Viewing Room
Welcome to the Castle Gallery Viewing Rooms where you will find highlights from our exhibitions - past and present - focussing on key works, inspirational ideas and telling the stories behind the show. Best viewed on a desktop browser.
JONATHAN SHEARER
30th September - 22nd October 2022
'FROM CORRIES TO COAST'
Paintings that explore the northern corries of the Cairngorms, Lochnagar and the North Atlantic coastline of Scotland.
'FROM CORRIES TO COAST'
Paintings that explore the northern corries of the Cairngorms, Lochnagar and the North Atlantic coastline of Scotland.
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Sea Cliffs, Strathy, oil on canvas, 46 x 61cm
Jonathan Shearer explores the effects of glacial erosion on the mountain corries and the coastal erosion of the mighty sea cliffs of the Strathy Peninsula that jut out into the North Atlantic Ocean in a new cohesive series of paintings that cover a period from late autumn 2021 up to June 2022.
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Lochnagar Panorama, oil on board, 21 x 40cm
Many of the paintings in the exhibition have been made en plein air. Jonathan says: ‘My hope is that these paintings capture something of the awe, grandeur and physicality of the locations. For me, I can only do this by painting and sketching on location which exposes me to the raw elemental qualities of each landscape.’
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Ben Wyvis from the North - Garioch Landscape - Heavy Snow, Winter Pines - Liathach from Beinn Alligin
oil on board, 18 x 25cm each
oil on board, 18 x 25cm each
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Painting on site - Ben Wyvis
Jonathan’s guided tours of his exhibition provide a fascinating insight into how he is able to paint in some of the remotest parts of the Scottish Highlands from mountain summits in deep winter to vertiginous sea cliffs on the Atlantic Coast. He has learned to adapt his technique, and more importantly his kit, to enable him to paint these stunning locations and to cope with the extremities of the weather conditions. ‘Extreme painting’ is not for the feint hearted!
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North Face, Ben Nevis, oil on canvas, 80 x 91cm
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Jonathan in Coire an t-Sneachda
Jonathan says: ‘Painting at Lochnagar in Royal Deeside and the Northern Corries of the Cairngorms in winter were particularly challenging with snow, ice, wind and cold but these conditions, just like the power and movement of the sea are exactly the qualities I seek out to paint in an attempt to capture something of the essence and power of nature.’
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Lochnagar Reflections, oil on board, 21 x 30cm - Painting on site Lochnagar from Gelder Shiel - Stob Coire an t-Sneachda, 17.1.22, oil on board, 22 x 30cm
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Strathy Point, oil on canvas, 91 x 122cm (right)
North Atlantic Shore, Strathy, 15.12.21, oil on board, 30 x 40cm (below) The vitality of the paintings and sketches painted outdoors, on the spot, feed into some of the larger paintings which have to be completed in the studio.
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Last Light, Winter Willow, oil on canvas, 76 x 102cm
In contrast to the painting expeditions Jonathan has also made a series of seasonal paintings exploring his garden. He says: ‘The garden paintings are relatively new for me. It started with the winter willow tree in the snow as the sun went down. I asked myself – why haven’t I painted this, then the incredible blossom, all this is visible from my garden and studio. I started to see them as a document of the changing seasons.’
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