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Posts Tagged ‘speyer cathedral’

Back to Glen Rosa…

Heading into Glen Rosa

Heading into Glen Rosa

You may remember that back in the summer of 2010 when I was working over in Speyer in southern Germany, I made a very large drawing.  On that occasion it was based on the idea of walking around the outside of the huge cathedral that dominates the historic city of Speyer.  It was like a very large, (4 m x 1.5 m) sketch, made using different shades of grey oil pastel.  At the time I thought it might be my only opportunity to create such a large drawing and it was hugely enjoyable working on such a scale.

In Glen Rosa

In Glen Rosa

More recently, I started working on some new small graphite drawings based on the hills and mountains.  I’ve been quite excited by these new drawings but even as I was doing them I felt that they would work much better on a larger scale.  To start with I was really only thinking about moving up from A2 size to perhaps double A1 size, but then when we visited the Isle of Arran and did a walk up Glen Rosa a couple of months ago, I started to get an idea for another really big drawing!  As we walked up the glen that day with the mountains all around and covered with snow, it started me thinking that this was almost the opposite to the Speyer cathedral ….where as the drawing I did of that was about walking around the huge building, here in Glen Rosa it was like walking inside a huge natural structure.  Perhaps, I thought, I could create a big graphite drawing that conveyed something of the experience of being in this spectacular place.

A wild place, Glen Rosa

A wild place, Glen Rosa

The walls in my studio aren’t really suited to doing a large drawing as they are made from concrete blocks and have many pipes and electrical conduits running down them.   It would however be possible to build a ‘false wall’ in front of this to create a large, smooth drawing surface and so this might be the way to go.  The other option though might be to see this not just as a chance to do a big drawing but instead to try and make this more of an event, a way to promote both myself as an artist and the work itself.  To do this I’d have to find a suitable public place to do the drawing and to promote the event as an opportunity for people to see the work in progress.  As I anticipate such a drawing taking at least 4 weeks, it might be good for folk to be able to watch the thing develop, see the changes and mistakes; in short, to see the process.  Taking this idea further, it might also be possible to set up a video cam linked to my website so that a much larger audience could watch the drawing develop.

Looking towards the Saddle

Looking towards the Saddle

It’s all ideas at the moment but on Wednesday we went back over to the Isle of Arran and headed once again for Glen Rosa. A few months ago I was invited to take part in some research work that was being done into the way visually impaired people perceive paintings.  The research was being done by a chap called David Feeney from Edinburgh, and he recently got back to me to ask whether he could visit my studio and bring along a friend of his who is a film maker / photographer.  It was an interesting few hours and to cut a long story short, they then asked if they could accompany Nita and me on one of our walks.  David was interested in seeing the way Nita and I work together as ‘walker and guide’.

 In Glen Rosa

In Glen Rosa

Our original plan was to meet at the Pentland Hills just outside Edinburgh but with heavy snow falling in the east, we decided instead to go over to the Isle of Arran and walk Glen Rosa.  The path up the glen is for me much more difficult than the paths on the Pentland Hills so even though we would not be going up high, David and his colleague Dan would get a much better idea of how the guiding process worked.  Of course it also gave me the opportunity to see the glen again ….and further develop my plans for the big drawing.  Conditions were once again perfect, with snow on the mountains and their tops disappearing into heavy and dramatic clouds.

The walk proved useful for all of us.  Dan got lots of film and photos taken, David asked many questions and I got lots of interesting information from both of them about how I might go about organising my big Glen Rosa drawing.  Nita had an enjoyable walk and took plenty of photos too and we were delighted to find that David and Dan had left us a bottle of wine and some chocolate eggs …..everyone happy!

‘Harbour light, winter’

1.1. 'Harbour light, winter', pastel, 2003, 61 x 30cm

‘Harbour light, winter’, Pastel, 2003, 61 x 30 cm

I’ve been planning to do a very big drawing and although I’ve got ideas about what the picture will look like, I’ve been looking through some of my old Irvine drawings for a bit of inspiration! Most of these were relatively small but were about buildings, man made environments and so have been of considerable help whilst planning this Speyer drawing.

This ‘harbour’ drawing has been of particular interest …not just because it was long and thin …but more because of the light. Here in Speyer on this very hot summer days the light is incredibly bright and even the great structure of the cathedral almost disappears into this bright soup of light. I don’t know yet, but this new drawing may well have a similar feel to the harbour piece in the end. It’s quite difficult starting such a large piece …and I’ve been putting it off ….and will probably put if off just a little longer …and keep looking and thinking. Hopefully there’ ll be some news of it before long.

Increasing scale

new-work-on-the-go

New Work On The Go

The studios here in Speyer are quite large and having so much space in which to work is a real luxury. I decided last week that it was about time to work on a larger scale and make the most of the situation.

Thinking about the practicalities of getting work back to Scotland I decided there would have to be limits to the size of the paintings however ….100 cm x 140 cm seemed ideal and Mike went out and got me two pieces of board this size. Being mdf, it weighs quite a lot but I should be able to get the finished pieces back reasonably cheaply with a bit of luck. I also have a large roll of thick white paper …this is 150 cm wide and the roll is several metres in length and so offers me chance to do some pretty big drawings. These will be easier to send home …I’ll just need to find a cardboard tube to protect them.

Of course, working on a large scale means using a lot more materials and although I brought with me a lot of paint, I only brought a fairly small number of oil pastels. But panic not …there happens to be a wonderful art supply company called ‘Boesner’. Their stores are great, the two I’ve been taken to, being situated in large factory units on industrial sites and stocking a HUGE variety of art materials. I’ve never seen anything like it. Mind you, they’re dangerous places …you can end up spending a fortune if you’re not careful! Anyway, I was there to buy pastels. I use “Neopastel” made by a Swiss company I think. They’re fantastic oil pastels, not the cheapest but they’re wonderful colours and are neither too hard or too soft ….perfect I’ve found for working (as I do) on board. “Neopastels” come in a huger range and I was relieved to find the Boesner not only had all of them but also had plenty of each ….this was a serious bit of pastel buying! In the end, I bought just over seventy pastels which should be enough to keep me going while I’m here in Speyer. It may sound a lot, but working with them on board as well as not top of paint, really eats them up, especially when doing large pieces. Anyway, if I don’t use them all here …I’ll have them for the work I’ll be doing on my return to Scotland. Mike Lauter was with me helping to find the colours I needed and he spotted a great little tool for holding the pastels. It’s a bit like an old fashioned cigarette holder and it allows you to use the pastels right down to the end ….should save me having that annoying bag of bits you always end up with! I’ve tried using it and it works well. It allows me to make a greater variety of marks too which is quite interesting.

new-drawing-the-cathedral-speyer-140-x-100-cm

'The Cathedral, Speyer'

So far I’ve used one of the big boards as a drawing board and have completed one drawing this size – a loose and vigorous impression of the one end of the cathedral. As with my hill based landscape work, this isn’t an accurate drawing of the structure, I don’t really see that. It does though try to put over something of the great bulk of the structure, especially when seem from the one end. I wasn’t too sure about the drawing when I completed it, but a few days on and I’m getting quite pleased with it.

I’ve started a painting on the other big board. As I’ve said in the past since I’ve been here, I really like the walls of the cathedral. There’s one section that has two semicircular indents that I really like …it reminds me of eyes. So then, very simply, this painting is about this section of the wall. I’m not quite sure how it’ll end up but it’s going to be interesting and great to work on this scale again.

I’m also working on two smaller pieces (80 x 80 cm), one of which is based on the other end of the cathedral and is a fairly abstract piece. The other is a reworking in paint of an earlier smaller Scottish painting. I’m hoping the two pieces will work well together. They’re both coming on well although there’s much work to be done but it does leave me with no new boards to start …..have to speak nicely to Mike and see if he’ll go get another four for me. Right then, typing finished …back to the paint….

Finding more

Speyer Cathedral Door

Cathedral Door, Speyer

I’ve now been in Speyer for a little over three weeks and the more I look around the city the more I find I’m drawn to the detail. In a city of magnificent and very large buildings this may seem odd, especially when I look at them and I see so little detail. But, as when I’m out on the hill in Scotland, with everything being so big, I need to use a monocular to get a better view of things. This certainly allows me to see more of the subject but of course it creates strange views ….which I really like.

This morning I spent an hour or so just wandering around the outside of the cathedral. As I’ve said before, it’s a vast and magnificent structure and even in my first painting here, I only looked at a small section of it. This morning though, I started to look more closely at some of the smaller elements. In particular I found a great door, presumably constructed of metal that like the roof has oxidized to create rich colours. I was really taken with this but didn’t go up close – I just viewed it through the monocular. It reminded me of some of my landscape paintings and I may well attempt a painting based on it. When I got the photograph I took of it, onto my PC and was able to enlarge it with the screen magnifier I was amazed to find that the door had writing on it.

On the other side of the building I found a section of wall that I really liked. It was a big section made of different finishes of stone …presumably built at very different periods. There was a real abstract quality to it and viewed from a little distance away with the monocular it was difficult to judge to scale ….then panning around I realised that someone had park their bicycle against the wall….and the size of the wall it was leaning against became very evident.

Cathedral and bike, Speyer

Cathedral and bike, Speyer

I’m not sure quite how I may go about using these elements to create paintings, but I have started one piece that may lead in an interesting direction. On Friday (as I said in my last blog) I was taken to see the ancient baths. Rough stone stairs led down into the ground to reach a room. In one of the walls was a large opening and through this you could look down four or five metres to the bath itself. The walls enclosing the bath rose up to above ground level and it was an amazing sight. The stone, reddish sandstone I think had the remnants of what was possibly white paint covering them and everything was beautifully lit from above, creating a very vivid image, especially against the dark green / almost turquoise waters of the bath. I didn’t have a camera with me and so this wonderful image, that immediately suggested a painting to me, had to be remembered as best I could. In its early stages the painting suggests a landscape but I don’t know quite how it’ll end up.

It’s good though to get some work done and I’m already getting a lot of ideas for paintings and drawings – I’ll have to get more painting boards in …I have a feeling it’s going to be a very busy three months.

The Cathedral, Speyer

The Cathedral, Speyer

Irvine Studio Update
Finally, I’ve just heard that my studio back in Irvine is still in the hands of the builders. The refurbishment works at the Courtyard Studios were going well apparently … and then they started on my space in the old section of the building. The floor was rotten, and the dampness in the rear wall was more serious then expected! Oh well, at least I’m away while it’s been going on. My partner Anita though is going to use the space while I’m away and has been told that it should be ready by the end of next week. It’s going to be quite exciting to see it on my return – dry and draught-free with a bit of luck!

Of Scotland and Speyer

When my partner Anita rang yesterday evening to say that she was back in Irvine and that there was bright sunshine and the garden was looking fabulous it certainly made me think of all the wonderful late spring and early summer days we’ve enjoyed in the Highlands of Scotland over the years. It really is a good time to be walking the hills and wild places. I guess you get a little bit both winter and summer, with the last snow patches often hanging on in the high north facing corries, but with the warmth and long hours of daylight that brings the rush of new growth and the explosion of fresh colours.

In the sculpture garden, Speyer, Germany

Sculpture Garden, Speyer

Here in Speyer it’s been very warm most of the last week, indeed, it was very hot for a few days and being so much further south, all the trees and plants are that much more advanced. I’ve done several short trips out into the surrounding countryside and have been really impressed by the large number of trees and areas of mixed woodland. As such, everywhere seems to be full of birdsong – it’s great. Somewhere in the buildings or trees around the studio we have a Kestrel nesting – it perches high on a chimney and makes a real noise whenever any of the Crows or Rooks do a fly-by.

The light over here is very different too, especially now that the warmer weather has arrived. In the heat it is really intensely bright, especially to me, and while we were walking along the side of the Rhein the other week, the light had a strange blue / yellow quality to it that reminded me of some of the Impressionists paintings. It’s all very different from the light in the Highlands which is very special too. I’ve been told by a number of people here that it gets much hotter as the summer progresses and I have a feeling that my paintings will become less distinct as the heat and light develop.

At the moment then, I’m thinking of two places, the hills of Scotland that I so love to explore and this beautiful city with the gentle countryside of the Phlatz. As such, I’m working initially on two paintings. Both are 80 x 80 cm. One is a re-working of a couple of smaller paintings I did based on walks in the Drumochter Hills. I’ve wanted to develop these into a larger piece, using bolder marks and thicker paint. The other picture I’ve started is based on a small section of the cathedral here in Speyer. It’s an incredible building and the dome and several of the roofs are covered in copper that has oxidized into a subtle pale green / blue colour that really caught my attention from the first moment. This may not have been the most imaginative starting point for my work in Speyer but it has allowed me to start work and get some paint on the board……something that is quite important. It was strange not only to have a large empty white painting board, but also a completely empty studio space too ….panic!

work-in-progress-speyer

Work in Progress: Speyer Cathedral

Yesterday it was the Speyer Cultural Evening – a huge event that involves any organisation, group or individual involved in any aspect of the culture of the city. Everywhere is open from 8pm until around 2am and a single cheap ticket allows entry to all events. The members of the Kunstlerbund put on a fine exhibition of work, (paintings, installations, sculpture, and performance) and the show was titled Blue & Blues. There was some great work and much of the work included blue lighting and so looked particularly good as the evening developed and it became dark. But along with the art works at the Kunstlerhaus there was a fantastic blues band playing in the courtyard and food and a bar too. I was given a leisurely tour around some of the events and it was amazing to see how many people were out …the population of Speyer and most of the surrounding area seemed to be out enjoying themselves and everywhere the events were more than well supported – the main museum had a queue of people waiting to get in that stretched right out of the door – at well gone midnight. The highlight of my tour was a fantastic band playing traditional Jewish music and a great guitar recital at one of the galleries.

work-in-progress

Work In Progress: Drumochter Hills

So then, it was an evening to remember. Things finally came to end some time after 2am and everything was quiet by around 4am. Now of course, it’s the day of the great clear up and as I type there is much activity as work is dismantled, wine glasses washed and floors swept. It was a huge amount of work for the members of the Kunstlerbund but a huge success.