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

Posted by admin on May 6th, 2015

“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

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Pucks Glen – a short walk…..or an adventure?!

Posted by admin on August 9th, 2014

We’ve had a good year of walking so far and have reached the top of a number of hills that, with my still deteriorating bit of sight, I’d started to think I may not get to.  Standing at the tops of Lochnagar, Stuc a’ Chroin and Ben Macdui, has given my confidence a bit of a boost this summer and I’ve been feeling positive despite struggling more with my mobility both around town and on the hill.

On Wednesday however, I was brought down to earth with a bit of a bump, although mental, not physical!  We’d been invited to join some friends who were staying in a lodge at the southern end of Loch Eck, not far from Dunoon.   We had no real plans ourselves as we’d never really explored the area before and so just turned up with fairly basic gear…. waterproofs and walking boots…..just in case.

When we’d left Irvine it had been pouring down with rain and although it had eased as we crossed the Firth of Clyde on the ferry, it was still pretty damp when we arrived and not looking particularly promising weather-wise.   It certainly wasn’t a day for a big or high level walk and our friends suggested a short wander over to Pucks Glen a few kilometres from the lodges.  Sounded perfect and with the cloud starting to break from around the steep sided hills above Loch Eck, the five of us set off.  After following a gradually rising track for forty minutes or so, we reached a sign pointing to a smaller path leading up through the trees ….Upper Pucks Glen ….and headed up that.  Despite it being a very good path this was immediately more difficult for me as the light under these fairly dense woods, was limited.  On this kind of path it wasn’t a problem especially as Nita was in front of me to point out any slippery tree roots etc.   As the path gained height the ground started to drop more steeply away on our right and before long we reach the stream that has formed Pucks Glen.   It wasn’t big and despite the morning rain, it wasn’t very full either, but it dropped away down the hillside steeply and the wee path that followed down beside it immediately screamed ‘problem’ to me.  I really struggle walking down narrow paths by streams especially so when the light is poor…..in these conditions it was really dark for me and so I said I’d have to return by our outward path …I wasn’t going to risk trying to get down that way.  Nita and Evelyn said they’d go back with me and we left Stewart and Holger to take the more direct route.  We kind of figured we’d meet them back on the main track.

Well ….even getting back down the good path was quite slow progress for me.  When we reached the top of the ‘Lower Puck’s Glen’ path however, (with the bit we could see, looking reasonably good) we decided we might as well go back that way.  After just five minutes I was starting to have my doubts though.  It was in general a very good path, but it was just so dark for me in the depths of this narrow tree filled little gorge.  Thankfully all the steep sections had steps and handrails but even so much of the path was right by the stream.  For a large part of this walk I couldn’t see much at all and relied on Nita’s great guiding skills, (honed over years on the hills) to get me down through this amazing little glen.  It was for me really difficult ….probably the most difficult and challenging thing I’ve done for a good few years!   I have to say, that I was very glad to hear Evelyn say we’d reached the main track at the bottom of the glen ….phew!  I was hot and more than a little stressed!!!

It was quite an adventure although it’s a shame Nita didn’t really get to see this amazing little glen either as she spent all her time keeping me on the path.  She did take some photos as we descended but it was so dark that my little camera couldn’t cope with the conditions either, (I have some sympathy for it)…..but here is one photo that came out reasonably well.   It’s spectacular and well worth a visit.  When we met up with Stewart and Holger, they said that the upper glen path was even steeper but without the helpful handrails in places…….definitely not for me!

Pucks Glen near Loch Eck

Pucks Glen near Loch Eck

Of course, after that we just had to go for a beer or two.  By this time the rain had all gone and the hills were clear and looking fabulous in the afternoon and early evening sunshine.  We had planned to catch the late ferry back but forgot to check the time of the last ferry.  We arrived at the slipway at about 22.20 to find it deserted and in darkness ….oooops!  The last ferry had been at 22.00.  Nothing for it but to have a good laugh, eat the emergency packs of crisps Nita  had packed for just such circumstances  ….and then start on the lengthy drive home back past Loch Eck, up and over the Rest and Be Thankful, down along the side of Loch Lomond and over the Erskine Bridge.  We arrived home in Irvine to find a very hungry cat at about 00.30!   It had been a great day ….an adventure out of no-where!

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Lochnagar

Posted by admin on July 5th, 2014
The NE facing corrie of Lochnagar

The NE facing corrie of Lochnagar

When I visited the John Muir Trust centre in Pitlochry earlier this year to discuss my exhibition there in May / June 2015, I was asked whether I might include some paintings of that region. In the past I’d walked and created paintings of Ben Vrackie, Beinn a’ Ghlo and the Drumochter Hills but I’d always fancied heading a little further east and north to explore beyond Glen Shee. If ever I needed one, this seemed the perfect excuse to do some walking around Lochnagar and the White Mounth ….with the hope that I would get some interesting ideas for paintings.

Enjoying a day on the hill

Enjoying a day on the hill

The main reason we’d not been to this area before is that it is just a little too far away from Irvine. We would need to stay over night somewhere in order to walk any of the hills here. When we were a little younger and sprightlier, Nita and I would take my old light weight Saunders tent and camp and walk ….but we gave that up a good few years ago. Indeed, the last such outing was back in 1999 not long after we’d moved to Scotland and we spent a few days out on the Isle of Jura and after that the wee tent was put into retirement!

Lochnagar

Lochnagar

Now, fifteen years later, we decided the best way for us to get walking in these more distant regions of Scotland, was to get ourselves another small tent …..and hope we were still agile enough to get in and out of it! Several weeks ago we went up to the large Tiso in Glasgow and bought ourselves a small light weight Vango tent…..and on Sunday afternoon did the drive up to Ballater and pitched it for the first time. It’s a great little tent and most importantly for me, very easy to pitch. We’d chosen the easy option for the first outing and had booked a couple of nights at the Ballater caravan and camping site…..and it proved a very good choice.

The summit of Lochnagar

The summit of Lochnagar

Although quite busy it was also quiet and had excellent facilities including a washroom, toilet and shower for disabled visitors. This might sound daft as my sole reason for being there was to try and get to the summit of Lochnagar, but when you’re visually impaired it’s often the simpler things that cause problems …like finding your way around public conveniences, camp site shower blocks etc. Suffice to say, I used the disabled facilities and it made my stay there so much easier. …. I would strongly recommend this site.

At the summit of Lochnagar

At the summit of Lochnagar

Anyway, on to the walk itself. We’d got up first thing and driven the 10 miles to the start point in Glen Muick where there is a good car park, toilets and the Balmoral Estate Visitor Centre. We arrived just before 08.00 and eating a quick breakfast headed off up the main path. Low cloud shrouded the hills and although it had been raining when we first arrived, this had stopped by the time we were walking and we were pleased to see the clouds rising and breaking as we gained height. The path led up to the beallach between the main bulk of Lochnagar and Meikle Pap and this overlooks the great NE facing corrie of Lochnagar. As we reached this point the cloud finally lifted off of the summit and a bright patch of sunshine lit up half of the corrie. This really is a fine view point with the huge cliffs dropping into the corrie and its beautiful small dark loch. We stood for a good time just taking the scene in…..and thinking of potential paintings. The rocks seemed to drop in vertical bands with several big gullies obvious and lower down there were several large chevron shaped patches of snow…..what a great hill ….what a great mountain.

Retreating ....and wet!

Retreating ….and wet!

From this point, the path led up steeply through boulders of all sizes and shapes. Being a very popular hill, the path makers had been busy and done an excellent job of creating a winding staircase up onto the plateau at around 1070 m. From this point on it was just a pleasant walk around the rim of the corrie to the summit at 1155m. The views didn’t last all the time as clouds rolled in on a couple of occasions, but thankfully lifted again as we approached the small cone of crags that marks the summit ….and we arrived in bright warm sunshine. The views were even bigger from here and mile after mile of Scotland lay all around us, a wonderful patchwork of colour, line and texture.

Rain and cloud clearing from Meikle Pap, evening

Rain and cloud clearing from Meikle Pap, evening

Not really fancying the descent back through the steep boulders, we decided to follow another path down, although this led eventually to a steep section by the side of waterfalls and when we reached this I decided it was going to be very difficult for me to get down safely ….especially as by this time it had become very dark and was raining heavily. We retraced our steps a half kilometre to where another path led back around the side of the hill and eventually back to our outward route ….but avoiding the steep boulders! This did add an hour or so onto our walk but when you can’t see too much it’s better to adapt your route and take a little longer than to risk having an accident. As it turned out, we got some great views later as the rain and low cloud once again broke and lifted off of the higher ground. The one big problem though, was that we got back to Ballater too late for a pub meal ….and had to make do with a couple of pints of ‘Trade Winds’ and a packet of crisps for our evening meal…..what a hardship! What a day!

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Another piece in the jigsaw

Posted by admin on June 14th, 2014

On Wednesday evening after what had already been a very busy week for us both, we fell prey to a good weather forecast for the east of Scotland and Nita suggested we do another trip to Glen Shee and have a recce of the glen leading up to Loch Callater …and maybe up onto one of the Munro’s too.  Until the other week on Tolmount we never even knew of Loch Callater or that you could get to it from the northern end of Glen Shee using Jock’s Road.  It’s amazing what you can see from the top of a hill!

Overlooking Loch Callater

Overlooking Loch Callater

Another early start saw us at the Glen Shee ski centre cafe at about nine o’clock and after succumbing  to the call of a bacon sandwich and coffee, we started walking just under an hour later.  It’s a five km walk up the glen to Loch Callater but it’s a very beautiful walk with the river rushing along at your side.  When we reached the end of the loch we took the path marked on the map that leads all the way to the summit of Carn an t’Segairt Mor.  In a way it was quite strange following what was in most places a very good path all the way to the top of a hill rather than wandering over open hillside … but it was a very pleasant walk and we reached the summit just in time for a late lunch.  The views on the way up had been good, especially so as we were looking across to the hills we’d walk just a couple of weeks ago.  From the summit though, the views took us into new territory…..taking in several other Munro’s and the fine summit of Lochnagar rising above the others a good few kilometres away.  I always find it particularly exciting seeing new hills for the first time and we’ll certainly be going back later this summer to explore further…..taking the tent though so that we avoid the long drive before the walk.

The flat summit of Carn an t'Segairt Mor

The flat summit of Carn an t’Segairt Mor

As we were leaving the summit of Carn an t’Segairt Mor we met a couple of young chaps and their dog and stopped to have a quick chat.  It turned out that they’d already walked all the way over from Lochnagar and were making for the next Munro in the group ….quite a walk.  We of course were moving at a slightly more leisurely pace and after leaving them, we headed slowly back down towards the car.   By the time we’d got back I really felt that I’d fitted the latest piece of the magnificent Scottish landscape jig saw into place ….can’t wait to get back.

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A day above Glen Shee

Posted by admin on August 24th, 2012
The Cairnwell from Carn Aosda

The Cairnwell from Carn Aosda

For the most part this week has been another one of painting and very little else.  We’ve been trying to fit in another walk but on the days available …when Nita’s not working and I haven’t been busy, well, the weather has been a bit rough.  From the mountain forecasts though, it did seem like there would be a brief lull in the inclement weather, either Thursday or Friday this week and so if we were to get out it would be on one of these two days.  As it turned out Thursday gave us the best chance of avoiding the rain and low cloud …especially if we went east and a little north …a big-ish day in other words!

Our original idea was to travel all the way up to Lochnagar on the Queens Balmoral Estate and after checking that there would be no stalking taking place, we got out the maps and a guide books for the area.  It looks a wonderful hill …one that I’ve always wanted to visit,  but when we got the road map out to find out how to get there, we realised that it would mean a drive of probably three and three quarter hours each way.  This is probably just a bit too far for a day trip, especially with only one driver and the prospect of a big and quite tiring walk once we got there.  If we’re going to walk Lochnagar, then we’ll need to stay over night somewhere near the hill I think.

Towards Carn Aosda

Towards Carn Aosda

That (at 22.00 on Wednesday evening) left us still not knowing where we were going the next day.  After a little more pondering I suggested we go back to Glen Shee and walk the three hills to the immediate west of the Glen Shee Ski Centre…. Carn Aosda 917m, Carn a’ Gheoidh 975m and The Cairnwell 933 m.   The first and last of these three hills lie close to the ski centre, (which itself sits at just over 600m) and so they are no more than a short if steep walk from the start point.  Both are littered with the paraphernalia connected to the ski centre ….ski tows, fences, and large bulldozed tracks … not to mention the big communications masts sitting atop The Cairnwell itself.  To the west of these hills though the country returns to the wild open moss and rock covered tops and it’s out here that Carn a’ Gheoidh lies.

We visited these hills seven years ago on a rather grim December day, our plan then, to start with The Cairnwell, then out to Carn a’ Gheoidh and finally Carn Aosda before the short descent to the car at the ski centre.   It’s a 3 hour drive to Glen Shee from Irvine and we’d left very early in order to arrive at first light.   We were walking up the steep slopes of The Cairnwell as the sun came up and we arrived after about 50 minutes to stand at the summit in bright sun and surrounded by snow covered hills.  Alas though, within half an hour low thick cloud had rushed in and that was the last view we had.  The trip out to Carn a’ Gheoidh that day was a difficult one with snow on the ground and thick cloud …it wasn’t quite a white out …but it was very white all the same and made for difficult and time consuming navigation.  In short we got a little lost on our way back and with the light fading had some anxious moments before finally finding our way back to the edge of the ski centre …and the very welcome sound of the ski tow generators down below in the glen.  Needless to say we never reached the top of Carn Aosda that day.

Nita at the summit of Carn a_ Gheoidh

Nita at the summit of Carn a_ Gheoidh

Yesterday however, with fine weather and long hours of day light, it was an easy and very relaxing walk and the views all around were extensive.  We got to see everything we’d missed in the cloud and snow the previous visit and found where we’d gone wrong on our return from Carn a’ Gheoidh that time.   Yesterday, instead of the mad dash down to the ski centre in rapidly fading light, we had a leisurely stroll down the steep but soft, moss covered slopes of The Cairnwell …45 minutes from the summit to the road.  For this visually impaired walker and his guide, descents are normally stressful, tiring and very long – yesterday’s was an absolute pleasure!

Carn Aosda from below the Cairnwell

Carn Aosda from below the Cairnwell

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Variations on a theme

Posted by admin on November 18th, 2011
'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'

 

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 

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    Contact Details

  • Tel: 07568 380552 or 01294 216427
    E-mail: keith@keithsalmon.org