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Cairngorms | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘Cairngorms’

Exciting new hotel gallery in Troon, Ayrshire

abstract scottish landscape art

‘Memories of a winter day, the Cairngorms’

A few weeks ago I was asked whether I would like to show one of my large 80 x 80 cm acrylic and pastel paintings in a new hotel based gallery in Ayrshire. The hotel is the prestigious Lochgreen House Hotel and its new gallery is in a prime position over looking the beautiful gardens.

The gallery contains one or two works by about 10 artists and Margaret who runs the gallery for the hotel, selected this rather wintry painting of mine for inclusion in their first exhibition.

The gallery is open to non residents as well as people staying at the Lochgreen House Hotel, so do pop in to see the fine selection of work there. The gallery is close to the main reception so is easy to find. For further information about the hotel, visit: www.lochgreenhouse.com

“All four seasons” – Exhibition at John Muir Trust Wild Space Visitor Centre, Pitlochry

“All four seasons” – An exhibition of work by Keith Salmon at the John Muir Trust Wild Space Visitor Centre, Pitlochry,  1st May – 29th June 2015

'Passing shower, Lochnagar'

‘Passing shower, Lochnagar’ — On display at JMT Wild Space Centre

Trying to come up with titles for exhibitions is always a difficult one I find. My current exhibition at the John Muir Trust Wild Space Visitor Centre in Pitlochry is called “All four seasons” and I think it sums up what my work is about quite well.  The paintings in this show do I think cover all four seasons  and the scenes vary from the Western Highlands and Islands to works created after trips to the Cairngorms, Lochnagar and the Drumochter Hills last year.  The works vary in size from small postcard sized paintings (210 x 148 mm), to the largest at 80 x 80 cm and with prices ranging from £325 – £1250.  I also have a range of prints for sale in the exhibition as well as a number of gift cards.

 'From Gael Charn, the Drumochter Hills'

 ‘From Gael Charn, the Drumochter Hills’ — On display at JMT Wild Space

Nita and I travelled up to Pitlochry last Friday in order to deliver the works and to hang the exhibition.  As I wasn’t too sure how long it would take for us to hang the show, I wanted to get to the centre for 10am when they opened and this meant a fairly early start.  I had spent the previous few days madly wrapping and packing 26 works and so 05.45 saw us at my studio packing them into the car.  It’s quite a time consuming task as with the majority of the works framed behind glass, we couldn’t risk them moving during the drive up north…… arriving with a car full of broken glass wouldn’t have been too good!  We got away from Irvine at about half past six and cleared Glasgow before the roads got too busy.  After that, it was a very pleasant drive on to Pitlochry.   At the time, the skies were almost cloudless and the Perthshire countryside looked really beautiful in its spring colours.  To the west however the mountains of Stuc a’ Chroin and Ben Vorlich looked very wintry with plenty of snow on them.   We arrived in Pitlochry with almost an hour to spare and so had time for a late breakfast before the work began.

'Memories of a winter day, the Cairngorms'

‘Memories of a winter day, the Cairngorms’ — On display at JMT Wild Space

In all honesty, I haven’t hung too many exhibitions in the past and so I was very grateful for the help and assistance we got from Jane, the centre manager.  She obviously knows the space well and made some good suggestions about how the work might be placed.  Even so, it took us until about 15.30 to get the exhibition on the walls.  I’d taken 25 paintings, not really knowing quite how many I’d need and in the end we hung 19 of them.  The Wild Space sells work directly off the walls so having a few spare pieces to replace any ones sold is quite important.

Getting to the Wild Space

Tower House, Station Road, Pitlochry PH16 5AN
(Find us off the A9, on the corner of Atholl Road and Station Road)

Opening hours for May 2015

Monday               10am – 4.30pm
Tuesday               CLOSED
Wednesday         10am – 4.30pm
Thursday             10am – 4.30pm
Friday                  10am – 4.30pm
Saturday              10am – 4.30pm
Sunday                11am – 4pm

Additional Opening  / Closing on the following days:
Sunday 10 May    Closed

Find out what’s on at the Alan Reece Gallery

For more details about Wild Space and the John Muir Trust visit; https://www.jmt.org/wildspace.asp

Keith Salmon Exhibition - John Muir Trust

Keith Salmon Exhibition – John Muir Trust

Cairngorm wander

The cafe on the hill!

The cafe on the hill!

I had a very good few days at the studio at the end of last week and got back to working on the two large canvases again. The original one that I’d thought finished a few months ago, needs a few things doing to it and so I took the bold step! Still some work to do yet, but I’m feeling happier about it now. I’ve also done more on the second big piece and parts of this are starting to come together now. It’s going to be interesting getting back into the studio later this morning to see them, as I’ve been off for the past three days.

Our route ahead ...from the summit of Cairn Gorm

Our route ahead …from the summit of Cairn Gorm

The reason for this lazy absence? Well, of course, of course, we went walking again! Only for one day of actual walking, but we decided to make the most of this latest patch of fine weather and travel north to the Cairngorms ….taking our new little tent with us again. Prior to Wednesday I’d never done any proper walking in the cairngorms. It was just too far away and although we’d considered it for our two weeks holiday in May, we’ve never actually got there then……we both like having the sea near and so we always go to the North West instead! I’d been on three courses at Glenmore Lodge since 2001 and on these we’d been taken into the big Northern corries and at the end of our winter skills course we’d climbed briefly up onto the plateau …….but this trip was to be our first real outing in these hills.

Wow!

Wow!

We couldn’t really have asked for a finer day for this first little Cairngorm adventure…..there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when we left the campsite at Glenmore at 07.00 and it stayed that way for the rest of the day. We didn’t really have any proper plans as to what we were going to do or where we were going to go, except that we’d walk the main path up to the summit of Cairn Gorm and then take it from there. Not perhaps the best thing to do, but I really wasn’t sure quite how difficult the walking would be up there. The map showed lots of rock and boulders and I wasn’t sure whether the paths marked would be easy to follow or whether it would be very slow progress through acres of boulders. Best then to leave it fluid ……we kind of figured that the view from the top of Cairn Gorm should give us a fairly good idea. I’d thought that if things were very rough and slow we could perhaps make our way over to get a view over Loch Avon before making our way back to the car. If however, things looked reasonably good, we could have a go at getting over to Ben Macdui for a much longer day.

The more challenging route to the plateau ...not for me!

The more challenging route to the plateau …not for me!

The main start point for Cairn Gorm is so high that it doesn’t really take too long to get up to the summit. Not of course, if you don’t succumb to the call of tea and coffee at the cafe at the top of the Cairngorm railway as you pass! We of course just had to stop for refreshment, especially as we arrived there just five minutes before they were due to open. And very nice it was too ….and very civilized, sat there in the cool looking out over Scotland from this high perch on the mountain. Very quickly though, the coffee was finished and we were once again back out in the hot sun and heading up the final slopes on an almost cobbled path to the summit.

At the summit of Ben Macdui

At the summit of Ben Macdui

Wow …..what a view and what a great sculptural cairn! Art on a hill! These hills are high and on a day like this the sense of space all around is strong. More to the point, Ben Macdui looked a long way away but the paths in this popular region looked clear and big and with it still being mid morning, we decided to give it a go.

Well of course, I could ramble on for hours about, the fine views into the spectacular northern corries, of the wonderful little loch perched high on the plateau reflecting the deep blue of the sky and of the boulders and grey dusty approach to Ben Macdui ….but perhaps best just to add a couple of photos and to suggest, if you haven’t already visited this incredible place ….to do so. As we sat amidst the boulders on the flat summit of Ben Macdui at just over 1300m, the views were some of the biggest I’d seen ….so many hills and mountains, such a big area of wild spectacular country …and nearly all of it new to us…..we’ll be back …..despite the boulders!

On the descent

On the descent

It’s an interesting thought though that prior to my first visit to Glenmore Lodge back in 2001 to do the Summer mountain skills course for visually impaired, I’d been very nervous about walking in the hills with my limited sight. That week at Glenmore Lodge gave me so much confidence. I almost certainly wouldn’t be doing all that I do now if it wasn’t for that course and so it was very very good to be back and putting some of there teaching to good use in their local hills.

Booked

Well it’s just me and this machine today ….no painting I’m afraid, just writing.  I have though been down into town this morning to go to the bank to pay the deposit on the cottage we’ve just booked for our holiday in May.  Last week you’ll remember, I was wondering where to go and more to the point whether we’d be able to find anywhere still available for the two weeks in May.  Most of the places we looked at in Sutherland were booked for the weeks we wanted, but we did find one place just a little further to the east than we’d originally planned.   I think it is described as a former croft and is situated very close to the north coast.  It sounds great and well located for getting to some of the northern hills as well as exploring this magnificent bit of coastline.  Now we’ve booked I’m getting really excited and will have to order the OS 1:25000 maps for the area.  The magnifiers will be put to good use once the maps arrive.

I’ve been looking in the hill guides and one hill that does attract me …although it’ll be a little bit of a drive, is Morven.  It is 706 m and is apparently the highest point in Caithness.  Until last year I’d never heard of it but on the day we walked to the southern summit of Arkle and were sat looking out over the vast wild landscape of Sutherland and Caithness, Nita spotted this very distinctive hill a way over to the east.  Our maps didn’t cover the area and so it was only on returning to the caravan that evening that we were able to look in the hill guide …and Nita spotted it.  It really is quite a distinctive shape and I think the book said that it is of Old Red Sandstone.  There is a neighbouring hill of slightly less height and both look well worth a visit.  Situated not too far inland from the NE coast and in an area that is generally quite low, they should offer magnificent views on a clear day.

A couple of years ago I sold one of my larger paintings (of Coire an t’ Sneachda in the Cairngorms) to a gentleman living near Wick in Caithness.  He phoned me the morning that the painting arrived and after talking about the painting and where he was going to hang it, he asked me whether I’d ever visited the Flow Country.  When I told him that I hadn’t, he said he’d thoroughly recommend it….he thought its big horizons and skies would make wonderful paintings.  It’s an area I’ve often thought of visiting but as there aren’t so many hills I’ve always tended to head further west.  So then, finally we’re going to be close to this fabulous wild area.  I think I read that it is the biggest unbroken area of bog in Europe.  Sounds great.

No photos to go with the blog this week I’m afraid but I’ll hopefully have some new images for next week’s effort.

Lochlyock Hill and back, via Tinto!

Tinto

Tinto

As I said in one of my blogs a short while ago, I tend to try and follow the best weather when I plan a walk these days.  This was once again the case last Sunday as our original plan had been to go up to Glencoe and to walk Beinn a’ Chrulaiste.  It’s a hill we’ve visited before but is in a great location …sitting as it does on the opposite side of the glen to Buachaille Etive Mor, and right on the edge of Rannoch Moor.  In the past we’d climbed the hill via a broad heathery and steep gully between the crags on its southern flanks.  We’d also scrambled the ‘pink rib’, a relatively easy scramble (if your sight is good) that runs up the crags on the east side of the gully…..but on both occasions the weather had been very poor and we had little if any views.  Indeed, the pink rib was done in driving rain, hail and near the top wet snow, driven on by a strong gusting wind.  I was then hoping to catch a fine day to go back to this hill, and had planned to walk it from Kingshouse, up its more gentle southeast slopes.  Sadly though the forecast for the west of Scotland were pretty bad once again and so as with the previous weekend we looked east for slightly better conditions.

 

 

Lochlyock Hill from Tinto

Lochlyock Hill from Tinto

After some consideration we decided to head over to Lanarkshire and do a walk on Tinto.  As with Beinn a’ Chrulaiste, we’d walked this hill a couple of times in the past and similarly on both occasions we’d seen little if any views ….it’s relatively low summit being well shrouded in mist.  Tinto is a very easy hill and makes for a popular weekend afternoon walk.  The huge path that runs from the car park (on the NE side of the hill) makes a broad scar across the higher heather covered slopes and on Sunday a lot of folk seemed to be just walking to the top and back.  It certainly wasn’t perfect weather, but the cloud was above the top (707m) and as we plodded up the track there were odd signs of brightness every now and then.  It was busy though and if we’d stayed on the main track for much longer I reckon I’d have lost my voice from saying ‘hello’ so many times!  And it wasn’t just walkers out enjoying this superb little hill.  When we reached the cold windy summit, there were two people with paragliders floating around in the strong wind.

 

Our plan though was to head west over to a small outlying top, Lochlyock Hill.  Within a couple of minutes of leaving the summit we’d left most of the other walkers and had a very pleasant wander down and then across to this quiet little grassy top.  We did meet a few people but mostly had the place to ourselves.  We managed to get down out of the wind and had lunch looking out over the Lanarkshire countryside.  By this time the sun was starting to come out and our walk back across and up to the summit of Tinto again was really lovely.  The sky looked very dramatic and the colours in the landscape were bright and quite intense at times.

Although this is not a huge hill, the views from the top on a clear day are quite extensive. ….according to one book I read summits as far away as the Lake District, to the south and the Cairngorms to the north have been spotted.  Needless to say, this fuzzy eyed walker didn’t spot anything so distant but if you were to catch a warm day when the wind wasn’t cutting you in half …well it’d be worth a look!  This isn’t probably one for the craggy hill men and woman that want a bit of a challenge, but it is a fine place to walk and makes a very nice change from the Highlands.  Well worth a visit.

A change of scene

New Look Courtyard

New Look Courtyard

When I left Irvine for Speyer on May 11th, big changes were afoot at the courtyard studios. WASPS had decided to refurbish the studios and while doing so, were taking the opportunity to create several new spaces in the roof space. The work was planned to last until around the start of July and in a way, it was perfect timing for me as I would miss much of the disruption. As it turned out, I heard tell of the disruption every few days as Anita was ‘studio sitting’. My space is in the old part of the building. I’m not quite sure how old, but a chap came in the other year and told me that my studio used to be his office back in the 1950s…when he was a customs officer. Since then it had fallen into disrepair….understatement. When the builders moved in, they found that a section of the floor joists had rotted through and it was only the patchwork of pink and yellow carpet that was holding the floor up! The rear wall, covered by a chipboard outer, was completely crumbling away and Gordon, one of the other artists, described it as being like a waterfall when it rained…explains the dampness I think.

Anyway, I flew back to Scotland last Thursday evening and went down to my studio on Friday…and what a difference. For starters, the dreadful pink outer walls are now a slightly better, if somewhat strange, green colour….but it does look a lot better and people have started to notice us. As for my own studio, they have done a great job…a new floor, the waterworks completely repaired and a new door that actually fits the frame…and a heater! With a bit of luck, it will be a much more pleasant experience during the winter months and I’ll not need to dress up like the Michelin man.

New Look for the WASP Courtyard Studios, Irvine, Ayrshire

The WASP Courtyard Studios, Irvine, Ayrshire

So then, it has been straight back to work, as I have to get 6 pieces ready for a group show at Scotlandart.com which opens in late October. It’s great to be back in Scotland but although there’s lots of work to do, I am going to make sure there’s time to relax too. Today Anita and I have been to see the magnificent exhibition of the Lewis chessmen at the National Museum of Scotland and the Impressionist Gardens exhibition at the RSA, both in Edinburgh. We’re heading up for a walk near the Cairngorms on Sunday and have already organised a day on the hill with our very good friend Guy…I can’t wait. Well and truly back in business I think.

*** Please note that WASP Courtyard Studios will be having its traditional Open Weekend from the 2nd and 3rd of October. So why not come along and see the changes. Everyone is very welcome!  ***