Description

Cowan’s Brae and Ruthven Barracks is a painting that came about because one of my 49 Paintings sadly got damaged when I was tidying my studio, so I decided to repaint it. I wrote the following about the original one…

Cowan’s Brae was the second steep hill we had to cycle up on the way home to our cottage at Insh if we’d been shopping in Kingussie. If you took a good run at it you could get about halfway up before you had to walk…at least until you got a bike with gears! It’s funny how distances shrink as you get older; I can remember when I was about eight years old the 5 miles seemed endless… Ruthven Barracks was built in about 1720 as an English garrison to help quell the Jacobite rebellions. It’s in a brilliant strategic position in the upper reaches of the Spey valley (used previously for a castle of the Comyn chieftains), and is clearly seen from the modern A9 road on its way north past Kingussie.

This is another ‘re-visit’ for me, because I painted the same view 20 years ago as a 70th birthday present for my dad. It was one of the first paintings I completed with oilbars, though they were much smaller then… For this painting I have used my knowledge gained recently to split the composition into areas, and also incorporated my ‘expressionist’ influences in areas such as the road and fields.

This painting is available in a white wooden ‘floater’ frame.

Please note: Handling and shipping of this painting within the mainland British Isles is included in the price. ANY other shipping destination will require an additional fee. Please contact me using the ‘Contact the artist about this artwork’ button regarding shipping to your location. The artwork can be reserved while you consider any costs involved. Many thanks.