Once upon a time I took a photograph of the Hill House in Helensburgh in Scotland, long before it gained its giant canopy to protect it from the elements. It was an overcast day and the image was remarkably devoid of colour. A considerable time later the image would be the focus of a colour experiment- after the fashion of various Scottish artists that add generous colour to landscapes and textures. Various surfaces within the image I managed to assign to specific colours, though the image is still recognisable as Hill House. There can be imagined to be a large number of identifiable variations of colour possible. The sky, however, seems resolved to be as indicated – perhaps with a clearer blue than is normally observed. The shapes are drawn accurately and to scale. The genius of its designer cannot be compromised. The painting offers yet another insight into the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
This painting in oils soon to be on show at the Troon Art Club 2024 exhibition in July – at the same time as the Open Golf Tournament.
