Loch Duich - Did Robert Burns Stay There Too??

An additional bright spot in this very gray, frosty winter week: my recent painting “Loch Duich from Kintail Hotel” (discussed in an earlier post) ,was voted by members in attendance at the monthly Coeur d’Alene Art Association meeting to hang for a month in a strategic spot at North Idaho College. Not being an enthusiastic “joiner” of anything, I bit the bullet, becoming a member over a year ago to have an activity to share with my 87-year-old mother, who (I’m jealous!) paints a minimum of 30 hours a week! Joining has benefitted us both in many unexpected ways, and I for one actually look forward to attending meetings!

Another ‘meeting,’ Scots oriented of course, that should be experienced at least once in one’s lifetime, is the Burns Supper, held (normally) on or around January 25, Rabbie Burns’ birthday, 250 years ago. Here in Idaho though, we do get a bit creative. The Scottish contingent in Kellogg 40 miles away held it’s Burns Supper in May a couple years ago – a hilarious event offering haggis and pepperoni pizza, scratchy recorded Burns poetry in an accent so thick no one understood and soon gave off trying, and some rather individualistic attendees, shall we say, who ate, drank, and interrupted the poor organizer endlessly. A priceless experience.

Having limited knowledge of one R. Burns, except for a fascinating visit to the Writer’s Museum in Lady Stair's Close off the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and observing of a good number of “Rabbie Burns Slept Here” brass plaques” scattered throughout the north of Scotland on my own wanderings, it must be said that I’m heartily intrigued. His life and works have been elevated to such a degree, while he exhibited such human frailties. All in a time when church reigned supreme and would hardly condone his activities and behavior. An entire country which chooses to honour a fascinating albeit dubious character such as Burns…..well…..just one more reason why I love Scotland!

Painting Experience

One of the joys of paint is being able to create a "masterpiece" on any size substrate. I like to vary canvas sizes & dimensions with each painting - makes for challenges in the framing department, but who wants to think that far ahead???! This is a 'wee shottie' at Eilean Donan Castle on Loch Duich in the Highlands - the absolute power one wields in being able to shrink a monstrous, stately heap o'stane (stone) to a mere 4"x5" canvas!

Making one's way across the castle's stone bridge bent double to stay upright in gale force winds tips the scales in the power department. A light smattering of visitors crazy enough to attempt the bridge made for a pleasant, uncrowded opportunity to explore and contemplate life in the Highlands through the centuries. The steady buffetting of the October winds against and around metres-thick stone provided background sound adding immeasurably to the experience. How can all this be conveyed in a tiny scrap of canvas and a few gobs of paint? It can't, as far as I know, but through this and every other attempt, I learn to appreciate more and more the creative efforts of myself and others.

Words & Weathers in the Highlands

Weather. I believe it to be one of the hottest topics for conversation since the world began. In our family, speaking of the weather is equivalent to asking after your health, & saying ‘I’m glad to see you,’ all in one go. I imagine this far-reaching method of indirect communication must originate from life in a harsh environment, where every syllable counted, the excess lost to the wind. Wind brings variety in weather, and there was no shortage on both counts on Skye and surrounds in October! “Loch Duich from Kintail Hotel” sums it up for me – incredibly wild, changeable skies, full of colour and mesmerizing cloud formations, above autumn land and waterscapes to make a painter sigh with pleasure (that or go mad attempting to discern where to begin !). We enjoyed this view from the warmth of the hotel bar, sipping strong coffees and chuckling over the informative announcement by the barkeep that the “truffles & coffee” advertised on the entryway slate were not served till teatime, as the pigs had not yet returned from a successful rootle in the hinterlands that day…! I’ll never again look at a chocolate truffle quite the same way!