Tag Archives: Water of Leith paintings

'Water of Leith. 10'. Oil on 7x5" wood. Rose Strang, May 2020. Unframed £250

Summer Exhibition, Limetree Gallery

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Above, Water of Leith. 10. Oil on 7×5″ wood. Rose Strang, May 2020. Unframed £250.

The ‘ Water of Leith’ series of paintings below will be on sale from the Limetree Gallery from around mid-June. If you are interested in any of the paintings, or would like to reserve or buy one, please contact the gallery on their website here – Limetree Gallery, Bristol

Below the paintings – more about the inspiration behind this series …

This series takes inspiration from Edinburgh’s Water of Leith, the river that runs from the Pentland Hills twenty five miles out of the city, to the shore at Leith Harbour.

The paintings are mainly from the stretch of river that runs from Stockbridge in Edinburgh up to Roseburn – possibly one of the most scenic areas of Edinburgh, which is already a very scenic city!

I took photos and made sketches last month for the oil paintings, which were completed in my studio. The time of May is always beautiful, but one of the upsides of lockdown has been the quiet and the cleaner air – these paintings hopefully reflect some of that peace; the gentleness of rain drops on a peaty river, dark as a glass of Guiness! I particularly love the vivid greens of May against these dark backdrops.

I’ve shown a variety of views – some detailed and others more abstract. I enjoyed paring these colours and compositions down to their more abstract basics in some paintings (7, 8 and 11) but equally enjoyed painting the complex scene in number 9, which shows the glassy stretch of water just before it tips into a waterfall at the most scenic part of the Water of Leith at Dean Village. Number 6 is just below the statue of Hygeia (I didn’t paint her but might do in the next few weeks – interesting to think that in ancient times we’d all have been praying to her during this pandemic!) I remember playing in these shallows as a kid and thankfully it’s not changed at all since then.

This stretch of river is in the most elegant (or posh if you like) part of the river, you can see across the river to private gardens, which, along with green light of the deep, tree-filled valley adds to its feel of mystery.

It’s taken a lockdown to make me focus on places closer to home, and though I’ve missed trips to the beautiful west coast this year, it’s been more rewarding than I imagined to paint my home town in spring.

As mentioned these paintings are all available through the Limetree Gallery, Bristol, who will be very happy to answer any queries you have about the paintinngs, you can contact them here – Limetree Gallery Contact

'Water of Leith. 6'. Oil on 7x5" wood. Rose Strang, May 2020

Painting in oils

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I’ve been hugely enjoying this new series in oils, featuring studies of the Water of Leith, Edinburgh’s river which flows from the Pentland Hills down to the shore at Leith. This series is still in progress and there will be around ten paintings, some diptyques.

The water of Leith always has a rich, peaty colour, which looks so beautiful in contrast with the colours of May. I wanted to capture the dewy light and light rain-showers. During lockdown I’ve had to focus on local landscape in Edinburgh. but the light has had a crystal clarity (less pollution maybe) that’s been inspiring.

I usually paint in acrylics as it’s quicker (drying time) but with more time on my hands these past few months I’ve been able to experiment with oils and I love it! I think the received wisdom is that oils are more difficult, but I find them easier in many ways, especially on this small scale.

The paint has a flow and intensity of pigment that gives immediately more luminous, deep or subtle effects and I realise that a lot of my time painting acrylics is in making the paint surface look better – with more depth or texture etc. In future, if I want texture or impasto I’ll probably start with acrylics, wait for it to dry then paint surface colours in oil. (All very tedious information for the non-painter maybe!)

It’s good practice for my upcoming seascape commission in which I want both texture and subtle watery effects. I’ll post more on that soon. In the meantime I’ll be posting updates on this series.

The ‘Water of Leith’ series will be available from the Limetree Gallery when the series is finished, which should be by mid-June – I’ll clarify the date when I know. So if you like the look of these paintings and would like to reserve one,

you can contact the Limetree Gallery through their website Here