Paintings of Edinburgh

I think of myself as a landscape painter. But this year I have also been working on a series of paintings of Edinburgh. I have been praised for not adapting my subject matter to suit my style, but the other way round. In this case, the nice stranger who said this at an exhibition may be disappointed, for I am pursuing a unanimity of style. I start with a piece of watercolour paper. On this I collage bits of torn-up newspaper, using acrylic paint (usually white and raw sienna) as an adhesive. When I have made a sketch (or found one in my collection of sketch-books), I make the picture with black ink, and acrylic paint. For the ink I use either a twig or a home-made reed pen. I find this gives a more expressive mark than a conventional pen-nib. To apply the paint I may use brushes of all sizes, and also occasionally rags or a tooth brush.

Here is an example:

I like to think that this gets something of the feel of the place, even though all the details may not be accurate.

Around the Old Town I have usually found it satisfactory to use the paint sparingly, as in this view of the High Street from outside Gladstone's Land (up the outside stair).

On the other hand in this painting of a front door in the New Town I found myself using so much paint that the collaged newspaper more or less disappeared. 

Incidentally, there are far too few flowering tubs around the New Town steps and balconies. What a wasted opportunity!

So far there are ten paintings. Most of them are of views around the Old Town, but there is so far one landscape. This view of the city from Corstorphine Hill has an added resonance. It as here that, in "Kidnapped", David Balfour and Alan Breck Stewart parted company. While I was doing the sketch I saw two foxes run across the golf course.

The boldest - the background painted with a two-inch house-painter's brush - is of the Festival fireworks at the castle, seen from the Meadows. Quite a gang of us south-siders would gather up there every year to enjoy the show. We missed the famous waterfall down the north side of the castle, but thanks to portable radios we could enjoy the music.

This photo definitely looks less good than the original. If you want to judge whether the same is true of the the other pictures, drop in to the Cornerstone Cafe underneath St John's church on Princes Street. So far there are ten paintings. The cafe can accommodate five; so you will have to make several visits to see them all. My plan is to carry on with this series for a while, so there should be a few more to come.