Foinaven Landscape Series

From the late summer of 1964 for approaching two years I stayed on and off in a small croft perched above a sea loch in the northwest highlands of Scotland. Although the area had already attracted a small scattered community of practising artists, I had not chosen to move north to join them. At that time I did not consider myself an artist in any formal sense. I was there in a very different role as a research scientist studying the ecology of Scottish mountain vegetation.

To explore further Scottish mountain vegetation, click on the links below:

Montane Vegetation (notes)

Montne Vegetation (presentation)

In the course of this research I roamed over the mountains of this northwest corner of the British Isles, for the most part on my own, and developed a professional insight into the geological and environmental history and character of this region. The works shown here reimagine those two years, 52 years ago, spent amongst the stark Cambrian quartzite ridges of Foinaven and Arkle and their associated hills rising spectacularly above the knochan and lochan topography of the ancient Lewisian Gneiss. In doing so I acknowledge the profound aesthetic and emotional mark that my intimate experience of these mountains left on me and through the work seek ways of representing this landscape in a range of styles executed through a range of media.

[Access here information on some of the artists who have been an inspiration for the works in this exhibition and whose artistic influences can be seen as underpinning particular works. Use the Reference Numbers to link to the exhibited works.]

Artistic Influences


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