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blackmount | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings - Part 2

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A tale of two Meall Tionails …..

Posted by admin on April 26th, 2012
The view from Ba Bridge

The view from Ba Bridge

For anyone out there who reads these blogs, you might remember that about a year ago I wrote about my plans to walk a wee hill tucked away amidst the bigger mountains of the Blackmount.  The hill in question was Meall Tionail …a rocky little hillock of just over 500m in height.  We’d been planning to walk this hill ever since my partner Anita saw it from one of its bigger neighbours and said that she’d like to sit and eat her sandwiches at the top of it one day ….it really is in a wonderful location, surrounded on three sides by bigger dramatic mountains and looking out on the other side to the expanse of Rannoch Moor.  Suffice to say that we didn’t make it last year as planned and so it had to wait until Monday this week before we finally got to go there.

Looking towards Meall Tionail

Looking towards Meall Tionail

With a pretty good forecast and following a reasonably dry period (the walk in involves crossing several streams) …it seemed the perfect place to go ….and so I rang our friend Guy to see if he wanted to join us.  Wanting to walk a tiny hill in the middle of much bigger ones seemed to be a daft enough proposal to him and he was all for it ….we’d pick him up from the station at half past six the next morning.

Looking east from near the base of Meall Tionail

Looking east from near the base of Meall Tionail

Meall Tionail is as I say, just a small hill …it’s the getting to it that takes the effort.  We chose to park the car at the Glencoe Ski Centre and walk the West Highland Way back south to Ba Bridge, then follow a path up the side of the river for around three miles to the summit of the hill…..I guess in total (though I haven’t made any accurate measurements ..about 13 – 14 miles for the day ….with a few hundred metres of ascent thrown in for good measure.  The weather was indeed, pretty good, the cloud was quite high and all of the bigger tops were clear …the upper slopes white with snow and looking very dramatic.  The sky was a mixture of dark clouds and bright sunshine and it made for some wonderful views and a great range of colours.  Needless to say we did a lot of stopping to look and snap away with our cameras and time went by faster than the miles under our boots.   Thankfully the path up the glen by the river proved a good one with small bridges over the numerous small streams.  At one point though the path appeared to disappear….and we were left scratching our heads and pawing over the maps ….we were confronted by a sizable stream and no sign of the path on the opposite bank.  Nothing for it but to splash our away across ….thankful now for the dry weather over the preceding weeks….and still we couldn’t figure out quite where we were or where we’d gone wrong.  We could see our hill though and on heading towards it and back towards the main river found our path …quite how it had got there was a bit of a mystery!

Lunch, but not at the top!

Lunch, but not at the top!

At around this point we’d been walking for about three hours and we still had a good distance to go to the base of the hill …let alone climb the thing.  As we’d set out at 9.15 am, it was looking like being a late finish…..much to my dismay there were murmurings in the ranks that perhaps we’d only get to the base of the hill.   In all honesty though we were running a little late and when we got to the base of the hill we did in fact decide that that was as far as we could go ….ahhhhhh, after all these years waiting to come here and the long drive and the four hours walk in …and not to get to the top …well, it was a bit galling.  We could have got to the top and back down to the car before it got dark …but we’d have had to have rushed it which was completely against the whole idea of going there in the first place.  Nothing for it but to return some time in the future …and allow more time.

We’d had a great day and seen some wonderful scenery, but I hadn’t realised how disappointed Anita was at not getting to sit and eat her lunch at the summit.  When we finally got home she said, ‘how about going back on Wednesday …the forecast is almost as good?’  I saw from her face that she wasn’t joking …and well, we haven’t done anything as daft as that for a long time …so Wednesday was booked and with an extra early start …up at 03.50, out and away from Irvine at 05.15!  Mad or what?!

Some of the mountains surrounding Meall Tionail

Some of the mountains surrounding Meall Tionail

Heavy skies over Rannoch Moor, wednesday morning

Heavy skies over Rannoch Moor, wednesday morning

This time though the weather wasn’t as good as the forecast had predicted and on reaching Loch Lomond it started to rain and both the Luss Hills and Ben Lomond disappeared into a grey wet slurp.  It continued to rain all the way to the edge of Rannoch Moor where at last we saw a few bursts of sunshine over to the east.  The mountains were all shrouded in mist and it was a very different scene from just 48 hours earlier.  This time Anita and I started walking at 07.50 and with fewer things to photograph and less stops we made good time.  It stayed dry all the way to Ba Bridge but after that the rain came back …and stayed for the next almost eight hours.  The beautiful snow covered and dramatic peaks bursting with colour in the bright spring sunshine of just two days earlier,  had been replaced by an equally beautiful scene of dark brooding hills disappearing up into the cloud.  It was cold and very wet …but we could see our little hill up ahead …its summit well below the cloud base ….one advantage of climbing a wee hill!

Wednesday morning ...poor weather

Wednesday morning ...poor weather

We arrived at the base of Meall Tionail and after a brief stop headed uphill on a mixture of grass and stone, crossing numerous small streams that were coming to life again with all the rain.  By this time the wind had picked up and it was blowing the rain along in sheets, but as we reached the top of the hill, it really didn’t matter …as Anita said, ‘This is even better than I had imagined’ …and indeed it was.  The summit is topped by a series of crags …the outer edge like battlements of an ancient castle …the views out over the glen towards Rannoch Moor quite stunning even in this wild weather.  Big mountains rose all around us, occasionally giving glimpses of the snow covered ridges for the most part hidden in cloud.  Wow, what a spot.  Anita did finally get to eat her sandwiches on the top, albeit hunched against the wind and driving rain ….but what the heck …we’ made it and it felt very special.

From the summit of Meall Tionail....at last!

From the summit of Meall Tionail....at last!

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Back on the hill

Posted by admin on February 23rd, 2012
'Loch Tulla and Beinn an Dothaidh'

'Loch Tulla and Beinn an Dothaidh'

It had been a few weeks since we last went for a walk and so when we saw the forecast for Sunday ….dry, cold and sunny ….we just had to make the most of it. As I think I said in a blog the other week, we have been planning to revisit Ghlas Beinn, the small hill on the edge of Rannoch Moor …..that we walked back in December 2009. When we were there that year there was no snow at lower levels, just some up on the high tops. It was though, very cold and the peat was frozen as were the moor-land lochs. This time, after a relatively mild week beforehand, it had once again turned cold and we were hoping to find snow even down to low level.

Our first concern though was the state of the roads ….it’s almost a 100 mile drive to the start point on the A82 on Blackmount and after numerous heavy rain and sleet showers on Saturday, the roads were still wet when we went to bed …it seemed likely that everything would be covered in ice in the morning. Strangely though, when I got up at about six o’clock on Sunday morning and stuck my head outside the front door ….there was virtually no frost and the roads were fine. The walk we planned was not a long one, (probably no more than six or seven kilometres) and there was only about 300m of ascent. There was no need for a really early start and after much dawdling around; we finally got away a little after eight. By that time it was well light and the early cloud cover had already broken and the skies were a clear blue ….it looked set to be a really good day.

'The small summit of Ghlas Beinn'

'The small summit of Ghlas Beinn'

I had expected to see snow on the Luss Hills as we drove up the side of Loch Lomond, but they were completely clear. The only snow was up high …above about 800m on Ben Lomond and Ben Vorlich. It was quite mild too …the car thermometer reckons it was 3 C by the side of the loch. What had happened to the real cold that was forecast? As we followed the road past the northern end of Loch Lomond and up Glen Falloch, there was a very noticeable drop in temperature inside the car and by the time we arrived at Crianlarich …it was -1 C outside and there was a covering of snow everywhere ….we’d gone from spring back into winter a just a matter of five or six miles! Everywhere looked beautiful and it looked like we were going to have a good walk.

We reached our start point, at about 10.30 after a short stop at the Green Welly in Tyndrum en route and there were a good number of cars stopped and people were admiring the stunning view out over Loch Tulla. This is a very popular view point and most of the time there is a mobile tea and burger bar parked here ….and someone playing the bag pipes. No such thing on Sunday …I guess mid February is pushing it a bit …though from the look of it, they could have done a good bit of business even so. By this time a fair amount of cloud had bubbled up but it made for much more interesting colours. We simply crossed the road a short distance to the north of the lay-by and headed up the grassy slopes. As at Crianlarich, there was a slight covering of snow everywhere and with the temperature still below or around freezing, it made that wonderful ‘crump’ sound as you walked on it. A short distance from the edge of the road you are blocked by a fence …not marked on the map. Thankfully at a point where it takes a slight bend, there is a small post driven into the ground ….allowing you to step over the wire without risking damaging it.

'A walk in the wild!'

'A walk in the wild!'

The views of course were stunning from the outset especially as some of the bigger hills were illuminated by bright sun. After gaining a few hundred feet in ascent it becomes obvious that you are on a long broad grass and heather ridge ….ahead were a series of small tops …each one slightly higher than the next. On gaining the first of these the views become even bigger and the ground on the west side drops more steeply. We stopped on one of these first knolls and just sat down to enjoy these amazing surroundings …and of course a cup of coffee. One of the reasons for coming back to this place was the hope that I’d be able to develop new paintings from the experience. With the light snow cover everything looked very different from when we were last up there ….and with the constantly moving clouds, the patchwork of light and shade and the corresponding colours ….the scene around us changed from minute to minute. There was a stiff breeze blowing and it was too cold to draw, but I took numerous photos trying to capture some of these colours and patterns.

The ridge becomes more of a gentle switch back until after a couple of kilometres, the final and highest knoll ….the summit of Ghlas Beinn, is reached. For a place where there are no paths, this little top has a good sized and well made cairn ….and so it should. From its very modest summit (something a little over 500 m) the views are quite superb….three hundred and sixty degrees of stunning wild beauty. You look down over vast areas of moor land and loch, but are also surrounded by the higher snow topped mountains. Of course, we didn’t see anyone the whole time we were walking. Nita spotted a large herd of deer grazing below and to the east of us….but nothing else. To the immediate west though we could hear the drone of traffic from the A82 as it crosses the edge of Rannoch Moor heading for Glen Coe …but this was the only slight blot on this idyllic scene. Despite starting late, we had plenty of time and so carried on a short distance beyond the summit ….down past two small wild lochs and on to a final rocky knoll overlooking the expanse of the moor ….what a wonderful place to stand …and all this within a few hours of Irvine.

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‘Beinn Toaig, winter’

Posted by admin on January 19th, 2012
'Beinn Taoig, winter'

'Beinn Taoig, winter'

‘Beinn Toaig, winter’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2012 Ref: 215

Still on the theme of post card sized paintings, this is another of the recent small works I’ve completed.  As with the previous ones, this is based on earlier larger paintings of the same subject ….Beinn Toaig in winter.  At this scale, I’ve used the harder wax pastels rather than the oil pastels.  I can sharpen them to create finer lines and marks as they are scribbled into the hard acrylic paint surface.

Beinn Toaig is an eight hundred metre hill that rises above Loch Tulla on the edge of Blackmount and Rannoch Moor.

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A small hill….in a very big landscape

Posted by admin on January 14th, 2011
The wild landscape at the edge of Rannoch Moor

The wild landscape at the edge of Rannoch Moor

Quite a few years ago I started thinking about walking Meall a’ Bhuiridh ….the big hill on the edge of Blackmount, and Rannoch Moor that is home to the Glencoe ski centre.  The easiest way would simply have been to walk up following the line of the ski lift, but well, it didn’t seem very adventurous!  There had to be a better way up the hill and one that would avoid much of the paraphernalia attached to the ski slopes.  After looking at the map I decided to climb the hill by its south east ridge and then just descend down the ski slopes.  It seemed a good compromise and would make for an interesting day.

A little hill in a very big landscape

A little hill in a very big landscape

We did the walk on a dry and quite fine summer day.  The cloud was high and so although there was no sun to be had, we were at least assured of some good views….or at least Anita was.  She was not only guiding me but also our friend Norma who is also visually impaired.  We left the car at the ski centre car park and then headed back along the West Highland Way for several kilometres until we reached Ba Cottage …not far short of Ba Bridge.  From here it’s a steady pull uphill to reach the end of the SE ridge of Meall a’ Bhuiridh ….and we got here just in time for an early lunch.  It makes for a wonderful picnic spot as you are well off any paths and have views all around…..and it was here that Nita first set eye on Meall Tionaill.  This is a small hill (582m) set in the heart of Blackmount and surrounded by much bigger neighbours.  Nita was quite taken with this lonely little hill and before we set off again I think she was already planning to go to it one day.  From our lunchtime spot the broad ridge climbed steeply at first grass covered and then increasingly boulder strewn slopes.  But turning around for a breather every few minutes we got increasingly big views…it was quite spectacular.

After what seemed an age, the angle of the slope eased and we emerged out onto the rocky top of the hill at just over 1100 m.  There were surprisingly few people up at the top but high above us was someone flying around with a paraglider.  At first neither Norma or I could see it despite much pointing and giving of directions by Anita, but almost as if the pilot realised our problem he or she flew directly over head and then just hung there in the air …a bit like a Kestrel without all the flapping!  It was amazing.  After several minutes it turned and headed off towards Buachaille Etive Mor.  We descended down the ski slopes which at least to start with, made for very easy walking.  The lower section though was steep and on an increasingly eroded path by or almost below the ski lift …and seemed to take an age to get back down to the car …I seem to remember we were back there by around 7pm.

Meall Tionaill surrounded by its larger neighbours

Meall Tionaill surrounded by its larger neighbours

The reason for recalling this walk is that despite our saying most years that we’d have to go and find Meall Tionaill, we’ve never got around to it.  A few days ago though, I received an email from our friend Guy saying that he was planning to go and find this wee hill one day soon ….and he asked if we’d like to join him.  Sounds as good a time as any and as Nita and I have just had a month of flu and cold bugs, our first walk back on the hills for over a month should be a relatively easy one …and this sounds just the thing.  So then, not quite sure when we’ll try and go, but hopefully it’ll be one day in the next couple of weeks.  There’ll be a full report as and when.  The only photo I actually have of this little hill is ….well, rather vague ….Anita had to find it for me and mark it with an arrow!  As I say, it’s a little hill in a very big landscape.

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‘Blackmount, autumn’

Posted by admin on June 18th, 2010

'Blackmount Autumn' , acrylic pastel 2007, 75 x23 cm Ref: 53

'Blackmount, Autumn'

‘Blackmount, autumn’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2007, 76 x 23 cm

A couple of years ago we travelled up to visit an old friend and colleague (the sculptor Keith Barrett) who was undertaking a huge commission in Inverness. It was late October and the weather had taken its first steps towards winter and had gone decidedly cold. We set off early taking the slightly longer but more scenic route up the shores of Loch Lomond, and through Glen Coe to reach the Great Glen which we followed through Fort William to Inverness.

As we reached Loch Lomond and the first hills it became apparent that we’d not be seeing too much that day. Thick banks of low grey cloud hung to the tops and sides of all the hills, occasionally breaking to give a glimpse of brightness from the early morning sun …but not really promising much. As we reached the higher hills around Crianlarich Anita spotted through breaks in the cloud, snow on the upper slopes ….but I never saw this. Then further on as the A82 climbs up onto Blackmount and Rannoch Moor, I caught my first sight of it. A thick belt of cloud was starting to break up and clear, revealing the snow covered tops of Beinn Toaig and it’s higher neighbour Stob a’ Choire Odhair.

There always a great thrill in seeing the first snow of the coming winter …the long summer days are well gone and the short more challenging days and conditions are upon us. Sadly the cloud didn’t continue to lift and this brief view of the hills was the best I got that day…. definitely worthy of a painting I thought.

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A week in the life of …

Posted by admin on January 29th, 2010

'From Beinn Inverveigh, October', Acrylic & Pastel, 2010, 60 x 60 cm

'From Beinn Inverveigh, October'

Saturday 23rd January

The main aim of the day was to try and get a painting finished.  I’ve been working on two pieces that I plan to exhibit at the Strathearn Gallery in Creiff as part of the Jolomo Awards 2009 Finalists exhibition.  This opens on Saturday 13th February and the work has to be delivered a week before.  So not long!  I’d completed the first piece the week before but this second piece was causing me a few problems.  However, before I could start painting there was the small matter of meeting the Pest control man who we’d contacted the day before after hearing some ominous scratching and movement in the studio walls and loft spaces.  It appears that while we were away from the building due to the frozen pipes, some furry friends have moved in.  Great!  By the end of the day the painting still wasn’t completed.

Sunday 24th January

So back to it again.  The painting in question is based on the view I had over to the hills of the Blackmount from the relative warmth of Rannoch Moor.  I’d been watching the bad weather through the monocular and it seemed an excellent subject for a painting.  Easier said than done sometimes but by the end of the evening I had the piece finally finished.  In the end, although it had caused me problems, I’m quite pleased with it and am looking forward to seeing it in a frame and on the wall.  Mind you, I was working on this picture for almost ten days!

'Winter, Blackmount', Acrylic & Pastel, 2010, 76 x 23 cm

'Winter, Blackmount', Acrylic & Pastel, 2010, 76 x 23 cm

Monday 25th January

Of course as I’ve said before, being a painter isn’t just about doing paintings …oh if that were only  the case.  We’ve been in the process of up-grading this website … as hopefully you’ve noticed.  Well, that of course means someone else doing the actual work on the site, but I’ve had to do quite a bit of work on the computer for this too.  The new works on the website are now shown much better with larger clearer images and more information about each painting.  So then, Monday morning started with a session on the computer, sorting images and writing details etc.  As anyone who’s visually impaired will know, using a PC can be quite time consuming and frustrating.  I use a screen magnifier mostly but of course I have to have the magnification so high I can only see a very small portion of the screen at any one time.  Suffice to say, I started work at 07.30 and by 11.00 I’d got some things done …but not much.  Added to this, my computer crashed in the middle of everything and I can honestly say it wasn’t the best starts to the day!

It did improve once down the studio and  as well as getting some interesting small drawings done I also got the painting I’d finished the day before, into it’s frame….and it looks great …he said modestly!

Tuesday 26th January

A slightly different day ….I’ve been asked by the Edinburgh based charity Autism Initiatives Scotland to become one of their patrons for a new project they’re starting in the city.   I had arranged to meet three of the people responsible for setting up and running the project, and to learn more of it and about my role as a patron.  More in detail in another blog but suffice to say that the project involves creating a working gallery through which people affected by autism can undertake apprenticeships in both the creative business sides of the gallery.  The meeting went very well and later we were taken to see the building that is to be the gallery.  It’s a wonderful building in a superb location in the heart of the gallery district on the edge of the city centre.  I’m very excited and delighted to have been asked to be involved in it.  Back in Irvine by 17.30 …and back on the computer for several more hours.

Wednesday 27th January

After another lengthy session on the computer, this time working on information requested by the Scottish Arts Circle, I then received an email from Germany informing me that I’d been selected for the 2010 Speyer Artists Scholarship.  Wow!  I’d applied back in January last year and didn’t really hold out much hope …but there you go ..if you don’t apply …etc etc.  More details in another blog …but basically it means I’ll be living and working in a purpose built house and studio in the centre of the historic and beautiful city of Speyer for the four months May – August.  What a great opportunity and chance to export a little bit of contemporary Scottish landscape painting into Europe.   Despite the elation at hearing this news, it was back to the studio and work through to 20.00.

Thursday 28th January

A whole day on the computer …getting images ready and sent to the Strathearn Gallery for their website.  Also a CV and statement. Emails to read, emails to answer.  We’ve just set up a link with Facebook and already have 20 plus fans (are you one?).  I finished my marathon session on the computer (about 10 hours and boggled eyes) by trying to learn my way around the Facebook website … I’m feeling a bit old!

Friday 29th ..today

Well, it’s 09.30 and I’ve been working at this keyboard for the last two hours.  Almost finished here so I plan to get a full days painting in.  Nita will pick me up when she finishes work at 20.00 …and then I think we’ll both deserve a pint!  Signing off … a rather frazzled artist!

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