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A question of price

I have to say; that I haven’t really been looking forward to writing this blog, but it’s something that has to be done I’m afraid.  It is, as the title says, a question of price, or should I say, a question of increasing the price of my work.

'Towards the Mamores, a showery summers day'

‘Towards the Mamores, a showery summers day’

Ever since starting to work professionally back in 2009, I’ve tried to keep my prices at a level that matched my then newly emerged status as an artist ….in other words, a little on the low side .

Of course, what you can ask for and what you can get for a painting, may not match and so at the time, it seemed best to be realistic  ……people had to find my work, and, as it is rather different from so much Scottish landscape painting ……they not only had to like it, they also had to get used to it and gain confidence in it.   I have over these last almost 7 years, worked very hard to increase the quality of the paintings I create and I’ve also put almost as much effort into promoting both myself and my work,  in as professional a manner as possible.  This all takes a huge amount of time and time, as they say, is money.

As you know, I have a severe visual impairment and this doesn’t help when it comes to running an efficient small business.  Everything I do including the actual painting, takes much longer to do than if I was fully sighted.  As such I can not only produce less paintings but I have to spend much longer promoting them and so I tend to spend money paying others to do  this side of the work for me.  In short, my business expenses are quite high and my production levels are quite low.

I was however, fortunate enough back in 2009 to have my work win the prestigious £20,000 Jolomo Award for Scottish Landscape Painting.  I’ve used the award money very carefully to cover some of the increased costs I incur. It has also allowed me to continue developing my very distinctive style of work rather than be tempted to try and produce more “sellable”, more traditional Scottish paintings.  This has been great for me as an artist and it has been great for my work.

Now, 6 years on from the award and from my first steps into self employment, my work is being recognized and its quality and individuality  appreciated and sought after, both in Scotland, the rest of the UK, and to an increasing level, internationally too.    My prices however, do not reflect this and sadly despite all the hard work and time that I put into it, I am still not able to make a living or even a wage from it at present.  I either need to produce a lot more paintings ….which I can’t do, due to my very poor sight, or I have to increase my prices considerably.    This is good of course for those of you who have already purchased paintings, but not so good for those who haven’t!  I am therefore going to give six months notice of a general price increase so that people have an opportunity to purchase work at the 2014 level.  Any work commissioned in this period will also be at the current levels regardless of when the commission is completed.  So;

I will be increasing my prices by 40% as from 1st September 2015. I tend to work in standard sizes and so below you will find both the current and post 1st September 2015 prices:

Size                                       Current price                    Price from1st Sept 2015

 210 x 148mm                     £325                                      £455

30 x 30 cm                          £485                                      £679

76 x 23 cm                          £720                                      £1008

80 x 80 cm                          £1250                                   £1750

During the six months between now and 1st September, I will be holding exhibitions and showing work at the following locations.  My work can also be obtained at the same prices directly from my studio or website.

April 24, 25, 26th 2015     Glasgow Art Fair

May / June 2015              Wild Space, John Muir Trust, Pitlochry

August 2015                      “the gallery on the corner”, Edinburgh

I am also in negotiations to show work in two further locations in Ayrshire during this period.  Watch this space for more details.

Right then, that’s it.  I hope this hasn’t been too much of a shock and that you understand my reasons for this price increase.   I do however genuinely feel that the new post 1st September 2015 prices, still offer very good value in today’s art market.

I am also looking into introducing a larger range of prints in the future and will announce news on this front later this year.

After all is said and done, do remember that my studio is always open when I’m working and it doesn’t cost anything to come in and just look at the paintings and have a chat ….everyone is welcome.

‘Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt’

'Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt', Acrylic & Pastel, 2014, 30 x 30 cm

‘Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt’

‘Evening light. On Cul Mor, Assynt’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2014, 30 x 30 cm

People often ask me how I create these paintings and whether I just do them from photographs. This piece is an interesting case and kind of answers that question.

When we are walking I do of course take quick photographs. If the weather is good and the midges aren’t too thick, I stop and do very quick sketches. I use both of these as memory joggers ….but most of the work comes simply from the memories of the places we go and the hours and hours we spend each year wandering over the hills and through the glens of Scotland.

Back in May we spent a fine day walking one of the finest hills in Assynt, Cul Mor. We actually had some pretty fine weather for the whole of the walk and had some marvellous views out across this strange and beautiful landscape. As the day went on however, the cloud thickened and it became quite gloomy and threatening. We were well down the hill by the time the cloud started to drop onto the summits but I remember it being a very strange kind of light and scene. This painting then is actually based on a view point high up on the hill, but trying to imagine what it would have looked like if we’d still been up there as the cloud started to descend.

This new little painting will be one of those on display, (and for sale, price £485) in my studio during the Courtyard Studios Open Weekend, Saturday 4th October, 11am – 5pm, and Sunday 5th October 2014, 12 noon – 5pm. I hope you can get along to see it next weekend. Everyone welcome. For more details about the event please see my latest blog.

‘From the summit of Ben Vrackie’

127-from-the-summit-of-ben-vrackie-acrylic-pastel-2009-60-x-30-cm

‘From the summit of Ben Vrackie’

‘From the summit of Ben Vrackie’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 60 x 30 cm

If you’ve already read my blog you’ll have seen that my mind, (if not my boots) have been very much on Ben Vrackie this week.  I thought therefore, that it would be appropriate to use this painting as my artwork of the week.  I created this in 2009 following a walk on this hill but you’ll notice that it was one of the 60 x 30 cm size paintings.  Although I did a number of pieces this size I never felt too sure about this format.  This painting however, certainly worked well I think but in general I prefer working in the long thin, 76 x 23 cm format

This painting sold not too long after I completed it but the scene from the summit of Ben Vrackie with the broad sweeping grass covered ridge makes for a good composition and I reckon I might re-visit it after our next trip to this fine little hill.

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.

Variations on a theme

 'Approaching snow shower, Scottish Highlands'

'Approaching snow shower, Scottish Highlands'

Over the last few years I’ve done several versions of some of my paintings. Most of these started out as small 30 x 30 cm paintings but I’ve started to develop them at the bigger 80 x 80 cm size.

Revisiting a painting is not simply a case of reproducing the original but rather it’s a chance to create something that is new but on the same theme. One can try slightly different compositions, colours and marks, perhaps in a way, forgetting the original place and simply developing the paint and pastel.

The move from 30 x 30cm to 80 x 80cm has been particularly interesting. The increased surface area of the painting allows so much more scope, particularly with the consistency of the paint and the means by which it is applied.

The paintings included here are all based on a particular event one afternoon several years ago when I was walking with a group from our local club Air na Creagan. It was sometime in February I seem to remember and we’d travelled up to Braemar on a Friday evening with the aim of climbing Lochnagar the following day. We’d booked into the youth hostel for the weekend and were all looking forward to some good winter walking. Quite how wintry it was to be only became apparent as the weekend approached and we watched the forecasts. We arrived in Braemar in the early evening, crossing the high road through Glen Shee in the dark but with the first few flakes of snow falling lightly out of the gloom and being caught in the light of the headlights. As was customary on such weekends, first stop after arriving was the local hotel for food and a beer and by the time we started walking back up the street to the youth hostel it was snowing if not hard, then certainly steadily. Talk before we went to bed was of planning something less taxing than Lochnagar. If it carried on snowing over night we’d not even get the cars to the start point let alone want to tackle what might be thick fresh snow. In the end, the alternative was to do a circular walk out of Braemar and up and over Morone ….a gentle hill of I seem to remember around 800 m.

'Below Morone_ approaching snow shower'

'Below Morone_ approaching snow shower'

In the morning we arose to a good few centimetres of snow and although not too bad it wasn’t really the weather to be driving too far on small roads …and the wind had really picked up, so it would be uncomfortable higher up. Everywhere did look pretty wonderful though as we walked through the little town and picked up the path zig zagging its way up the slopes of Morone. But what a difference as we got out onto the high open and unprotected slopes near the summit. The snow was coming in heavy and quite lengthy showers and as they blew in the winds increased dramatically. There is a radio mast at the top with an access land drover track leading to it from the other side of the hill and at that point we stopped in the slight shelter offered by the wall of the hut. The wind chill up there was severe and despite this being a very modest little hill, this certainly wasn’t the place to hang around. Our planned route led across the summit plateau and then descended into a glen …before an easy walk back out and into the town. The walk across the top of the hill was difficult though…. the snow being blasted along horizontally in a real blizzard. It was hard to see for a while until eventually we started to descend into the glen ..and once again got some shelter from the surrounding hills. After a bit of a battle through in places quite deep snow we picked up another estate track and decided to sit for a while and catch up on a late lunch. As we sat there, we watched the sky darken and then very rapidly this huge snow shower poured over the hilltop at the end of the glen and raced towards us. It was a very impressive sight and one that has stuck with me….it is also the subject of these five paintings.

'Snow shower, Central Highlands'

'Snow shower, Central Highlands'

The snow didn’t go away over night and on Sunday morning we arose to quite thick snow …15 + cm and it was still falling.,. The Glen Shee road was closed and after waiting for several hours for it to ease, we set out for home…..along the only road out …..a tricky drive east to Aberdeen and then back via Dundee! As the whole of Scotland had been hit by the snow none of the roads were very good and our journey back to Ayrshire took many hours. It was quite a weekend!

'Approaching snow shower, above Braemar'

'Approaching snow shower, above Braemar'

 

'Approaching snow shower, above Braemar'

'Approaching snow shower, above Braemar'

 

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