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Spring and summer 2020

Studio Changes

So of course, everything is very different right now. No longer the casual routine of going down to my studio most days and heading to the hills two or three times a month. Instead, like most folk I guess, I’ve been working from home ….or trying to at least and we haven’t walked further than a few miles from our house.

Prior to the pandemic, Nita and I had already made some big changes with regards our studios. As anyone who has visited my studio will know, for the last few years I’ve been renting an individual unit comprising a large space downstairs and a small space upstairs. This has allowed me to do all my painting work as well as the audio stuff too. It’s been important to be able to play the audio without it affecting another artist. At the same time, Nita (who makes ceramics) was renting a separate small studio in the old part of the Courtyard Studio buildings. With the studio rents increasing significantly over the last few years and my sales sadly falling over the corresponding time, we decided that we should perhaps down size a little. After much thought, we decided that the best way to go about this was for me to give up my small upstairs studio and for Nita to move into it ….giving up her own space in the process. It meant moving a lot of my older work to the house, along with Nita’s kiln, which wouldn’t have been safe alongside all my paints. We spoke to WASPS and they were happy for us to make this move as there were plenty of people on the Courtyard Studios waiting list and we started moving all the gear back before Christmas. It took a lot longer than we originally thought but we had everything done by February and we were just starting to get things sorted …..when the virus changed everything. At least we got all our gear moved before the lock-down and so when we can get back in, we can just start working.

Canisp: Scottish Landscape Art
‘Canisp, a winter afternoon’

A Busman’s Holiday

We didn’t of course, get away for our annual two weeks of walking and relaxing in North West Scotland this May, but did manage to get away for two weeks back in December and so as things have turned out, it was a very good move. Instead of heading up to Assynt and Sutherland as we do in May, we decided to visit a couple of areas a little further south that in the past we had only ever driven through. Our first week was spent staying in Taynuilt, a few miles from Oban. The days involved dodging the rain, visiting numerous cafes and bars and grabbing short walks down to the shores of Loch Etive. I made several lengthy sound recordings close to the point where the old ferry used to cross the narrow section of the loch. It was an interesting mix of sounds, both natural and man-made. Although it was a beautiful location, we were only about a mile from the main road and railway to Oban. Add to this the day to day noises coming from the village and the small airport a few miles away to the west and it made for very different recordings. That said, the overall feel, despite these human intrusions, is still quite wild with the sounds of the huge sea loch, its accompanying wildlife and the general sense of space all around.

Bridge of Orchy
‘Towards the Bridge of Orchy Hills from Ghlas Bheinne’

We moved a little further north for our second week and stayed in a lodge several miles from Fort William and close to the Caledonian Canal. Whereas the first week was very much holiday, the next 7 days were more about work. Prior to coming away, I’d been contacted by a small TV production company. They had been commissioned to make an hour long documentary about how artists with different kinds of sight, perceive their surroundings and go about their work. They had heard about the new audio visual work I have been doing with Graham Byron and Drew Kirkland and asked if they could include a small piece about this work. In short, it was agreed that they would travel north and meet us on the final day of our holiday so that they could get some film of us walking in the landscape and me making recordings. They would then travel back to Irvine on the Saturday and meet me at my studio to record a short interview.

Keith Salmon TV
Filming near Loch Lochy, Scotland

Of course, as we were staying in an area we didn’t really know, we had to spend our time trying to find a suitable location for them to film. It had to be somewhere that would make sense with the work I was doing and be somewhere that was easily accessible for people carrying heavy film and recording gear. As it turned out we actually found the perfect spot on our second day out. It was a section of the Great Glen Way as it winds its way along the western shores of Loch Lochy. It was perfect with the sounds of the loch, numerous busy streams and the regular call of birds ….and very little manmade noise. I actually made five recordings and worked out plans for several paintings by the end of the walk and so it was time well spent. Everything went well on the Friday and the small team got their film without any rain. We did the interview at the studio on the Sunday morning and they were back down in London by the evening. They said they thought the programme wouldn’t be broadcast until the end of the year and so I’ll have to wait some more before finding out whether I made a complete tit of myself!

Keith Salmon interview
Recording interview in my studio.

The walk along Loch Lochy was really important as it turned out because it gave me new material to work on during the lockdown. I’ve actually been working on three 80 x 80cm canvases since I brought my painting stuff home back in early March. Each painting is based on one of the slightly different recordings I made as we walked along the side of Loch Lochy back on December 9th. Each one was recorded at a different time of day, morning, midday and late afternoon. They aren’t finished yet but they are close I think.

loch lochy
Loch Lochy painting 2 , work in progress

Exhibitions – New Dates

As you may know, our first big audio visual piece, called the Kylesku Project, is now finished. See excerpts from the digital version:

https://youtu.be/4kBVUsDuDww
Kylesku project – Keith Salmon, Graham Byron and Drew Kirkland

We had arranged to exhibit it at a venue in Lochinver in Assynt this summer, but this has had to be postponed due to the pandemic and we are now planning to hold the exhibition in May 2021. Sadly we’ve recently also heard that the Courtyard Studios annual Group Exhibition at the Harbour Arts Centre has had to be cancelled this year too. That all said, we are still on for an exhibition at the Barony Centre in West Kilbride in March 2021. We’ll be showing the full Kylesku Project for the first time along with a new video work and a selection of my recent paintings and drawings. I am also hoping to do another ‘Big drawing’, along the lines of the big Glen Rosa drawing and so there should be plenty to see and hear. The Barony Centre, being in a big old church, is probably the perfect venue in which to hold an exhibition during times of social distancing ….lots of space!

Beinn Leoid
‘Towards Beinn Leoid, Sutherland’

Still Open For Business

Finally, I just wanted to say that I am still open for business even if I’m not currently at the studio. If you see and are interested in any work here on the website, just email or phone me and we can work something out. Stay safe and I look forward to inviting you back to the studio before too long ……even if it is one at a time!!!

The paintings included with this blog are all currently available and were created between 2018 and 2020.

Ben Oss by Keith Salmon
‘From Ben Oss, winter. Breaking mists’

Autumn Report – 2018

Autumn update – September / November 2018

Well then, it’s a fair time since I updated this homepage and a lot has been happening. I’ve spent much of the time since the “Painting with Sound” exhibition at the Barony Centre, simply painting and trying to catch up with all the paperwork that needed to be done! Over this period a number of exhibition opportunities have arisen and so the main focus of this new blog is to tell you about these shows.

 

The Biscuit Factory Autumn Exhibition – September 8th – October 28th

As you may know, I have over the past few years, shown some of my paintings at the fabulous Biscuit Factory in Newcastle upon Tyne. Back in the spring the gallery once again contacted me and asked if I’d like to show some more work with them, this time in their Autumn 2018 exhibition. I of course accepted and during the summer have been working on several new pieces specifically for this show. One of them is this new 80 x 80cm acrylic and pastel painting based on a walk we did in Sutherland back in May. The hill, Meallan a’ Chuail, is quite rugged and although only 750m, is a far more interesting summit than its slightly bigger neighbour, Beinn Leoid ….which was originally our target.

10 'A Sutherland landscape, Meallan a' Chuail', Acrylic & Pastel, 2018 80 x 80cm RP £2500

It really was an enjoyable and quite exhilarating day and we had the hill to ourselves. Even as we made our way up the ridge, I was thinking about how I might make a painting and I had started it within a few weeks of returning home to Irvine. As an aside, the folk at the Biscuit Factory have also asked me to give a short talk about my work and in particular, about how I have in recent years, started to use sound alongside paint. Sound engineers, Graham Byron and Drew Kirkland who I have been working with now for several years, will be travelling with me to Newcastle to set up and exhibit the Kylesku Project, our first audio painting, so that people who attend the talk will also get the opportunity to experience this new more immersive form of landscape. This event is planned for Sunday October 14th at 2pm. For further information and to book a ticket, please contact the Biscuit Factory.

1 'A cold, damp winter's morning, Glencoe', Acrylic & Pastel, 2017, 80 x 80cm RP £2500

 

 

Moray Arts Centre, Findhorn – September 4th – September 23rd

Keith Salmon exhibition poster Moray 2018

Earlier in the summer I was also asked whether I would like to put half a dozen small paintings into a group exhibition at the Moray Arts Centre, for a few weeks in September. It’s a long way to travel but I kind of figured that we could make the trips to deliver and collect the work, into wee short walking trips …..taking the gear and the tent with us and then heading for the Cairngorms. That was the plan anyway, but just three weeks ago I heard that the three other people taking part in the show, had pulled out for various reasons ….and I was asked if I’d put a small solo exhibition on instead. After a short time thinking about this and checking what work I had available, I agreed. Nita and I did a flying visit about ten days ago to see the centre and to get an idea of the space and after a mad week sorting and wrapping the work, we went back on Monday to hang the show. We were very lucky in this as Graham and Tracy Byron kindly offered to drive up and help is with the installation. This made for a very enjoyable and stress free few hours. The show looks good I think and hopefully we’ll get a good few visitors during the course of the exhibition. Of course, with a car full of paintings, there was no room for the rucksacks and so no walking …but hey, you can’t have everything!

Keith Salmon - Moray Arts Centre

 

Moray Art Centre Exhibition

 

The Seagull Gallery, Gourock – September – October

I was also recently invited to show a couple of small paintings in the Seagull Gallery in Gourock. The gallery has a rolling and constantly changing exhibition and there is a wonderful variety of work on display. For us living here in Irvine, it is just under an hour long drive up the coast and so made a very pleasant wee trip out when we went to deliver the paintings.

 

Courtyard Studios Group Exhibition – Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine  – September 21st – November 4th

We are once again holding a group exhibition of work created by the artists working at the Courtyard Studios in Irvine. The exhibition which will contain work by 17 artists, will include paintings, drawings, prints, jewellery, hand bookbinding, ceramics, leatherwork, photography and textiles……so something for everyone to enjoy. Things have been such a rush for me recently that I’m still not entirely sure which pieces I’ll be showing in this show! I have a new 80 x 80cm painting completed and another on the go ….so maybe one of these. I’m also working on a new large graphite drawing and so this might be a candidate if I get it finished in time.

 

Courtyard Studios Open Weekend – Saturday / Sunday 6 / 7th October, 12 noon – 5pm both days.

Entry free, all welcome:

This will, I think, be the 14th year running that we’ve held this event and it’s proved quite a success over the years. It’s a great opportunity to catch everyone in their studios at the same time and to see all the new work that has been done over the preceding 12 months. Many of us have been working at the Courtyard for a good number of years, but artists come and go and this year we have three new tenants and so there will be completely new work to see in their studios. As usual, everyone is welcome and of course, being right on the Harbourside, there are many and varied places to eat and drink during your visit. As well as a big selection of paintings and drawings on show in my studio, I will also be exhibiting and playing the Kylesku audio painting again ….so if you missed seeing and hearing it at the Barony Centre back in March, you’ll be able to catch it as part of this event.

 

Well, that’s about it for now. I do hope that you can get along to one or other of these events.

Seattle / Oregon drawing project – a quick update

At this time of year we would normally be getting out for long summer hikes in the mountains, but this year I am so busy that I’ve been in my studio nearly every day since we got back from the United States about six weeks ago.

I’ve basically been working on the big Seattle / Oregon drawing and audio project nearly all of this time.  As you know, I’m creating three large 8’ x 4’ pastel drawings for the project, all based on the Hell’s Canyon area of Oregon.  Anyone who has been to my studio will know also that it is pretty cluttered and so finding the space to do all three drawings has meant some major rearrangements!  This would have been impossible if it wasn’t for a wee bit of luck.  When I got back to my studio from Seattle on May 24th I learnt that my colleague, photographic artist Alex Boyd, was leaving the Courtyard to take up an exciting new arts based job on the Isle of Lewis. It is a great shame he is leaving, but it freed up his studio and painter Maree Hughes who has been working in the small studio upstairs from mine, took the opportunity to move to the bigger space vacated by Alex.  This of course meant that I had the opportunity to rent this additional space upstairs which in turn has allowed me to work on all three large drawings at the same time downstairs.  Phew!!!

abstract landscape paintings

The new look studio ….three big drawing boards

It has been a hectic  last week for all three of us with a mass shuffle of gear but everything is now done and with a bit of luck Alex is now on or heading for the Isle of Lewis. The very best of luck to him with his work up north.  We recently swapped a piece of work each …… he selected one of my big graphite drawings for his new wall and I selected one of his fine prints of Cir Mhor on Arran.  I have this piece hanging in my small work room at home alongside another fabulous photograph by Courtyard Studios rep Brian Craig.  The two pieces look fabulous together as Brian’s photo is also black and white and also landscape.

abstract landscape paintings

Hells Canyon drawings 1 and 2, in progress

On Sunday last I moved all my painting gear upstairs where I’ll now be doing all my smaller acrylic and pastel work.  It took me most of the day to sort it all out but I now have the third wall free downstairs and on Tuesday morning I had another 8’ x 4’ drawing board delivered and Nita and I set about fixing it to the wall.  We are not the fastest of carpenters but after almost six hours not only was the new board all firmly in place but the final large piece of 200 gm white cartridge paper was all fixed to it and ready for me to start drawing.

The first two pieces are well under way and later today I’ll be starting the final drawing ….this piece to be based on a location in the bottom of Hell’s Canyon, right by the side of the river where it cut through a narrow cliff lined section.

abstract landscape painting

the new big drawing board …all ready to go

With all three pieces now on the go, I’ve turned my efforts more towards the audio side of things.  I’ve been working with Ayrshire based sound engineer Graham Byron and we are starting to sort out all the various recordings Dan and I made while in Oregon.  Graham has been ‘cleaning’ them up so that Dan and his team over in Seattle can start to fit them to the audio system they have been creating for the purpose of this project.  I’m going to be spending many many hours listening to sound files over the next couple of months and will also be heading out into the landscape soon to record extra close up material.  It’s all go but very exciting.  Must get a good relaxing walk in the Highlands soon though ….or my head will explode!