Summer in Scotland

by Catherine King

“The emotional feeling and sense of wellbeing I associate with being outdoors and studying the view is just as strong when I draw or paint in the studio.”

“I am so fortunate to live in Scotland. Falkirk may be an unlikely spot for an artist, but I’ve had a purpose-built studio attached to my home for around 20 years. Plus, I’m surrounded by inspiration, living just a twenty-minute train ride away from the galleries of our two major cities, and a quick drive from some amazing places. Whether it’s walking in the Ochils, watching birds in the Forth estuary or taking in the stunning lochs of Perthshire and Loch Lomond, I can be there and back again in time for tea. As much as I love to travel to sensational places such as San Gimignano in Italy, with its rolling fields of sunflowers, I’m never happier than in the wilds of Scotland. Anywhere without pylons or the night-time glow of the big city is a complete joy. I graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone, Dundee, in 1982 with a degree in Drawing and Painting. I suspect that like many artists at the time from a respectable, but poor, background, the adults around me didn’t know how anyone could earn a living as an artist. To be honest, neither did I. Having promised my granny that I would teach, I duly enrolled at Jordanhill Teacher Training College. After a very brief spell of secondary teaching, it led me to lecturing part-time in Further Education. In this move, I found the work I love; I have never done anything that I wasn’t passionate about. I like my own company but I’m forever learning what art is through helping young artists develop. It’s enriching, energetic and never a waste of time. Some say “If you can’t do, teach”; but if you can do both art and teaching, you will find it time well spent. Always determined that I would be an Artist first and a lecturer second, I work mainly in printmaking and painting. I’ve had much success in exhibiting yearly in some of the Scottish open submission exhibitions. When taking this step - to move my work into public view - I was supported with invaluable advice and encouragement from the late Ian Massie at Fife (Dunfermline) printmakers. He helped me understand what was needed to make work ready for exhibition, a skill that all professional artists need to master. For inspiration, summer in Scotland is impossible to beat: our coast and countryside offer so much. The need to capture the feeling of awe I have at the wonders of nature helps drive my work. Through painting and printmaking, it gives me the opportunity to bring a small part of Scotland back into people’s homes. Whether it’s the beauty of a single rock; the mist rolling over a mountain top; snow filled crevices in July (it’s a Scottish summer after all); a valley carved by tumultuous forces or boulders naturally curated as if by aesthetic balance and consideration, I’m spoiled for choice. The benefits of academic holidays make summer the time when I get the opportunity to explore, venturing into the depths of Scotland looking for the path less trodden.

With sketchbooks filled to the brim with drawings, watercolours and notation, I can capture a moment in time to bring back to my studio. I prefer to only paint places I have been. I find photos a great resource, but not having the skill of an expert photographer, my visual memory is what allows me to bring my work to life. Often, when going through photos with friends and family, sifting through images of rockpools, wildflowers, guid Scottish weeds and beaches, I would be asked, “where are the pictures of your family?”. Back in the day when a camera could only take a few pictures, I would sometimes “forget” to photograph my boys. I would like to reassure you there was kite making on Tiree, bird watching at Muir of Ord, walking in the Great Glen, fun in wellies and waterproofs on the beach but I always had one eye on the landscape around me, certain that my husband, Richard, would prevent my children from landing the kite on their heads. I’m often asked where my favourite place in Scotland is, but I couldn’t pick just one. I have fond memories of staring longingly out the window of my grandparents’ VW Beatle-Bus as the lochs, glens and funny little cottages on the highlands went whizzing by. Even back then I would spend my time drawing. Sadly not many of these survive today, but it gives me the opportunity to re-visit these places when travelling. Richard, ever patient, responding (safely) to, “STOP!”, so I can get out the car, often having to phone ahead to where we were staying to apologise for being late. I remember the year Andy Murray won the Olympic gold medal, Richard taking a BMW saloon way outside of its comfort zone to find radio signal halfway up the side of a valley on the way to the tiny hamlet of Melon Udrigle. I set off up the hill to find places to draw as he sat listening to the match... Bonkers.

I found a comfy little rock and became so engrossed in what I was doing, I didn’t notice that I was sitting right in the middle of a huge wild bee colony. What a privilege this was, paying no attention to me, the bees just went about their daily business. I watched them with a great deal of pleasure, though I did retreat very, very, carefully. The North west, with its fabulous coastline, beaches and dramatic Islands are a firm favourite. In 2020 however, this was impossible. Cancelling and re-scheduling plans like most of us, I hardly left Falkirk. Trading in the Hebrides for more mundane, but beautiful, walks in my local area, brought me closer to a familiar landscape I once took for granted. Spending most of my year in the studio, the pictures and sketches I’ve collated over the years, instantly transport me. I can see, feel, even smell the places I’ve been. The emotional feeling and sense of wellbeing I associate with being outdoors and studying the view is just as strong when I draw or paint in the studio. When I work, I am so lost in concentration that nothing intrudes. I believe my best memory is for colour; I seem to be able to hold this in my mind and know exactly the blue I need to mix, the green and the golds with the splashes of pink and purple you see on the moors.

I’m not one to enjoy a trip to the dentist but after years of hard work I have found my happy place. I transport myself to an Atlantic beach on Tiree, waves pounding the sands, while I sit in the shelter of the rocks. In recent visits the valley of Glencoe, the beach at the iron age settlement in Bostadh, Great Bernera, have also made an appearance. This ability to vividly catalogue places has meant I’ve been lucky enough to get out and about, if only in mind and spirit rather than body. I’ve visited Gairloch, Reds Sand, the Assynt mountains and many more. I’ve enjoyed a trip to Applecross with its mad, winding road, now made famous by the North Coast 500. I spent time in Achiltibuie, with views of the Summer Isles, and walked the Cairngorms and Rannoch moor, all from the comfort of my own garden. I’ve even taken a virtual Easter holiday to Italy, enjoying the bustle of the Uffizi in Florence, supported by an unusually warm Scottish summer, helping bring the illusion to life, albeit it never quite reached 46 ⁰C. When people look at my work, it often reminds them of places they’ve been, resulting in the question, “where is that?”. This has led to me take some more time to better document exactly where I am. I have a new website launching in July, scottishwatercolours.com, where due to the wonders of modern technology, and my kids introducing me to geo-tagging in photos, I’m hoping to connect the artwork to the exact coordinates of the place that inspired me. Though I’m starting to embrace modern technology, I must admit I enjoy my usual descriptions, such as “I can’t quite remember but nip over the hill at Great Bernera, keep going north on the rocky wee path until you see the skull rock at Bosta and come down through the valley to the little restored iron age cottage”. I hope in August we will be able to go north to Fort William, where my husband and sons intend to walk through the Great Glen to Inverness. I’ll walk some of way but my limit of about 5 miles will have me return slowly, in time to drive on and meet up with them later. I’ll treasure that time all the more, having been deprived of it in reality during the pandemic. With COVID hopefully coming to end, I hope to celebrate with a solo exhibition at the Glasgow Art club, originally scheduled for July 2020, and appearing as a guest at the Pittenweem festival when next scheduled. I hope my experience of summer in Scotland will inspire you to get out and enjoy what it has to offer. If you would like to see more of my work, I am currently represented in Glasgow by Scotlandart.com in Bath Street.”

Up to date information on confirmed exhibitions can be found on Catherine's website:

www.catherineking.org.uk www.scottishwatercolours.com

@CatherineKingArtist @Catherine.King.Artist

Summer in Scotland by Catherine King

“The emotional feeling and sense of wellbeing I associate with being outdoors and studying the view is just as strong when I draw or paint in the studio.”