Picturing Sutherland is a project created and driven by a small group of local artists who want to encourage the documentation of the landscape of Sutherland before it is irrevocably changed by energy structures.
The pylons, wind turbines and battery plants and their associated infrastructure are enormous and long lasting. They are being positioned across our countryside at quite a rate and before we know it, those views to which we have become so accustomed will be changed. They have not been changed so irrevocably and in such a substantive way, since the ice melted.
The project is sincerely open to all – with the only requirements being:
i You can use any media but please to bear in mind that this is an art project, not photography;
ii you can submit a finished piece for the exhibition which is around A3 in size with details around hanging and framing requirements to follow closer to the deadline of 15th October;
iii your sketchbooks and other working papers are welcome at the exhibition which will be on the 24th and 25th October at a location to be confirmed but it will be in Golspie initially;
iv Ideally, it would be useful to notate every drawing with a compass point and What3Words from the standpoint of the artist so that the location being recorded can be identified, along with the timings and date of your work;
v on our form, as well as your name and contact details, there is the option to jot down your thoughts and feelings when you are experiencing the landscape, and log any flora and fauna you notice.
There is no judgement call in this project, there are no prizes or entry charges. We do, however, ask for permission to reproduce the finished pieces in a book. We are hoping that this book will be available to everyone who contributes and copies will be presented to those influential in determining the future of our countryside.
We encourage visiting the areas likely to be affected as to experience our rural environment directly has many benefits including exercise, improved mental health and lungs full of fresh air through to a deeper appreciation of our flora and fauna; and of art practices.
Judy Patterson, artist and member of Team Picturing Sutherland, said this:
‘’Although I know that many artists, both experienced and beginners, prefer to paint their landscapes from photographs in the comfort of their home or studio, I would like to offer up some thoughts on the joys of painting outdoors.
Take last week for instance – at a seaside campsite near Lochinver.
A gentle, mild breeze (no midges!) allowed a quiet early morning coffee, sitting on the shore. A statuesque black- backed gull glared beadily at me, outlined against the mirror calm bay. Angular rocks broke in on one side and smooth lumpy ones on the other, dwarfing the distant mountains. My artist’s eye woke up with a start – I wanted to draw this! I recalled the advice of valued art tutors; “paint what excites you” and “aim to make a painting more about a landscape rather than of it“ .
Time passed in complete absorption, building a simple composition that left out the boring bits and kept in the first impressions I had so wanted to share. And somewhere in that process of drawing a “look what I saw picture” I stopped in my tracks and realised that I felt full up, at peace …yes…simply happy! The gull, of course, had done his modelling job and was long gone!’’
As its current custodians, it is important that what we have here and now is recorded for future generations, it is essential to the majesty of our environment and all of its inhabitants that we honour our landscape. This project is a labour of love, it is our love letter to the land.
Note: Picturing Sutherland is on Facebook and Instagram. Please see our pinned Facebook post for guidance on personal safety, public liability and Scotland’s ‘right to roam’.
Picturing Sutherland | Facebook
Picturing Sutherland (@picturingsutherland) • Instagram photos and videos