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Corbett | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘Corbett’

Light and subtle sounds …….back on the hill again

It’s damp, grey and dark here in Irvine today, but on Sunday last, Nita and I caught the end of the fine weather and made the most of it with a working walk in the hills.

We hadn’t been out for a week or two so it was with a real sense of excitement that we drove north through the beautiful scenery of the Loch Lomond National Park.  Huge banks of fog lay over the loch, sometimes shrouding everything including the road, sometimes pulling back out onto the water to give amazing views of the summit of Ben Lomond sticking out above it.  The colours were superb in the bright early sunshine and I had the feeling that even if I didn’t get any sound recordings made during the day, I’d certainly see some great views and maybe get some new ideas for paintings.

Hills around Bridge of Orchy

The Bridge of Orchy Hills, morning

But that said, you do have to get your priorities right and as we drove through this spectacular autumn landscape our minds were firmly fixed on breakfast at the Green Welly and one of their fine bacon rolls!  Once this was accomplished I’d put my mind to work ….but not before!

One of the problems I’ve encountered during my first attempts at making sound recordings in the wild is that there can often be a lot of background man-made noise.  I decided therefore to head back to a small hill we’ve walked several times in the past and one that is set well back from the main roads and isn’t an ‘anything’ …like a Munro or Corbett or Graham.  Being unclassified it, tends to be less frequented by other walkers.   The wee hill in question was Ben Inverveigh……rising between Glen Orchy and Loch Tulla.  I hoped that from its broad rough summit ridge I might be able to capture something of the wild in a recording.   It’s difficult to explain quite what I’m after except that there are wonderfully subtle sounds of space and quiet when you’re up in the hills ….and these are what I want to try and capture with the sound recorder.

View from Ben Inverveigh

From Ben Inverveigh

Ben Inverveigh is only around 650m high but even so its upper slopes were periodically shrouded with cloud and it made for quite a strange atmosphere as the mists came and went, sometimes reducing the visibility considerably and sometimes breaking so that we could see the bigger hills around us.   We stopped by one of the two small cairns marking the official top and after a quick bite of lunch, I set the sound recorder working…..propped on a small rock with its microphone sheltered from the cold breeze.  Over the ten months I’ve had use of this recorder, I’ve made quite a lot of recordings, but most have failed to capture quite what I want.  Many of them have as I said, captured the background noise of traffic or passing aircraft…..or me sneezing or Nita eating a bag of crisps as happened on one occasion!  Recording sound is not easy you know!  Anyway, on Sunday we did seem to have perfect conditions and when I switched the recorder on I felt rather more optimistic about the results than normal.  I’d have to wait until I got home to have a listen to the recording, if for no other reason than that it was bloody cold up there and we needed to get moving.

WHW & Beinn Dorain

Beinn Dorain from the West Highland Way, late afternoon

The walk back saw conditions improve considerably and before we were half way down we found ourselves in bright late afternoon sunshine.  The colours were once again, very beautiful and quite intense.  The spiky clumps of grass that made up much of the covering vegetation on this hill were a strange mixture of colours, ranging from a reddish brown at the tips, to a rich straw colour and to a vivid yellow green at the base of each blade of grass.  This meant that the overall colour seemed to change depending on which way the breeze blew.

By the time we got back to the car the light was fading fast but we’d had a great little day.  Not only did I get some ideas for new paintings, I also, it turned out, managed to get my first half decent sound recording.  I haven’t worked out yet how I’m going to use these recordings ……but it’s a step forward and quite an exciting one too.  At some point in the future I’ll get some of these recordings on-line so that you can get an idea of what this crazy painter is trying to do!

Refuelling!

I’m late writing this blog again and am sat in my studio this Sunday with Sea Sick Steve blasting out!  Suffice it to say ….I’m the only one here at the Courtyard so far today…. I might get some complaints otherwise.  Oh well, sometimes its great having the music up loud and in a strange way it can be almost as relaxing as being out in a wild and quiet location.

I think I’ve needed a bit of both of these to be honest, after what has been a very busy and quite stressful last week.  It’s been a good one though and very enjoyable too …but I needed a break at the end.   Our plan had been to get up at 5am and drive up to Glen Coe to walk Stob Dubh, one of the Munro summits of Buachaille Etive Beag.  Trouble was that by the time we got to Thursday evening both Nita and I were completely shattered and even the thought of walking in what must be one of Scotland’s finest mountain ranges couldn’t cut through the weariness.  But we did need to get out and Nita suggested we head back to Beinn Odhar near Tyndrum.  It’s a regular in our hill walking diary as it makes for a great half day but with plenty of steep and ‘up’ to give the legs a short but sharp work-out.  It also had the advantage that we didn’t have to drag ourselves out of bed until 08.30!

View from Beinn Odhar of the old mines

From the old mine workings on Beinn Odhar

Have to admit we hadn’t checked the weather forecast for a couple of days but had seemed to remember that there was a nice splurge of high pressure lurking somewhere close to Scotland and so imagined we’d have fine weather.  We did, but not in that clear blue skies kind of way we had expected.  By the time we were driving along the shores of Loch Lomond it was dark and threatening rain and a good number of hills had cloud shrouding their tops.   It was, however, a rapidly changing scene and in the hour it took to drive the remaining way to Tyndrum we’d had a bit of almost everything from bright sunshine to heavy bursts of rain.  This was to be the story of the day.

Part of the enjoyment of a half day in the hills is that you have time to stop for coffee and a snack before setting out and we did just this at the very popular watering hole that is The Green Welly.  And then we were off, heading up the West Highland Way for a kilometre or so before turning off this popular track and making our way up the steep grassy slopes of Beinn Odhar.  There is no messing with this hill.  You gain height quickly and the views behind you are always impressive.  On Friday this meant a stream of fast moving dark clouds passing by at about 850m and the summits of the larger hills regularly disappearing and then re-emerging into bright patches of sunlight.  For me, this was perfect and I felt a painting coming on almost as soon as we gained some height!

View from Beinn Odhar

From the slopes of Beinn Odhar

This is the hill that has old mine remains high up on the slope and it never fails to amaze me to think that people used to trudge all the way up there  before starting a day’s work.  As we picked our way through the rocky outcrops marking the mine workings the cloud descended and it was time to get the water and wind proof gear out ….suddenly it was cold with that very definite hint of winter being just around the corner.

View from Beinn Odhar

Landscape patterns, from the slopes of Beinn Odhar

We reached the wee loch tucked under the final steep and boulder covered slopes leading to the summit and decided to sit and enjoy this incredibly peaceful spot.  We’ve been here many times before and this really is one of my favourite places in the Southern Highlands.  It is so unexpected and despite this being a Corbett it is a rarely visited spot.  I guess we sat sheltering from the wind and occasional drizzle for about 50 minutes…..just watching the clouds come and go.  This really was a perfect place to re-fuel.

‘Towards the Lawers group’

‘Towards the Lawers group’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2006,

'Towards the Lawers group', Acrylic and Pastel, 2006, 91.5 x 34 cm, sold_1

‘Towards the Lawers group’

I was talking about hills with a visitor to my studio the other day and they mentioned Ben Lawers Nita and I have walked this big hill a good number of times over the last 15 years and it always makes for a fine day, especially so if its lofty summit is clear.  At a little under 4000 ft you certainly feel like you’re on top of the world when you’re sat at its sometimes busy top, with spectacular views all around the Southern Highlands.

Anyway, I found myself thinking about this painting and thought it’d make a good ‘Artwork of the week’.  It is based on a view we had looking towards the group of hills of which Ben Lawers is the dominant peak.  It made a fine scene from a neighbouring Corbett and I remember standing for a good few minutes on this frost covered hilltop just staring at this amazing winter scene.

Summit meeting

View from Edinburgh castle

View from Edinburgh castle

It has been a case of ‘hold the front page’ this week.  My original plan was to do the entire blog about a visit we made to Edinburgh on Wednesday.  Then yesterday I got a very interesting email from a gentleman called Richard Baker…. and I decided that my plans for the blog would have to change a little.

But a bit about Edinburgh first as this really was an important occasion.  As you know, back in 2010 I was invited to act as patron to ‘the gallery on the corner’ in Edinburgh.  This wonderful gallery, run by Autism Initiative Scotland, not only supports and exhibits work by people affected by autism and other health issues, but it also trains young people affected by autism, in both the creative and retail sides of the business.  On Wednesday afternoon I was invited to attend the gallery to help celebrate the successful completion of their training by the galleries most recent five trainees.  It was good to meet them all and to be there as they were presented with their certificates by gallery manager Susie Anderson.  This is now the third group of young people to have completed training at the gallery and a new group of trainees has just started …..so the gallery staff and trainees are doing a great job and achieving a great deal.

As I’ve said in the past, if you are in Edinburgh at any point, do make it along to ‘the gallery on the corner’.  You’ll find a great selection of works, some by established artists and some created by the trainees in the studios below the gallery.  It’s well worth a visit and of course your support will help more young people get real practical training both creatively and in business and retail skills.  ‘the gallery on the corner’ really is a win win situation …do please support it if you can.

And now, as they say, for something completely different.  You’ll perhaps remember that back in August I think it was, we did a magnificent walk up the Corbett, Mam na Gualainn.  We’d been threatening to take our friend Guy there for a good number of years and so the three of us finally made it to the top on what was a particularly fine day.  It wasn’t clear blue skies, but rather a constantly changing scene as banks of low cloud drifted in from the west and broke around the mountains of Glencoe, the Mamores and….Mam na Gualainn.

Panorama Loch Leven by Richard Baker

Panorama Loch Leven by Richard Baker

A large group of walkers set off up hill a short while before we started but with my slow pace they soon disappeared and we saw no one all the way to the summit.  We’d sat for a while just below the summit eating our lunch and watching the clouds come and go and the views change every minute.  Our plan was to continue east along the grassy ridge for some way before retracing our steps.  As we got up to leave, a gentleman arrived at the summit and we stood and chatted for five minutes or so.  At the time it was just one of those meetings you occasionally have on Scottish hills …..you’ve perhaps been walking for three or four hours and haven’t seen anyone and then suddenly someone appears.  It’s nice to stop and have a chat before both going on your respective ways again.

Anyway, that would have been that, but a couple of days ago a got this email from Richard explaining that he had been the chap we’d spoken to near the summit of Mam na Gualainn back in August.  He said that he’d thought he’d recognised me as we spoke (he had apparently found my website while looking for paintings of Scotland a few months before) but it was only as we headed off that he realised where he’d seen my face before.  Richard was in the middle of a lengthy walk and was heading back towards Corrour.  Anyway, he sent me this magnificent photograph which he took, looking back towards Loch Leven, with Mam na Gualainn on the right and the Pap of Glencoe in the centre.  What a fantastic panorama … I’m going to have to do a walk in that direction myself sometime.

Anyway, thanks Richard, for getting in touch.  You say that you are away walking again this coming week …..hope you have a great time and hope to see you at the studio sometime …..or perhaps again by chance at the top of a hill somewhere.

Heading for Goat Fell on the 7am ferry…

'Heading for Goat Fell ...on the 7am ferry'

'Heading for Goat Fell ...on the 7am ferry'

Talk about leaving it a bit late, we took the decision to head over to Arran for a walk up Goat Fell yesterday, after I got back from the studio on Wednesday evening. Not the greatest of preparations but thankfully we had some bread rolls in the freezer and a supply of Lucozade …it wouldn’t be the best packed lunch in the world but good enough.

It’s been pretty miserable up here in Scotland for the last few days with rain and high winds but as we put the rucksacks into the car for the short drive to the ferry …at about 6.15am …there was just enough light to see that the sky was virtually cloud free …it was looking good.

As you may have noticed from the blogs, we haven’t been out on the hill for a good few weeks now.  I’ve just been so busy at the studio that with one thing and another …coupled with many days of low grey cloud and rain …well we just never managed to get out.  I’ve been wanting to go and walk my 50th Corbett but still haven’t decided which hill that will be and so on Wednesday evening we just wanted somewhere to go that would stretch the legs and give great views …what better place to go than Goat Fell over on the Isle of Arran.  On a clear day the views from its summit must be some of the best in Scotland and for us living just across the water in Irvine; it has the advantage of virtually no driving, and the luxury of getting breakfast during the 55 minute crossing between Ardrossan and Brodick.  You arrive in the picturesque little town of Brodick and can see many of the big Arran hills (including Goat Fell) rising just to the north.  You don’t even have to catch a bus to the base of the hill …there is a wonderful path that picks it’s way between the golf course and the sea all the way to below Brodick castle where the main ‘tourist’ path starts and the wonderful Arran Brewery has it’s home.

'On Goat Fell'

'On Goat Fell'

Everything looked so beautiful as we walked along the beach the final few hundred metres to the start of the Goat Fell path.  The sea was an intense blue and the trees were just starting to take on that autumn colouring.  The path picks its way up and around the edge of Brodick Castle gardens ….heading through a mixture of trees and habitat.  After a while it reaches a small fast flowing stream with a wee bridge over it.  I can remember a few years back when this bridge was just a fairly narrow affaire with no hand rail …I used to shuffle my way over it, worrying that I’d miss the edge and end up getting a soaking!  No worries now …as I say, there’s a proper little bridge in place.  About this point you get to the edge of the trees and the path turns and runs across a fairly level section heading for the shoulder of the hill.  We had seen just two other folk at this time and it was so peaceful as we wandered along the stony path.  Already the views to the south were impressive …but there was also a lot of very low cloud out there and we worried that this was the ‘weather’ that the forecast had said was due in later that day …arrived early as it were.

Once onto the ridge the path is nearly all rock …hours and hours of time and hard work moving greet stones and boulders into place, utilizing the natural outcrops and picking a clever line, have created a fine and safe path all the way to the summit.  You don’t have to follow it of course and you can clamber your way up and through the granite boulders and outcrops if you choose.  The views just get better and better as you gain height but the best is left to the last on this hill.  As the angle suddenly eases you arrive on a boulder and slab strewn summit and suddenly you get the most amazing views…the whole of the rocky, Arran mountains stretch out before you, the narrow ridges, rocky pinnacles and bright sand screes. . .there is just so much to look at.  All around you can see the sea and out to the east is the dark line of the main and Ayrshire.  Further to the south Nita pointed out Ailsa Craig.  We had reached the top just before midday and so it seemed like the perfect spot for lunch.

East from Goat Fell

East from Goat Fell

As we sat looking out over the deep trough of Glen Rosa, the very low broken cloud we’d seen earlier to the south, started to feed in on the breeze.  It bubbled up beneath us heading north up Glen Rosa before briefly shrouding the fine pointy summit of Cir Mhor.  It came and went creating a constantly changing view, different colours, tones and patterns.  The strange thing was that for almost an hour as we watched this wonderful changing show …the cloud never enveloped us on the summit of Goat Fell …the highest point on the island.  Indeed, we were sat in bright sunshine much of the time we were watching the flowing and breaking clouds ….quite amazing.  There was a good few folk on the summit by this time …all transfixed by the scene.  After about an hour the cloud faded away and we were left with an almost cloud free sky.  The ridge over to North Goat Fell looked tempting (we first scrambled our way along and over its stumpy pinnacles way back in 1988 during our first ever holiday together), but we decided instead just to have a leisurely return in the sun.

From Goat Fell ...the summit of Cir Mhor above the cloud

From Goat Fell ...the summit of Cir Mhor above the cloud

As I’ve said before, the Isle of Arran Brewery is situated right at the start of the path up Goat Fell, and as we reached it on our way back …having cut it too fine to catch the 16.40 ferry, we stopped by and bought ourselves a couple of bottles of Arran Blonde from the brewery shop.  They have seats and tables outside and so long as you open the bottles yourself …you can sit and drink them in the evening sun …which is what we did.  Within 15 minutes several other walkers, arriving back after a hot day on the hill, stopped and did like-wise.

A gentle amble back around the bay and just time for some chips before the ferry arrived …then coffee and a kip before arriving back in Ardrossan a little after eight in the evening …what a wonderful day.

A local fisherman ...near Brodick

A local fisherman ...near Brodick

Interestingly on Wednesday evening I also received an email inviting me to take part in a group exhibition at the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock…at the end of January.  They asked if I might have any paintings I could include that were local to the area.  I’m thinking I may well be able to do a couple of pieces based on the incredible views we had while at the summit of Goat Fell.  Anyway, more details about this exhibition as and when I know them.

Finally, if you’re reading this and live in Ayrshire and have never made the trip over to Arran …well then …do go and visit.  It is a magical place with something for everyone and as I found yesterday, when you’ve been working hard and are tired and worn out …a day on the island relaxes and restores.