REVEAL: Keith Salmon – Painter

No wonder Keith Salmon has remained in his studio in Irvine for the past eight years. Facing directly onto the harbour-front in this historic North Ayrshire town, the view from Courtyard Studios is charming and the light beautiful. Open to the public most days, from here this award-winning artist labours tirelessly on an ever-expanding collection of breathtaking paintings of the his beloved Scottish hills and mountains.

Keith Salmon has devoted his life to art. Brought up in Wales, he studied fine art at Shrewsbury and then Falmouth Schools of Art between 1979 and 1983. He went on to set up a studio in Newcastle upon Tyne before moving back to Wales in 1989 where him and his partner set up a new studio. At around this time Keith was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy and his sight deteriorated very quickly. Within a few years he had to stop exhibiting work and completely reassess how he could paint. Losing his sight, he says, ‘categorically set my career back by ten years’.

Keith has always loved Scotland and used to travel up from England with friends to go walking. In 1998 he moved to Ayrshire with his partner Anita and by this point he’d regained enough confidence in his work to start exhibiting again. In 2001 he attended a course in Aviemore specifically designed to teach mountain skills to blind and partially-sighted people. There he met some great future friends including a leading blind golfer. Now, the couple go walking in the Scottish hills and mountains nearly every week, Keith taking hundreds of photos to give him the material for his paintings.

Keith’s paintings are a mix of oil paints and oil pastels, built up in many layers. He works on wood with primer. He likes to scrape away with blades to create texture and relief, a technique that helps Keith describe his view of what he sees when out in the hills. The results are paintings full of movement and atmosphere; the lines bringing to life the wind, the weather, the wildness of the Highlands. He rather self-deprecatingly calls them ‘organised scribbles’: I call them the work of a man with a deep passion for and understanding of the landscapes in which he ventures.

One of his favourite dimensions for framing the Highlands is 76cm by 23cm. Like a wide-screen film, ‘they’re perfect for depicting mountainscapes.’.

In 2009 Keith won the first prize of £20,000 in the prestigious Jolomo award, the largest privately funded arts award in the UK. The award ceremony was held in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Keith says winning boosted his confidence as an artist: ‘It’s given me a solid foundation on which to build my business’.

Keith believes that a lot of budding disabled artists face a dilemma: if they take the plunge and go professional, they will more than likely lose any benefits they receive. Keith was lucky: he took advantage of Labour’s business start-up scheme that allowed him to trial the business for six months without losing his incapacity benefit, but he worries that too many others decide to only pursue art as a hobby because they’re worried about how they’ll survive. It’s a topic we find comes up again and again in our REVEAL Scotland steering group meetings, of which Keith is a member and has made valuable contributions. Going professional, Keith has pointed out, involves two things: taking a leap of faith in your work and yourself and making a living.

Back at my desk at Artlink Central in Stirling, I now look forward to regular dispatches from Keith about his latest excursions into the mountains. I hear about the light, the weather, the atmosphere, and I know that all of this passion and enthusiasm will soon find its way onto canvas.

Please see the events diary for upcoming exhibitions featuring Keith’s work.

Keith Salmon painting gallery (click on images to enlarge)