Here’s the sixth video showing the process of a painting (which I’m calling ‘The Path’ for now) from my new series inspired by the remains of a Carmelite friary in the mysterious forest of Luffness.
I’m talking about a couple of dilemmas here that came up – mostly how to make decisions that keep the panting loose without overworking it.
These videos are also posted on my instagram which is findable under ‘Rose Strang art’
Here’s the fifth video showing the process of a painting (which I’m calling ‘The Path’ for now) from my new series inspired by the remains of a Carmelite friary in the mysterious forest of Luffness.
I’ve added a Bach variation piano piece to enhance your viewing pleasure. Tomorrow I’ll post the next stage.
These videos are also posted on my instagram which is findable under ‘Rose Strang art’
Here’s the latest video showing the process of a painting from my new series inspired by the remains of a Carmelite friary in the mysterious forest of Luffness.
In this video I talk about the ideas and themes behind the painting, then tomorrow I’ll post the final stages of the painting (speeded up for the impatient among you!)
These videos are also posted on my instagram which is findable under ‘Rose Strang art’
Below, the third video in a series showing the making of a new painting. This is part of my new series inspired by the remains of a Carmelite friary in the mysterious forest of Luffness.
I speeded the video up towards the end as you can see! I’ll post another one tomorrow, it’s ready to go but better to post one at a time …
Progress is slow as I was on holiday the past week on the wonderful Isle of Iona, celebrating our first wedding anniversary! They say the first one should be celebrated with paper, so, appropriately enough here are some of my watercolours on paper!….
This is my favourite though, a little gift by Adam, it captures that Iona sea-green so beautifully. It seems simple at first but I find it icon-like, meditative and transporting …
Below – the second in my new series following the painting process. This painting is from a news series started this year which takes inspiration from the remains of a Carmelite friary in the mysterious forest of Luffness.
(This series is also on Instagram, for which the series was first itended, hence the upright video format! You can find me on instagram by searching for Rose Strang)
This is the first in a new series of 3-minute videos following the creation of a new painting. Hope you enjoy it!
The painting above The Path. Water mixable oil on 14 by 14 inch wood, depicts a meaningful walk (with Richard Demarco and Terry Ann Newman) towards the 12th century Friary ruins at Luffness recently.
More on that in this post – Dappled things
Some painting details …
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The wonderfully atmospheric stills below are a little taster from an upcoming documentary (by video-maker Manuel Pennuto) about a series and project I’m working on this year.
Taking inspiration from the landscape and history of Aberlady on the east coast of Scotland, the series explores the 7th century pilgrims’ route from Iona to Lindisfarne, and the remains of a 12th century effigy discovered in the ruins of a Carmelite friary.
I was very moved and honoured to have Prof’ Richard Demarco (Director of the Demarco Gallery) and Terry Ann Newman (Deputy Director) join me on a recent visit to the Carmelite friary in Aberlady.
Sometimes described as an arts impressario and ‘champion of the avant garde’, Richard Demarco prefers to be thought of as an artist and teacher. He’s known in the art world of Scotland (and wider Europe) for his creative response to post-war Europe, and for his belief that creative dialogue between war-torn countries can heal the collective traumatised psyche. His approach remains as relevant today as ever, and I cannot imagine anyone better suited to accompany us on our visit to the friary this weekend.
Richard is now 93, so it was no easy task for him to navigate the 300 yards or more of rough forest floor of the friary grounds. Yet, it is difficult to describe the joy of our day as we walked the path together in the company of family, friends and fellow creative people (very much in the spirit of the road to Meikle Seggie)
Read on if you’d like to know more about our adventure, Richard Demarco and the Road to Meikle Seggie...
Twenty three years ago, when I worked as assistant archivist/curator for the Demarco European Art Foundation, I asked Richard Demarco how someone might define the Road to Meikle Seggie. ‘You can’t define it!’, he exclaimed.
This is true, but in the first instance at least The Road to Meikle Seggie describes a road sign that Richard and friends discovered as part of his Edinburgh Arts Journeys many years ago. Pointing up a track, the sign read: Meikle Seggie and after following this sign for some time it gradually became apparent that Meikle Seggie (probably the name of a farm) probably didn’t exist!
On this journey though, Richard and his friends (a gathering of artists and creative thinkers) experienced a heightened awareness of everything that they encountered. In the act of observing, we can be aware and as sensitive to our surroundings as a new-born child, or we can be closed to the wonder and meaning of all we encounter. The former is a challenge, the latter perhaps the result in part of mind-numbing bureacracy, the echo chamber of media and news, or any number of difficulties we face in life.
When Richard Demarco began Edinburgh Arts journeys in the 1970’s he described it as similar to “opening a door beyond which lay the reality of my dreams of a world beyond the confines of the 20th century”. For Richard, this world promised:
“.. a landscape I would wish to define with pen and ink and watercolour. Each bend and corner would be like another door opening up gradually more and more aspects of the landscape I had known in my childhood when every door and every road was an invitation to a mysterious space, forever desireable and forever new. It was the sacred threshold through which I had to pass which would reveal the space in which I would seek freedom from all linear concepts of time”. (1).
So it was fitting that on our trip to the Carmeite friary and effigy this weekend, we were accompanied by my niece Emma Mases Strang, her partner Manuel Pennuto and their adorable seven-week old baby (to whom I’m a great aunt!); Atlas. As Richard remarked – “that little boy has within him now all you need to understand the wonder of life”.
Also joining us were Robert and Pamela de Mey, respectively a psychiatrist/arts curator and a doctor. Both friends of the Demarco Trust and art collectors with a deep interest in all that inspires creativity (Robert de Mey’s recent book about Scottish artist Rae – Ronald Rae: An Inner Life – can be found Here)
Robert’s follow up email summed up our experience perfectly. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing it here:
What a wonderful and spiritual journey we had yesterday, and thanks are due to everyone for making it happen. The ensnarement of our endlessly complicated system for living (symbolised by the blocked A1); replaced by peace, a shared discourse, generous love, and the pilgrims’ path to the tomb. The effigy of David de Lindsay seemed both peaceful and vulnerable, in its posture and rotated form, and through being slowly absorbed by the physical elements. We look forward to more ‘journeys of enlightenment.
Thanks to all who made it such a special day, especially my husband Adam Brewster. It has added immeasurably to my creative response to Aberlady. Thanks also to Hilary Wilkies for allowing us access through her garden to visit the friary, it’s much appreciated!
Lastly, a couple of painting sketches of the day inspired by Richard’s exclamation to Terry as we navigated the woods – “Dappled things!” …
Above: Beauly substation.
What you see above is a view of the gravel quarry and SSEN (Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks) electricity substation near Beauly, Inverness-shire.
Beauly means ‘a beautiful place’ and despite these developments by SSEN, much of it still is. We were walking there again last weekend as part of a visit to the Kilmorack Gallery (showing the excellent exhibition Borrowed Land until 2nd March)
For perspective, here’s an old map of the area contrasted with a current view …
It’s pretty disheartening isn’t it? Imagine if you lived here though, and your favourite walk, through landscape like this (my photos of Beauly taken last weekend and last November) …
Was replaced with this …
The site includes numerous important archeological remains and the developments have obviously caused utter devastation to local wildlife.
SSEN (Scottish and Southern Electric Network) plan to extend their transmission line, create more wind farms and, the site at Beauly is to be extended from 60 acres to 860 acres, which is just huge.
Even worse, this is intended for areas across the Scottish Highlands …
Some might consider this the inevitable price of progress, but it’s not progress, and nor is it needed – which becomes very evident when you look into current and future energy requirements for Scotland and the UK. As usual, quite simply it’s a money-making excercise for global companies, supported and encouraged by our own government.
I’ll include more information about SSEN’s proposals ongoing, but I’m new to this and you’ll be better informed about these developments and possible ways to help by joining this facebook page…
It’s run by people who live in these areas who’ve been resisting such developments for years. If/when you join, invite all your contacts and remember that this affects us all -you might not be able to attend local meetings, but you can sign petitions, write to MP’s and share information.
Lastly, here are two excellent letters/articles published by the Press and Journal (by two admins for Communities Before Power Companies) Elaine Ritter and Denise Davis …
Above: Shorelines, Aberlady. I. Oil on 8×5.5″ wood. Rose Strang 2024
More oil sketches in progress today inspired by the shorelines and moods of Aberlady…
For my experimental paintings and ideas I’ve been working at this size for some time and it really works for me in terms of loose brushwork. It would be a bit of a nightmare to work at a larger size with this more experimental messy approach – that would be a lot of oil paint going to waste when it doesn’t work (which is often!) and a lot of physical energy and time expended.
It’s been a while since I posted a video of my working process. I’m very forgetful of such things but people seem to enjoy them, so one of those coming up soon.
I’m also still working on my Carmelite monastery and Crusader’s tomb series (see older posts) which are very different in feel to these smaller landscape paintings. I love the freedom of my smaller landscape paintings, but I think I have something more to say as an artist so I’ll be persevering with that series over the coming weeks. It’s important to get out of my comfort zone and dig a bit deeper …
Rose Strang Artworks 