Meet the Paintings - Gathering Clouds over Farm, Glenlivet

Despite the ominous title, “Gathering Clouds over Farm, Glenlivet” has lovely rich colours of reds and russets which contrast with the cooler turquoises and greens of the hills.  It’s a painting of contrasts, with the bright and dark clouds bringing their mixture of sunshine and showers.

Here's the actual photo that I did the painting from.

As usual, I’ve put a link at the bottom so you can see the actual place and explore the area.  The actual location is on the Old Military Road (A939) just before you come into Tomintoul.  

For a few years, I was lucky enough to be able to stay regularly at a friend’s cottage at Clashnoir at the Braes of Glenlivet, which is near Tomintoul, in the whisky making area of Glenlivet and Knockando.  This was painted near there. 

Being able to stay at various times throughout the year, including during the famous traditional Tomintoul Highland Games, meant that I was able to see the same area in different seasons, and observe how the landscape changed.

 Here’s the Google Maps link: location for 'Gathering Clouds'

Meet the Paintings - Foxgloves, Looking Towards the Campsies

Back to the Campsies, and another little painting.  This is ‘Foxgloves, Looking Towards the Campsies.’  This was done on the same spot as the ‘Dog Roses’ painting, on the edge of Mugdock Country Park (Mugdock Country Park website here)

It’s another little jewel, only six inches square.  On something that concise, you have to decide which marks to make, and then just make them, as you are limited to how many gestural marks you can make on that small a surface, and how much detail you can put in.  It’s pared back , but that’s a nice thing to discipline yourself with.

This is a painting that is all about the punchy pinky-purple of the foxgloves, and the contrast of the acidic yellowy-green of the grass, and it has a beautiful hand-gilded white gold frame to show these colours and textures off to their best.

This is the photo that the painting was done from.

I’ve included a set of photos taken over a 15 year period, all taken at different times of the year and documenting the changing seasons.  I have others taken from years before that which are on film, and which show some truly shocking weather conditions, including snow, sleet, rain and mist.  I still did paintings from them though!  I even went scrambling through a quarry with my baby son strapped to my front to take photos…

 I’ve also included some of my earliest painting of the Campsies, when thing were a bit more blocky and abstract, right through to some of my most recent, so they cover a near 30 year period. 

 Explore the place where the paintings were made on Google Maps here.

Meet the Paintings - Farm and Autumn Fields

Today, it’s a large paintings for a change, “Farm and Autumn Fields”.  It’s 24 x 40”, so there’s quite a nice area of canvas for some broad mark-making. 

My previous paintings have all been about getting to know an area really well, so that you know individual plants throughout the seasons, and lining up the photographs absolutely exactly.  The antithesis to this process is quickly taking photos as you pass by on a journey.

When I go to take photos, the parts in between the locations are often as interesting as the locations themselves.  It’s just that you can’t stop, especially on a fast road, or on a train.  It’s difficult to switch off if you’re a passenger., as you are constantly looking, looking, looking, and seeing the composition, watching for all the elements to line up.  It’s impossible to look out of a window at a passing landscape , and the clouds and the changing light, and the undulating furrows in the earth and the patterns of the haybales, and not be in work mode.

So this painting was done from one of these very, very quick glimpses.  If it’s a road that I travel on a lot, then I’ll often know when to look out for a particular point in the road.  I then have to press the shutter on the camera before the elements all line up, so that hopefully I take the actual composition that I want.

Of course, there’s a big element of chance in it, and it’s just a question of opportunistically grabbing what I can see, of note-taking.  I have lots of photos of trees which unexpectedly jump out in front of the camera!

But it’s ok if something is a little blurred or not quite where I would wish it – that’s the nature of the fleeting glimpse., the moment that’s there and then gone so suddenly and that only I have see thorough the camera.  It’s a hugely personal, temporal moment.  So it’s about embracing it and taking what it gives you, which includes all its imperfections and chance elements.

Today's Painting

Hot off the easel, here's today's painting.

It's a big one, on a beautiful smooth linen portrait canvas.  I wanted to try and get as much colour and texture as I could into this image of a winter hillside in Argyll, near the Rest and Be Thankful.

Here it is part way through, with the main forms blocked in.   As you can see, I've used a pink ground as a mid-tone.

Here's my palette with the colours mixed.  You can also see the brushes and the palette knife I used.

Here's the finished painting!

"Smirr of Rain near Drymen" at Auction

One of my paintings, "Smirr of Rain near Drymen", is coming up for auction in Glasgow.

View this lot at the McTEARS WEBSITE.

The provenance of the painting is that it was sold at the Di Rollo Gallery in Edinburgh in August 2002, in my solo Festival Exhibition "The Colour of the Land".  

The painting, which is oil on canvas and measures 32" x 32" with a machine-cut gold frame, is of the hills on the road to Drymen, near Queen's View.  I got soaked taking the photos (in those days with a camera with actual film in it).  It was a pretty overcast day with a constant drizzle of rain, and I thought that 'smirr' summed it up!

It's good to see it again, and it will be interesting to see how it does at the auction on Sunday 27th July.  It certainly looks as if it has increased in value over the last 12 years!

(PS - please be aware that, as I have not consigned the lot, there is an Artist's Resale Rights fee)