthy project, the final painting taking around three months to produce, and before that, a number of weeks producing smaller preliminary works in which I tried out various ideas and compositions.  It was great fun and it allowed me to use much larger brushes and brush strokes.  Surprisingly the fine scribbled marks did work on this scale even with six inch wide brush strokes.  In the end, it turned out to be one of the better pieces I’ve done and certainly the client seemed very happy.  After that I did another large painting …the same dimensions but this time in the horizontal.   Having no customer for this and no time limit, I was slightly more relaxed about this painting…and I experimented somewhat more with the paint and pastels.

I’ve now got the bug again and am starting to think about working on this scale again.  It’s not particularly practical, but what the hell, I never really was that practical and when it comes down to it, it’s really all about trying to do good painting.  So then, if there’s anyone out there wanting a large painting for their house or business …give me a shout …I have a pot of large paint brushes just ready and waiting to go!

83 'Upland scene', Acrylic & Pastel, 2008, 200 x 100 cm

Above Dalwhinnie

Posted by admin on October 8th, 2009

On the hills above Dalwhinnie - hidden streamWell, the Courtyard Studios Open Weekend has come and gone ….the studio is back to normal now …if a little bit tidier and cleaner than it was this time last week.  But it really wasn’t the most successful of weekends. The visitor numbers were well down and so were sales.  I guess it’s just a sign of the times.

The weekend was of course, a very enjoyable one.  Despite the numbers being down we still had something in excess of 170 people through the doors…and that’s a lot of talking to be done!   On the Saturday, we were plagued by bad weather.  Raging gales blasting in off the Firth of Clyde and bringing with them intermittent downpours ….just the day for going to an art event!  Surprisingly around eighty brave souls turned out and made all our efforts worth while.  Sunday was a bit better with less rain and a lot more sun.  In the past, Sunday afternoon has always been the really busy time, especially after about half past one …Sunday dinners over, everyone comes out.  Not this year.  Two o’clock came and went with just a trickle of people ..and then someone mentioned it was old firm day …Rangers and Celtic were playing!  That explained it.  Thankfully they’d kicked off early, at midday and so there was hope yet.  And so it was.  After the game finished our visitors started to arrive and we did end up having a busy final hour or so.

'Above Dalwhinnie', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009

'Above Dalwhinnie', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009

By the end of Sunday I’d finally sold one painting and so all was not lost.  I sold it too a local couple who already own one of my earlier drawings and who’ve followed my work over the last few years.  Interestingly they bought what I consider to be one of the best paintings I’ve done this year.

 It was based on a day I’d walked a couple of the hills just to the east of Dalwhinnie.  It turned out to be one of the toughest days I’ve had on a hill.  As we climbed steeply up from the glen it looked like it was going to be a good day.  The snow on the upper parts of the slopes was good and we kicked steps all the way up.  After that things turned different.  These hills are really no more than high points on a great undulating moor land …now covered in soft sinking snow and there was a strong biting easterly wind blowing in to our faces.  Apart from the exhaustion, it really was a stunning and remarkable walk …like a great winter desert.  The painting I sold tried to reflect the views out from the edge of this wintry plateau across the glen to wards Dalwhinnie.  It’s quite a loose painting, more abstract than some of my paintings, but hopefully works on both levels…as a Scottish winter landscape and in a purely aesthetic, abstract way too.

With the Open Weekend over, I now have a bit of a gap …one in which I intend to get back into the hills a little more regularly again.  Here’s hoping for a real winter this year …lots of good and usable snow!

Open Doors

Posted by admin on October 1st, 2009

WASP Art Studio - Irvine, AyrshireWhen I moved to the Courtyard Studios in Irvine some 5 or 6 years ago, I took the decision to have my door always ‘open’ so that anyone could wander in and see the work I was doing.  Now, as you may imagine this caused a few raised eye-brows, ‘why do you want people coming in and disturbing you?’ ‘What’s the point?’

The reasons are two fold.  Firstly, I have over the years had a couple of studios in commercial building….and these cost an arm and a leg.  The Courtyard Studios on the other hand are run by WASPS, (Workshop and studio provision Scotland) and they are the most remarkable studios you could ever wish to be working in.  WASPS have studio buildings throughout the whole of Scotland ….some, as in Glasgow and Edinburgh, are large complexes with many studios, other like the Courtyard are more modest (we have around 15 spaces).  They even have one studio up in the northern isles.  What’s so impressive though is that the rents are very reasonable, and once you’ve paid your monthly rent ….there’s no other cost, no rates, no heating or lighting costs.  And so as you can imagine, they’re very sought after.

The second reason for having my door open throughout the year is that I get such a great deal, I feel that my work should be accessible to anyone who wants to visit,.

Of course, you do get interruptions and sometimes it’s just at a vital point in the painting or when the painting you’re doing is sh…!  But it’s not a problem and it’s much more often a really enjoyable, informative and worthwhile experience …you never know quite who may call in to see you …and every now and again someone comes in and buys a painting.  I just feel it’s so important that folk can come in and see work in progress, see the process behind the finished article …it’s not that great a secret.

Anyway, taking this to a different level, each year WASPS studios hold an Open Studios Weekend.  This is taking place this coming weekend Sat / Sun 3rd / 4th Oct.  In Irvine we have 10 or 11 artists taking part and opening their doors to the public.  Apart from anything else, it gives us all a good excuse to clean and tidy our studios.  We put up a fine display of work that’s there for people to view, admire, criticise or buy.  Each year we have something in the region of 200 – 300 visitors to the Open Weekend event in Irvine and it generate a lot of sales, interest and occasional commissions.  It’s a great opportunity to see the wide variety of work being done in Irvine and helps to put us on the map.  Indeed, many people who find us for the first time on one of our annual Open Weekends then return more regularly through out the year.  If you haven’t been to a WASPS open weekend before, check out your nearest studios.  Details at the WASPS website.

Getting Your Priorities Right!

Posted by admin on September 24th, 2009

From the summit of Ben DonichLast Thursday I received an email from Irene, a member of our local mountaineering club Air na Creagan.  It said that a group from the club were heading up to Arrochar to walk Ben Donich.  Wow, this is a great little hill and I was desperate to get out.  With everything taking off at the studio this year I’ve really not been doing the walking I used to.  …But, I have too much on at the moment and so decided reluctantly that I couldn’t join them.   It was a shame because as I say, it’s a great little hill …not that I saw much of it the first time we went there, about four years ago.

Anita and I had organised the walk that day for the club and we were shocked to find a very high turn out …20 folk plus a dog. We were even more shocked to find the cloud base just above the height of the Rest and Be Thankful where we all met.  So then, that day 20 people plus a dog followed an almost blind man and his guide up a hill in thick cloud ….and they say I’m mad for walking hills in the first place!

The Cobbler from Ben Donich

When Anita and I went back to Ben Donich for our second visit, we were on our own and the weather was just perfect.  High white clouds in a bright blue sky.  The hill itself is a long sort of whale back of mainly grass and occasional crags.  As you gain height the views of the neighbouring hills Beinn an Lochain, The Cobbler, The Brack and Beinn Ime, get better and better.  Not too far from the top, there’s a wonderful tangle of rock where the ridge appears to be split and there’s a wee scramble down.  Finally at the summit, the views are huge and very fine.  I’m told you can see out over the firth of Clyde to Arran and Ailsa Craig …it’s quite a spot on a good day.

So then, having missed the walk with Irene, by Sunday …well, I couldn’t stand it any longer …we dropped everything and rushed for a hill!   We went over to the Ochil Hills, a small but prominent range that lie not far from Stirling.  We had a grand little day wandering the grassy tops of Ben Ever, Ben Cleuch, and Ben Buck.  And it’s amazing what a day on the hills can do, I felt invigorated and I’ve had a great couple of days painting this week.

In the Ochil Hills

Walking in Circles?

Posted by admin on September 17th, 2009

On Ben Mor CoigachI took the decision back in 1990, when my sight first started to deteriorate, to carry on hill walking come what may.  Initially I bought myself a traditional walking stick in the hope that it would give me support as well as tell me a little of what the ground in front of me was doing.  My partner Anita took on the job of guide.   Well we found we could still walk on the hill like this albeit very slowly, but I really wasn’t sure about the sense of what I was doing and really wasn’t very confident.

In 2001 after moving to Scotland, I heard about a new course being run at Glenmore Lodge (Scotland’s national outdoor centre).  It was a mountain skills course for visually impaired folk …..wow!   I signed up and in September that year I did the course and without being over dramatic …it changed my life.

Summit plateau, A' Mharconaich

It was a fantastic course, but the biggest thing I got from it was the fact that I met six other visually impaired idiots like myself  …. all still wanting to climb mountains despite their lack of sight!  It was great, I wasn’t the only one.  After that, nothing could stop us and we started venturing out into the Scottish Highlands on a very regular basis, tackling many of the bigger hills. 

With the help of close friend Guy Hansford and members of our local mountaineering club Air na Creagan, I’ve clambered, felt and sworn my way over many hills and up many rocky scrambles.  Indeed, back in February 2008 Anita and I climbed our 100th Munro … A’Mharconaich, an icy plateau high up in the Drumochter hills. 

From Cul Mor, Assynt

With such limited sight I never really thought I’d be able to climb big hills again, let alone a hundred of them.  I decided therefore that I ought to write to Glenmore Lodge to tell them and thank them for running the course that gave me the confidence to do this.  To my surprise they invited me back on that years VI course …this time to do a talk about the walks and climbs I’d done.

And strangely, the paintings I do, this website and the fact that I’m writing this blog are all down to the course at Glenmore Lodge back in 2001.  If I hadn’t done it, I’d almost certainly not have had the confidence to get out so much.  It was this very intense period of hill walking and the stunning scenery that made me turn my paintings to the Scottish landscape.  I might still be drawing building sites if not for Glenmore Lodge!

In a round about way, I’m trying to explain why I’ve spent two days this week sat at my computer rather than painting in my studio.  A month ago I got an email from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland inviting me to write a short article about my walking and painting ….for their quarterly magazine ‘Scottish Mountaineer’.  The MC of S is the organisation who originally set up the ‘Mountain skills courses for the visually impaired’.  Full circle I think.

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