The tale of the other painting!

 Caro From Scotland - Every Friday ( well I try to!)

The painting of the Scottish Landscape has played a crucial role in defining our artistic heritage. It is often looked at through a rather romantic lens, with less rain and less wind than a more realistic portrayal.  The colour palette of such a work of art would be fifty shades of brown with highlights of green and grey.

Here’s a quote ‘This genre {Scottish Romantic Landscape Painting} not only reflects the physical beauty of Scotland but also contributes to the broader narrative of Scottish identity and heritage.’

It might explain why we drink so much.

There are many famous Scottish paintings but let’s look at one painted by an Englishman, Mr Edward Landseer. I rather like that he’s called Landseer.

The Monarch of the Glen

Painted in 1851 to be hung in the Palace of Westminster, in London. I’m sure you are all familiar with it – well those who have hung about in this part of the world, as it sold widely in reproductions and was then bought by companies to use in advertising, soap, whisky and biscuits mostly.  According to the Sunday Herald the painting has become "the ultimate biscuit-tin image of Scotland: a bulky stag set against the violet hills and watery skies of an isolated wilderness".

Well, it’s a better image than Trainspotting!

In 2017 the National Galleries of Scotland bought the painting back for £4 million, about half its value at the time, for the people of Scotland, and was paid for by the people of Scotland.

So, standing back and looking at the landscape of Scottish art, in both senses, it’s no surprise that when a young artist called Pam Carter came along with a new look and a new interpretation, the art world was very impressed.

Pam mostly painted Scotland’s coastal scenery. Born in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in 1952 to an Austrian mother and Scottish father, she moved to Scotland aged 13. But I think you can see in the way she uses colour that there’s a vibrancy and intensity about it that reflects back to her early life, steeped  in East African culture, weather and a very different landscape. She attended Glasgow School of Art in the 1970s ( That’s the MacIntosh building that was burned down) and spent much of her life teaching art before becoming a full time artist  at the millennium.

I think the website dedicated to her work explains it very well. ‘Her work is deeply rooted in the Scottish landscape, particularly the Western Isles and the dramatic coastlines of the east. She was drawn to the interplay of light and colour in these regions, often using bold hues to capture the changing moods of the sea and sky. Her paintings frequently feature white sandy beaches, rugged cliffs, and isolated crofts, evoking both the beauty and solitude of Scotland’s remote areas. Though human presence is rarely depicted directly, subtle signs—like smoke from chimneys or laundry on a line—hint at life within the landscape.’

And she does that beautifully. And I think her paintings have a sense of joy, fun, colour  and an energy. A nice contrast to rain, heather and a few rain drenched sheep.

There’s another artist I’d like to tell you about. Let’s call her Mo. She’s a rather lovely lady, full of laughter. She has a neurological condition that leaves her unable to work because, well, she falls over on a weekly basis, usually down the large hole she was trying to avoid.

If she medicates enough to have really good control of her balance etc, she becomes mentally slow and feels ‘dulled.’  As if her battery is running out, and it takes her too long to process things when her natural nature is as bright as a button, as sharp as a tack.

Her inability to stay upright/on course means she injures herself quite a lot, and that brings her into my clutches.

 In the village they know her and keep an eye out; when she feels an attack coming in, she can sit in the café,  or in the clothes shop, or in the butcher until it passes; much less damage to be done when falling from a sitting position.

She taught herself to paint, and therefore feels inferior to those who have a degree in it, but she’s very talented and can paint anything.

She found a picture I had on my facebook page and decided to paint it for me. She thought it was terrible, she thought I wouldn’t recognise it.

 I did immediately as it’s the view I look at when I go to Gran Canaria to write.

She offered to redo the trees as she didn’t think they were good enough.

I told her to leave it exactly as it is. It’s a delight!

Gran Canaria By Wee Mad Mo.