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Speyer | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings - Part 2

Posts Tagged ‘Speyer’

Well then, that just about wraps it up…

Posted by admin on September 3rd, 2010

at-the-kunstlerhaus

At the Kunstlerhaus

I’m awake and up early this morning and after two or three days of heavy rain it looks like I might have one last sunny day here in Speyer before I fly back to Scotland. It’s quite amazing really to think my stay in Germany is almost over. I guess it’s a time of mixed emotions …. I’ve had a great time, met some amazing people, great artists and thoroughly enjoyed living in this beautiful and friendly little city …..but ….on the other hand I think I’m about ready now to get back to Irvine, albeit with its litter strewn streets. I’ve missed my walk along the harbour side to my studio each day, hearing the sound of the yachts clinking at their moorings, the raucous cries of the gulls and the beautiful song of the skylarks on the other side of the river….and perhaps it’s that very special Scottish thing …the quality of light, that I’ve missed the most. I always say to people who visit my studio in Irvine, that I just love the harbour side because it doesn’t matter what the weather is doing, whether it’s pouring with rain or bright sunshine, summer or winter …the light is always wonderful. It’s a very special place.

But before getting back to it there are a few final things to be done and said here. I am currently sat amidst the remnants of my exhibition. The show ended on Sunday evening and although it’d only been open for three days, I’m pleased to report that it was a real success. There was a real ‘buzz’ about the preview last Thursday and this followed through over the next few days, resulting in over half the available pieces being sold. Interestingly, the four ‘Scottish’ scenes I painted here (that were not for sale as they are for the forthcoming Jolomo Finalists exhibition in London next month) generated a lot of interest ….indeed I could have sold a couple of them several times over! So then, a good boost to my bank balance and my studio rent is secure for another year …great stuff.

You know the big drawing I’ve been going on about for the last month or so? Well, that is probably the most interesting tale from the whole exhibition. I did this drawing …well, just because I could. What I mean is, because I had a five metre long wall to work on. At home I can just about fit a 2 metre wide painting board on the wall so this was an opportunity not to miss. When we came to hang the exhibition it seemed right to include the drawing …it did, even though I say it myself, look good, but I never really thought, (it being 4 metres long and a metre and a half high) that anyone would want to buy it. As it turned out, I actually had four people interested, including the new Lord Mayor. In the end, a local businessman bought the piece for his popular city centre restaurant. He invited Anita and me down to the restaurant to see the wall where he was planning to hang the drawing …and it’s a great space in a great location. He already has two big pieces of artwork hanging in the restaurant and so my drawing will fit in well I think. There was of course the question of just how exactly the drawing would be hung, but after a visit from a local carpenter and much discussion, a solution has been arrived at. People here who’ve seen the drawing seem to be genuinely pleased that it will stay in Speyer …and in a place where they can get to see it …the restaurant where it is to hang has a reputation for high quality food and wine …so a good excuse to go and see the picture! Of course this now gives me a good excuse to visit Speyer again …as if I needed one!

Despite my worries about how I’d cope with little sight and not speaking the language, it’s been a wonderful time. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful and I’ll leave on Thursday with some great memories and some real friends. The arts are so well supported here, both by the city and its inhabitants …but then again, why not, the city has many fine artists living and working here. The Kunstlerbund is a group the city can be proud of and I’ve been delighted to have been their guest this summer. I am the 23rd guest artist to live and work in the Kunstlerhaus and I’m sure whoever the 24th lucky artist is, he or she will have an equally enjoyable and inspiring time as I.

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Pfalz landscape

Posted by admin on August 27th, 2010

'Pfalz landscape'

'Pfalz landscape'

‘Pfalz landscape‘ Acrylic and Pastel, 2010, 140 x 100cm.

During my stay in Speyer most of my work has been based on the city’s fine cathedral. As a landscape painter though, I felt it important that I try and paint at least one typical Pfalz landscape. This new painting is based on the view from the edge of the hills, overlooking the vineyards and out over the Rhein plain to the hills of the Black Forest beyond.

The painting is quite an abstract composition, but its scale lends itself well, I think, to this big, open view.

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Exhibition on

Posted by admin on August 27th, 2010
speyer-preview

Speyer Exhibition Preview

I think last week I said I was trying to finish a large painting before we hung the exhibition on Monday. Well …it was finished but not until well into Sunday! After that I had to remove all the painting gear that I’d accumulated over the last four months so that we had two clear clean gallery spaces for the exhibition. This took quite some time and it was 10pm by the time I had everything done. The trouble was that I still had one 80 x 80 cm board that I’d primed with gesso a few weeks earlier and that I’d planned to do a new drawing on. So, even at the very last moment I thought I could get a final drawing completed and announced to my partner Anita that instead of going to bed I’d be working late! And I did …until around 03.00! The result however was not as hoped for and the piece I did was dreadful….but I enjoyed myself even if I did feel shattered the next morning when Markus, Mike and Andrea arrived first thing to hang the exhibition!

speyer-preview-2

Speyer Exhibition Preview

The work went up fairly quickly and by lunchtime we had it almost complete and looking good ….leaving just a few things still to do. The local press arrived in the evening for a preview and at the end, Michael Lauter announced that I was now on holiday.

We had the Preview last night at 8 o’clock, but it was a worrying few hours as all day the sky had got darker and the humidity higher. It had to end with a bang and the 1st thunder storm arrived at 5 o’clock…great stuff. As it turned out though, we were lucky and by 8 o’clock, it was dry again and around 60 people gathered in the courtyard as Holger (Chairman of Kunstlerbund) and the Mayor opened the exhibition and Markus gave a wonderful speech, recounting how I came to be working in Speyer. This being the Pfalz, there was plenty of local wine flowing and by the end of the evening I had sold 2 paintings and was having discussions with a local businessman re him buying my big, 4 metre long drawing for his restaurant in Speyer.

speyer-preview-markus-speech

"Markus' Speech"

speyer-preview-meeting-the-mayor

"Meeting the Mayor"

What a night, finally got to bed at 3:30, but not before we’d been treated to an amazing piece of unaccompanied, improvised singing from one of Speyer’s best loved singers and musicians, Klaus Fresenius…quite brilliant.

Click here to see my Speyer Art Exhibition Paintings

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Last week I bought a goat….

Posted by admin on August 17th, 2010

view-from-the-top

View from the top

It’s been a busy week again….so apologies for the very late arrival of last weeks blog. I’ve been trying to get my last few paintings finished and have also been busy socialising….there have been dinner invitations, art events and a meeting with the local press, and I’ve been out walking each of the last two weekends,……oh, and I bought a goat! So then, it’s been quiet hectic but very good fun.

Before telling of the walks I’ve done I feel it only right that I first explain about the goat. On Saturday I was invited to join some friends to see an exhibition of work by a group of young Rwandan artists. This was more than just an exhibition, it was part of fund raising event organised by a charitable organisation working in Rwanda. They were raising money in order to purchase these animals for the communities there. It seemed a simple but effective way of providing help and an interesting way for people to donate something to the charity. The exhibition was good with a number of very striking paintings. There was also an exhibition of photographs, displays of craft-ware and live music and good food …it made for a great evening out.

As I said though, I’ve also been out walking a couple of times …and what a difference a week makes. A week ago I had a phone call from Mike Lauter asking if I’d fancy going for a walk somewhere. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and bright sun.

above-the-forest-late-afternoon

Above the forest, late afternoon

We headed for the hills and after about 40 minutes drive the road we were on started to climb very steeply through the trees, zigzagging its way up hill. At the high point a number of cars were parked and a sign stated we were at a little over 400 m. We headed off along a broad path and as it was quite late in the afternoon, met a lot of people heading back towards their cars. We were then onto a small footpath the gradually climbed through the trees …it was beautiful with the deep shade and bright spots of sunlight. After a while we reached the top of the hill and crowning it was a magnificent ruined castle that gave superb views out over the valley below and across the wooded hills for as far as we could see. Our route back followed another path that went right around the hill, gradually descending to reach the place where we started ….and of course, taking in a small Inn / cafe along the way.

could-be-scotland

Could be Scotland!

Yesterdays walk was to a different place, but was a longer walk ….and the weather …well it could easily have been Scotland on one of its more infamous weather days! Instead of the bright sun and beautiful views, we found ourselves in cloud for much of the walk and rain that fell heavy and torrential for most of the 4 hours we were walking. But as we all said, it was good to get out and stretch the legs and at the outward point of our trip there was conveniently situated another fine inn.

I’m hoping that when I get back to Scotland in a couple of weeks I’ll be able to enjoy a few late summer days walking in the Highlands before the winter rain and gales arrive ….if not, then at least yesterdays walk will have got me back into the swing of cloud and rain and a house full of wet gear!

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Painting from experience

Posted by admin on August 6th, 2010
'Between Creise and the Buachaille, winter'

'Between Creise and the Buachaille, winter'

It’s amazing to think that this time in four weeks I’ll be back in my studio in Irvine. My time here has gone by very quickly and I’m now getting in ‘panic mode’ as my final exhibition looms and I’ve still much work to do!

I’ve now completed eight paintings and have another four still on the go. I’ve also been working on a couple of small ‘Scottish’ pieces for forth coming exhibitions and have a couple more of these on the go too.

It’s been interesting working on the two different types of subject matter…..the bigger paintings based on the cathedral in Speyer and the Pfalz landscape and the smaller Scottish landscapes. It’s made me realize just how important it is to really get to know your subject when it comes to doing a painting. My Scottish paintings are all based on the places I walked (sometimes many times and in all conditions) and so when I get back to the studio I not only have numerous photos and some sketches, but I have many many hours of actually being out observing and experiencing the landscape I’m painting. These experiences are in a way stored in my memory and are used in all my Scottish paintings. As such it has meant that despite my being in Germany for the last three months, I’ve been able to work on these small Scottish scenes with the use of just a couple of photos as memory joggers.

'Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April'

'Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April'

‘Beinn Dorain from Beinn Odhar, April’, is based on one of the views from the summit of this fine steep grassy 900 m hill and I’ve stood here on a good number of occasions. It makes a good short walk but it is very steep so it gives your legs a good work out – we normally head here in April to tone up the muscles before our two weeks walking holidays in early May each year. The point is that although I haven’t been there this year, I’ve all the memories of the previous times I’ve climbed the hill and all the different conditions I’ve seen it in, the different light and in rain and cloud and sun. If I’d only been out occasionally over the last eight years rather than every few weeks, I’d not have been able to do this painting ….working from a photo on its own is very difficult …even if you have got good eyes to see it.

This is why for the most part I’ve put all my attention on painting the Speyer Cathedral while I’ve been living here. It is the most obvious thing to paint in this city, but as I can’t easily get out into the countryside, it has offered me something which I can visit regularly and get to know. Over the time I’ve been here I’ve built up a mental impression of it …so that I have much more to work on than just a few photos. This is where I’ve had problems trying to produce a couple of paintings of the typical Pfalz landscape. I’ve only been out into the wine growing region a few times and have only experienced it very briefly. I took a few photos and as I’m a landscape painter I wanted to do something before leaving that was of the local landscape …rather than just the man made landscape of the city……and I’ve been struggling! It’s just that I really don’t know the subject I’m trying to paint. The colours and light are very different here and I haven’t got a head full of ‘information’ to fall back on.

I’m not sure whether I’ll complete these two paintings …we’ll see I guess. It’s certainly made me realize how important it is to get out and as I’ve done very little hill walking this year it’s made me determined to find the time as soon as I’m back in Scotland. Fingers crossed for some good September weather in the west of Scotland.

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Almost finished

Posted by admin on July 30th, 2010

wall-painting-the-cathedral-speyer-acrylic-pastel-2010-100-x-140-cm-2

'Wall painting, the cathedral, Speyer'

It’s been a week of painting and rain. The days of painting outside in the shade of the courtyard have passed it seems and instead it’s been a case of working in the studios and trying to get as much artificial light as possible. It’s been very dark much of the time with big heavy showers that beat down on the leaves of the vine and make a real din. The vine apart, it feels a little more like home and certainly the temperature has been more Irvine like. Now of course, having typed this, the sun is coming out …..so perhaps this will be the start of another warm spell.

Anyway, enough of the weather and on to the painting I think. I’ve been working on several pieces this week and have had a mixture of success and failure …so about par for the course I guess. Last week, I received an email from Scotlandart.com inviting me to take part in their ‘New Gallery Artists’ exhibition to be held in late September. They’ve asked for six pieces which with the other commitments I have this autumn isn’t going to be easy. But, of course this is an excellent opportunity and it’s a great set up they have at Scotlandart.com. So then, after thinking about this for two days I decided I really couldn’t miss this chance and therefore have agreed to take part. It’ll mean a few extra shifts and I’m going to start a few Scotland based paintings in the next few weeks so that I don’t have a mad rush on my return to Irvine at the start of September.

The main achievement this week though has been getting my big ‘wall’ based painting near completion. There’s still a little bit of work to be done I think but in general it’s about there. As I said in the blog a couple of weeks ago, the painting is a view of a section of the cathedral wall here in Speyer. But I’ve over-laid the view with a more close up view of the stones. It’s quite a vague image of subtle lines and colours put down in layers of paint and pastel. I’m finding it quite difficult to assess as most of the painting is made of these very fine scribbled marks …and so when I stand back I lose all this and am left with a very vague structure. This though is rather what I wanted to create –somewhat of a ghostly image of this ancient building with all its layers of structure and history.

As anyone who paints will know, it sometimes takes a good while to decide about a piece of work once it reaches this stage. I think this painting is just going to have to sit and stew for a while as I get on with other work. I moved my bed into the studio a few weeks ago at the height of the hot weather (it’s much cooler than my room upstairs) so I’m kind of living with the work! Anyway, I’m putting a photo of this piece up on this blog but even though it’s signed ….it may still change.

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Getting out

Posted by admin on July 23rd, 2010
wine-country

Wine Country, Speyer

Last week when my partner Anita was visiting we had the opportunity of getting out onto the local hills. It was another very hot day and so the thought of getting into slightly cooler air was incentive enough regardless of the beautiful forest and the big views. We went to a slightly different area to that which I’d visited with friends a few weeks before. The hills were similar but slightly higher here …perhaps around 600m but still densely shrouded in mixed woodland.

As we drove away from Speyer we left the huge bright fields of ripening crops and got into the vast areas of vines – stretching in broken lines for what seemed miles and miles. We parked at a large mansion situated on the side of a hill overlooking this beautiful patchwork of vines – the building apparently a summer villa for a former king – as I say, a modest little residence! But he’d certainly chosen to build his villa in a place with a fantastic view. Looking straight out the view was big….but it was the lines of vines that caught my attention – each patch set at a slightly different angle it seemed and making a perfect composition for a painting.

At this point we had a surprise for although the afternoon was getting on, Mike suggested we climb to the top of the hill …it’s only a couple of hundred metres of ascent he said. It seemed a good idea but then he led us towards what I thought was a bar …a beer before clambering up the steep hillside?! As it turned out, it was a chair lift but one that was due to close for the day shortly..so we’d get a lift to the top and walk back down. This really is a very civilized place.

Before we knew it we were swinging three or four metres above the ground and creaking our way up through the forest. It was all very peaceful and made even more impressive by the constant birdsong and the appearance at one point of a small deer …seemingly unperturbed by the constant passage of humans as we dangled by above. All too soon we got to the top and were hauled out of our seats by a waiting attendant…..and there was a bar / cafe … with a patio that looked out over the now even bigger views. We had enough time to sit and enjoy the views whilst supping a not very well earned beer ….well, we were carried all the way to the top. It took us about an hour to follow easy paths back down through the steep woods and we saw no one until we were back again to the car park.

I did another short trip out just a few days ago. I had been painting away one afternoon when the doorbell rang and Ingo – one of the members of the Kunstlerbund, arrive and asked if I’d like to do a short trip on a small ferry across the Rhein. It sounded a perfect idea as the heat was getting just a bit too hot in the studio. We drove just a few kilometres from Speyer to one of the inlets that were part of the old Rhein.

storks

Storks, Speyer

It was idyllic, the calm waters reflecting the trees and the small boats moored for fishermen. The main stream of the river was just off to our left and before long a small ferry appeared from this direction and made for a small jetty. I was amazed at how many people and bicycles got off – apparently it’s very popular with cyclists as it saves them crossing the river by one of the busy road bridges.

The hop across the river took just five or six minutes but was lovely in the late afternoon sun. On the other side was a small village and of course a small cafe that was doing a roaring trade with the cyclists. We wandered into the village and on returning towards the ferry a short while later, Ingo suddenly pointed out a large old tree trunk with a massive nest at its top …in which sat three very large young Storks …Wow! The nest was about five metres up off the ground but right close to the road …we’d walked by underneath without seeing them. At such a short distance and with my monocular even I got some amazing views …it really made my day …this really is a very beautiful landscape.

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‘Harbour light, winter’

Posted by admin on July 16th, 2010

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.

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Speyer Cathedral Wall

Posted by admin on July 16th, 2010

Speyer Cathedral wall

Speyer Cathedral wall

It’s been a great few days recently. I’ve managed to get a reasonable amount of work done and there’s been much happening here in Speyer.

I’ve been working on one of the larger boards for the last few days and am starting to put the piece together. Once again, it’s based on a section of the cathedral wall…..quite a large section perhaps twenty metres high, but it does show some scale as it contains several windows. This particular wall caught my attention as lower down it also has two semi circular recesses that make it look a little like a face ….well, it makes me smile whenever I walk by it!

Anyway, the original plan was simply to use this as the basis for the painting but then while I was looking at some photographs I’d taken of very small sections of the wall (just a few large stones) I noticed that one of these had a very similar structure to the larger section. I’ve decided therefore to try and superimpose the close up over the larger section ….once again messing around with ones perception of scale, creating a more abstract picture of the wall. The stones contain a whole range of subtle colours; pale yellows, ochre, terracotta, pale greys and umber. The painting is built up using the paint in flat brush strokes to mimic the stone work from a distance, and the pastel scribbled down to try and capture the structure of each of the stones close up……each layer of paint showing a little of the previous one beneath. It’s quite a slow process but one that I can enjoy while working outside in the courtyard here. It’s been very hot this last week again and the studios are really too hot to work in during the day. Outside, the far end of the courtyard has a large canopy that allows light through but creates a shaded area through out the day. It’s the perfect spot to put my easel as the light on the painting is bright but constant.

cathedral-wall-close-up

Cathedral wall close-up

I really seem to have got into these fantastic walls here in Speyer …and not just the cathedral and the old baths. The other week a friend took me to see one of the other beautiful churches here in Speyer …this was the Trinity Church I think …close to the cathedral but built out of wood. It’s a magnificent building, and with clear glass in its windows there was enough light for me to see much of the interior. On leaving we were able to get a look into the ruins of another building at the side of the church. It was great, especially in the bright early afternoon light and with the intensely blue sky…..another painting? Probably.

another-wall-speyer

Another wall, Speyer

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Increasing scale

Posted by admin on July 3rd, 2010

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….

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