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Devils Staircase | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘Devils Staircase’

‘Above Glen Coe, spring’

'Above Glen Coe, spring', Acrylic & Pastel, 2015 30 x 30 cm

‘Above Glen Coe, spring’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2015 30 x 30 cm

This is one of my latest 30 x 30 cm paintings and it is currently on show as part of my exhibition at the John Muir Trust Wild Space Visitor Centre in Pitlochry.   For more information about this exhibition see my latest blog.

The painting is based on a view we had the other spring when we walked the ridge north from the Devil’s Staircase in Glencoe.  We’d taken a mate of mine there but during the drive north and for the first hour or so of the walk; it was thick cloud and steady rain….. I don’t think he was too impressed!  Thankfully as we got higher the rain stopped and the cloud started to break off the tops.  Large patches of snow lay around the edges of the escarpment and by the time we reached the summit the cloud had lifted completely and the views across the bigger snow capped summits of the glen were amazing.

‘Towards Glen Coe, late afternoon, January’

313s 'Towards Glen Coe, late afternoon, January', Acrylic & Pastel, 2014, 80 x 80 cm

‘Towards Glen Coe, late afternoon, January’

‘Towards Glen Coe, late afternoon, January’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2014, 80 x 80 cm

This is the latest 80 x 80 cm acrylic and pastel painting I’ve completed. It’s based on the view looking towards Glencoe on a very cold January afternoon. We’d had a short but enjoyable walk in deep snow up the Devil’s Staircase but the snow was too bad to venture up on the tops as we’d planned and so we’d retreated and were heading home. It was a long way to drive for such a short walk but that’s the way it goes sometimes and at least I got a painting out of it!

The painting is currently hanging in my studio at the Courtyard Studios in Irvine so if you’re in the area, do call in to see it. I’ll be in the studio this weekend from 12 noon until 19.30 both days.

A busy little week…

From above the Devils Staircase

From above the Devils Staircase

This time last week, (Saturday 14 at 13.17), Nita and I were sat with some friends Stewart and Evelyn on a rocky little top overlooking Glencoe.  We’d not walked far, just followed the West Highland Way up to the high point of the Devil’s Staircase and headed north up the grass and heather slopes to the first little summit at around 800m.  It was however a wonderful view point and we’d been very lucky with the weather.  It was I guess the perfect Glencoe weather …a mix of bright sun and dark heavy shower clouds that rolled in filling the glen with mist and rain before passing on over Rannoch Moor.  Stewart, an Irvine man, has been living in Germany with his wife Evelyn for many years and so I think he particularly enjoyed seeing this very special bit of Scotland in very special Scottish conditions.

City of Adelaide ....heading south

City of Adelaide ….heading south

The rest of my week was spent either at my studio or standing on the harbour side waiting to see if the grand old clipper, City of Adelaide would finally start her journey by barge down to London.  Getting this vast wooden ship on a barge out of the River Irvine needed a lot of skill, two tugs and some reasonably fine weather.  The latter was the problem for the first part of the week, with constant gales or at least high winds.  All looked good on Thursday morning and a big crowd once again gathered at the mouth of the River Irvine to witness this historical event but at the last minute with the wind picking up, the wise decision was made to once again call it off.  Finally, on Friday lunchtime, with the crowds once again lining the harbour side, the City of Adelaide was towed out to sea to start its trip down to London.  As I write, it’s now well into the Irish Sea apparently ….so good luck to all on board.  I’m not sure of the exact time table but it will be heading to Greenwich for a short while before being lifted onto a really big container ship for the long voyage down to Adelaide.  If you are interested and haven’t already found it, www.cityofadelaide.org.au is a great website and has masses of information and photos.

Art wise, it’s been a good week too.  I’ve had a week of working on an 80 x 80 cm oil painting.  It is as you can see, a more abstract piece created using a large house painting brush and lots of thick oil paint.  I’ve been enjoying working like this after several weeks of doing finer, tighter acrylic and pastel pieces.  Not sure what to make of it though ….so will have to wait and see.

Work in progress, oil on canvas 80 x 80 cm

Work in progress, oil on canvas 80 x 80 cm

Finally, yesterday I also had a visit from a couple from Edinburgh.  They’ve been following my work on-line for a good while now and decided to call into the studio on their way back from a short holiday on the Isle of Arran.  They left my studio an hour later with two of my paintings …..including one of the new Harris pieces.  So then …a very big thanks to them and I hope they get much pleasure from the paintings once they are up on their wall.

I’m spending today trying to get the press release and photos together to send to the local papers and radio stations in order to promote our Open Studios Weekend on Saturday 5th / Sunday 6th October.  The event posters and flyers have been printed and are starting to get displayed …if you live in the region you may see one soon.  I’ll be sending out flyers and email invitations to all who have left their names in my visitors book, but remember, the event is open to all and is free ….so mark it in your diary and come along and enjoy seeing a great selection of work produced by some of Ayrshire’s leading artists, including; painting, drawing, prints, ceramics, stained glass, hand book-binding, photography and jewellery….one of the artists, Alison Thomas, will even be running some drop-in workshops for children too.  Hope to see you at the studios on Saturday 5th October (11am – 5pm), or Sunday 6th October (12 noon – 5pm).

Invitation 2013

Invitation 2013

‘After a walk in the snow, looking back from Rannoch Moor’

218 ''After a day in the snow, looking back from Rannoch Moor', Acrylic & Pastel, 2012, 210 x 148 mm

''After a day in the snow, looking back from Rannoch Moor'

‘After a walk in the snow, looking back from Rannoch Moor’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2012, 210 x 148 mm

Several years ago we got up very early and drove up to Glen Coe.  It was February I think and there was a lot of snow and ice about ….much of the latter on the roads …which made for an interesting and slow journey.  We had planned to walk up the Devil’s Staircase to its highest point and then walk along the broad ridge as far as we could go in the available time.  As I say, the journey was a long one and with the prospect of a similarly difficult return trip, we didn’t want to be too late setting back.  So then, we’d not be walking far!

The snow, just a few centimetres at the side of the road, quickly became thicker as we gained height on the West Highland Way path and before long we were almost wading through knee deep snow …..considerably deeper in some drifts.  We made painfully slow progress as we picked our way uphill, picking a tortuous route around the deepest snow by following areas where the heather was showing through to the surface.  Eventually we got to the top of the Devil’s Staircase and all about was white …this was a place for snow shoes or skis and after a very enjoyable late lunch admiring the wonderful views around us, we headed back down to the car.  It was still quite early as we drove carefully back across Rannoch Moor and the scenery was amazing.  Indeed, at one point we stopped and got out for a couple of minutes just to enjoy it.

This little painting is not an accurate representation of what we saw but is rather how I remember the very white foreground with the darker, almost purple mountains beyond.  As I said about the last little postcard size painting I did, I’m trying with these small pieces to develop more abstract compositions.  I may take this idea into a much larger format soon.

‘Overlooking Glen Coe’

26 'Overlooking Glen Coe', Acrylic & Pastel,

'Overlooking Glen Coe'

‘Overlooking Glen Coe’, Acrylic & Pastel

This painting is based on a day a while back when we were making our way along the ridge that twists its way between the top of the Devils staircase and Am Bodach. It’s a route we’ve taken a few times and it makes for superb but easy walking in the heart of Glen Coe. On this occasion the weather was fine but as we neared the high point at just over 900 m, a thick band of very low cloud drifted up the glen and started to obscure the hills. It didn’t last long and our hill stayed clear, but it made for a very atmospheric scene as we looked across the glen towards the flanks of Stob Coire Raineach.

‘Overlooking Glen Coe’ is currently on display as part of my exhibition at The Strathearn Gallery in Crieff. The exhibition opens on Saturday 12th February and continues until March 12th. For more details and to see all 45 paintings in the exhibition please visit: www.strathearn-gallery.com

‘Towards Am Bodach, Glen Coe’

towards-am-bodach-glen-coe-acrylic-pastel-2011-30-x-30-cm

'Towards Am Bodach, Glen Coe'

‘Towards Am Bodach, Glen Coe’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2011, 30 x 30 cm

This is my most recent small painting. It’s a re-working of a piece I did last year, but looks at the view from a slightly different position. The ridge starts as a broad rough grassy shoulder at the point where the West Highland Way crosses at the top of the Devils Staircase. It gradually turns into a more defined ridge and continues over several tops all the way to Am Bodach …and the start of the Aonach Eagach. It makes wonderful wild but easy walking for us lesser mortals who avoid the really serious stuff ahead and the views the whole way along are just spectacular …being as it is, in the heart of Glen Coe. A grand day out, especially if followed almost all the way to Am Bodach before following an awkward little path down to the A82 in the base of the glen and then following the old military road back to your start point. I’m really rather pleased with this little painting as I think it combines the paint and the pastel well. Its first public airing will be at The Strathearn Gallery as part of my solo exhibition, ‘On the hill – impressions of the Scottish upland landscape’. The exhibition runs 12th February – 12th March.

A walk last March

Approaching A'Chailleach

Approaching A'Chailleach

It’s amazing just how quickly a year passes. Earlier today I was thinking about where we could go for a walk later this week. I decided to see where we went this time last year and found that we’d been up on the ridge above Glen Coe. My old friend from college days, the sculptor Keith Barrett was over from North Shields for a brief visit and so we decided to have a day on the hills.

The walk we took him on is not a difficult one, but it is in one of the most spectacular regions of Scotland. After an early start we arrived at the base of the Devils Staircase (the point where the West Highland Way climbs up away from Glen Coe and over to Kinlochleven. I had hoped for beautiful weather so that Keith could see the amazing scenery around …but alas we found thick heavy low cloud shrouding all the hills and there was rain in the air.

Breaking weather, above Glen Coe

Breaking weather, above Glen Coe

We headed off all the same, following the well built path of the West Highland Way as it gained height and zigzagged its way onto the shoulder of the hill. At the high point we turned left, leaving the popular and well used path and headed off up along the broad grassy and very wet ridge. The weather hadn’t improved at all and we were into the cloud … not even the slightest of views …so infuriating after travelling for almost two and a half hours to get there! It was looking like being a bit of a miserable day but as we gained height we got into some big patches of snow and even in the cloud this makes things look so much better.

After a while the ridge narrows somewhat and you follow the edge of a fine escarpment …which if we wanted to could be followed all the way to the start of the famous Aonach Eagach ridge. To our amazement as we gained height the cloud started to break and brightness started to appear. The escarpment had the remains of a cornice all the way along …in places you could see where it was breaking away, creating deep cracks in the snow that were a deep blue colour.

The Glen Coe mountains

The Glen Coe mountains

A strong bitterly cold wind was blowing now and clearing the cloud…all around us appeared snow capped peaks …it really was an amazing sight. We sat near the top of A’Chailleach ( just over 900m), sheltered from the wind by a large crag and just enjoyed the wildness and splendour of Glen Coe. We hadn’t seen a soul since leaving the WHW and it remained like this as we wandered our way back in bright sunshine. A classic little day in the Scottish Highlands …we had a bit of nearly everything.

Hopefully we’ll get something equally good later this week when we head out with another old friend from Falmouth School of Art. The last time I walked with him it rained heavily for six hours; better luck this time!

Photos by Anita Groves

114 'Towards Am Bodach, Glen Coe', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 30 x 30 cm

'Towards Am Bodach, Glen Coe'