It was the warmest day of the year. We gathered at the car park of the Marine Hotel in Troon while all around activity was on going for the 2024 Open Golf Championship. We eventually got going sometime after 11 o’clock.
Preparations had been made. A trusty easel from my teenage years had been spruced up with new bolts and wing nuts. Some wood panels had been ordered – not too large this time considering the time available. In the distance Arran was just visible with a ribbon of silvery sea in front of it. I had previously completed a slightly larger wood panel from a holiday photograph taken while on a ferry to the Hebrides and copied the same style – sky, sea and foreground. Previously I had altered the colour palette significantly- essentially on the basis of ‘any interesting colour will do’ for effect. My colour chart of some 30 pages allowed more rapid selection of colours.
I had been previously very cautious about the border between different areas on a painting and had allowed previous sections to dry. In plain air there is no such time – just get on with it. It was not, however, a problem. Royal Talens water based oil was easy to use in this regard.
Rather than chat a lot as a group we were all too immersed in our various creations and all too soon it was time to tidy up. I would say my effort was 80% complete which for me was an amazing achievement since previously such a work would have taken weeks and not hours to complete. I was able to complete it later that evening so it was essentially completed that day. The creative engagement of plain air work can hardly be guessed at. It is transformative. A memorable day out thanks to Troon Art Club.
Judging the various creative efforts was the artist Bill Taylor, former Principal Teacher of Art at Marr College. After weighing up the many excellent contributions, he finally chose the winner as David Tapner for his view of the hotel and the view towards Arran, with Linda Renfrew second and Jenny Brown third.
