streets of glasgow: Painting Scotland

6.2.09

Painting Scotland

"The Presence of the Future" 18x24 oil on canvas

Isle of Mull looking towards the Isle of Iona, Scotland

while living in Scotland i had the wonderful opportunity to visit some beautiful places in the Highlands and in the Hebrides Isles. i took lots of photos and would spend time painting while i lived in Glasgow. my paintings began to change from the ones i did after my first trip to Scotland. originally i tried to capture the romantic beauty of the "bonnie isle" but what transpired was a ruggedness & a wildness of what i came to know as the Scottish spirit...the kind we all learned about in "Braveheart". some of the paintings I painted while I was living there. others i completed when i returned to the States. they speak of what continues to live deep in my heart for Scotland. as i know i will always be going back to Scotland...i know i will always be painting Scotland.

"History Maker" 22x28 oil on canvas

waterfall in the GlenCoe area of the highlands, Scotland

"Breakfast on the Beach" 11x14 oil on canvas

beach on the Isle of Tiree, Scotland

"He Says Come" 11x14 oil on canvas paper

the falls of Dochart, Scotland

"Can I Ascend?" 11x14 oil on canvas paper (and again 14x18 oil on canvas)

the GlenCoe area of the highlands, Scotland

"Breathe Again" 11x14 oil on canvas paper (and again 18x24 oil on canvas)

beach area on the Isle of Coll, Scotland

"Break These Chains" 18x24 oil on canvas

ancient broch on the Isle of Tiree, Scotland

1 comment:

gaylin said...: Hello, my name is Gaylin and i just happened to find your blog, and its funny cause i am in Glasgow at the moment doing similar things as you, i somehow found the KOG cafe, which has been resurected in a new wayhave spend almost all my free time down there and absolutly love it, God is doing soooo much down in merchant city. i am an artist too and have been painting quite alot, and praying for the city. what is your name? we probably know the same people. i ahve been going to the KOG church and living at the Hurlet. going home in jan, (south africa) and i have that same experience of falling in love with glasgow and feeling a sence of home in this place, i can see myself coming back here for years to come!! heres my blog : www.gaylin.isobel.blogspot.com; 7.12.09

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what is this blog about:

i wanted to be able to have a place where i could document the time i have spent in Scotland. the first trip i made in October of 2000 was on a short term missions trip with a small team of people from the Boise Vineyard church in Idaho. we traveled over to Scotland to spend 2 weeks helping and serving a new churchplant nestled in the urban city of Glasgow. we helped in the beginning stages of the renovation of an old building that would become a coffee house. and i got to see first hand what it takes to have a heart for a people broken and in need of the love of Jesus. it was during that trip that i fell in love with Scotland and it's people and i knew that i was to return and live and give of my time, my resources, my talents, and whatever else God asked of me. from September 2001 to May 2002 i lived in Glasgow sharing inner city flats with several others who had also come to minister on the streets to those in need. i attended a 6 month leadership/ministry college that was 1/2 lecture & 1/2 hands on experience (i'm told that it was very much like a YWAM DTS). i got to travel all over the beautiful country of Scotland and also to England ministering to people. while living in Glasgow for the 9 months, i wore the rubber soles of my hiking boots right off as i walked the streets of Glasgow every day...praying, serving, ministering, sharing, working, and painting. since then i have been able to return for a brief visit (summer of 2005: see my travel blog about that trip). this blog is a tribute to the time i lived in Scotland...and to how Scotland (particularly Glasgow) has touched my heart. i think i will always be returning to Scotland...it's part of me.

my favorite Glaswegian things

the international cultural diversity
my friends
the sound of bagpipes
hanging out and working hard at the KOG cafe
the sound of the train on it's tracks approaching while I'm standing on the platform
the rain
pure dead brilliant
corner newsagents
rows and rows of flats
the city lights near the Clyde
tattie scones
Walkers crisps
Scott's So-Easy Porage Oats
the Glaswegian accent (a very strong dialect of the Scots accent)
tea & biscuits
cheese toastie
train & subway tickets
the view of the city from atop the Necropolis
fish n chips
Tennent's
chicken curry
Walkers shortbread
Irn Bru
Kelvingrove Museum
St. Andrew's celebrations
kabob shops
the faces of the people
easyinternet cafe
the Budgit (budgee) international phone card
the campus of Glasgow Uni
Gallery of Modern Art
Art Store across from the Modern Art
the orange cones on top of the statue in front of the Modern Art Museum
the fact that there are several Starbucks
traveling up escalators to the cinema
my Global Video & Blockbuster Video cards
shopping on Buchanan St., Argyll St., Sauchiehall St.
George Square
Parnie Street in Merchant City
the Barras
Cadbury Caramello bar
Hogmanay celebrations
the footbridge across The Clyde
custard cremes
beans and toast
Ready Break cereal
the buskers on Buchanan Street
the musty damp smell of the underground
wearing layers
the fireworks of Guy Fawkes night
Trash club
Uisce Beatha pub
the sights, smells, sounds of the city
the colors of autumn in the city
Costas: hot chocolate
the crypt in Glasgow Cathedral
walking on cobblestone streets
Greggs Bakery: chicken pastie & a fudge donut
the Riverside Club: ceilidh dancing
13 Note Club: listening to friends play
the Bean Scene in Pollockshaws
the chip shop on Vicky Rd
Queens Park
goneenodaythat
skeleton keys
taking public transport
fried Mars bars