Designer Desire: James McIntosh Patrick

Born in Scotland, James McIntosh Patrick (1907-1998) was an etcher, fine art painter, printmaker and educator.

From 1924, he attended the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art during which time he won many prizes and gained a scholarship. His meticulous landscape etchings caught the attention of a London print dealer, and in 1928 he received an important commission for editions of prints. With the collapse of the print market during the Great Depression, Patrick turned to oil painting, but his attention to detail in landscape remained his trademark.

From 1928, he showed at the Royal Acadamy and from 1934 at Fine Art Society. He was elected to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (the RSA) in 1957. He taught part-time at Dundee College of Art.

During WWII, Patrick served in the Camouflage Corps. Post-war was when he became famous for his intricate, realistic landscapes – especially of the area around his home town of Dundee.

Key solo exhibitions were held in 1967 at Dundee City Art Gallery and at Dundee, Aberdeen and Liverpool in 1987. A decade later, a 90^th birthday celebration was held at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.

Patrick’s work is held in the collections of Dundee Art Galleries, Fleming Collection, Walker Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery amongst others.

As well as fine art landscape and portrait paintings in oils and watercolour, Patrick designed a number of publicity posters for British Railways of numerous Scottish tourist destinations including Crieff, Dunnottar Castle, Edinburgh, Loch Leven, Oban and St Andrews.

Easel in the Field: the Life of Mcintosh Patrick is available at Abe Books and Amazon. As well as the book, an auction sale catalogue was published in 1998 – Christie’s: The James McIntosh Patrick Collection – it accompanied a sale of personal effects furniture and artworks (his own and those of other artists) from his own collection.

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Additional image credits:
Art UK | Christies

Property spotlight: The Cairngorms

Do you watch Springwatch and Autumnwatch on the BBC and iPlayer? Well, back in 2019, it was broadcast live from the Dell of Abernethy in the Cairngorms. While watching it, we completely fell in love with the wildlife and, indeed, the landscape. The snow-capped peaks, the swathes of pine forest and purple heather, the majestic stags and the croaking rock ptarmigan.

Of course, at the time, we looked into what kind of budget we’d need if we wanted to live there. If we hadn’t come to Mid-Wales, the Cairngorms was on our short-list. Below, we’ve picked out three properties in the area ranging in price from £140,000 to over £800,000.

£140,000 – Auchnarrow, Ballindalloch, Banffshire AB37 9JN

Detached cottage with attached barn within a 0.25 acre area of ground enjoying a beautiful rural situation within the heart of Speyside, a well known designated an area of natural beauty.
Whilst the cottage requires some upgrading, it nonetheless has a wonderful charm and offers huge potential to the discerning buyer. There is plenty of room for extension but also superb scope for an amazing barn conversion.

• Cottage with attached barn
• 1 bedroom
• Lounge
• Kitchen
• Bathroom
• Box room
• 2 attic rooms
• Garage
• ¼ acre grounds
• Sought after rural situation
• Wonderful views

Offers over £235,000 – Ardessie, Spey Street, Kingussie PH21 1HL

• A corner terraced house in popular Highland village
• 3 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms
• Well laid out accommodation
• In need of some modernisation
• Enclosed, sheltered garden with parking
• Double garage and greenhouse
• Walking distance of the village centre and the River Spey
• In the Cairngorms National Park

Offers over £800,000 – The Old Minister’s House, Inverdruie, Aviemore PH22 1QH

Built circa 1895 for the local parish minister, The Old Minister’s House is a stone-built residence offering almost 3,500 sq. ft. of light-filled flexible accommodation arranged over two floors, nestled in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park on the historic Rothiemurchus Estate.

• 5 en suite bedrooms
• 2 reception rooms
• Kitchen/breakfast room
• Riverside suite with kitchen, living room, bedroom, dressing area and 2 shower rooms
• In all, 3,481 sq ft
• Hot tub, BBQ & outside dining area

Designer Desire: Peter Howson

Peter Howson is a contemporary British painter whose work I discovered via a recent auction.

Born in London in 1958 to Scottish parents, he moved with them to Ayrshire as a young child. He attended the Glasgow School of Art in the 1970s, gaining his first degree and later on a master’s. He went on to teach there on a part-time basis.

In 1993, Peter Howson was commissioned as Britain’s official war artist during the Bosnian War, and later covered the war in Kosovo for the Times newspaper. You can see why, his subject matter often shows the brutality, harshness and hopelessness in life; mining, boxing, fighting, homelessness, crime and rioting.

Often, I’m drawn to and repulsed by his paintings in equal measure. The gore, violence and the grotesqueness expressed in such a beautiful way. In some ways, it’s reminiscent of the work of Stanley Spencer, another favourite artist of mine – and who’s also known for his work on the subjects of war and religion.

His style really reminds me of the album cover artwork of In the Court of the Crimson King created by Barry Godber; compare it to the portrait at the top right of our montage above. Unsurprisingly, his artwork has also graced the album sleeves of The Beautiful South, Jackie Leven and Live (in 2005, the original artwork – Sisters of Mercy – sold at Christie’s in New York for $186,000).

There are many famous fans and collectors of his work including David Bowie, Bill Gates, Jack Nicholson and Madonna.

Here is Howson being interviewed in 2007 by Andrew Graham-Dixon about his exhibition at City Art Centre in Edinburgh Andrew: Portrait of a Saint.

Peter Howsen has been fairly prolific; so originals, prints, monographs and exhibition catalogues of his work are readily available. He is represented by Flowers Gallery, Robertson Fine Art and sells on his own website.

His works are in the permanent collections of many of the top international arts institutions; the V&A, the Tate, MOMA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Galleries of Scotland and Glasgow Museums.

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Additional image credits:
Invaluable

Win a £50 e-voucher for ARRAN Sense of Scotland

Welcome to our June giveaway; we’re half-way through 2020, who’d have predicted that we in the UK and the rest of the world would be where we are now? It’s been such a stressful few months for us all – so we’re really pleased to be able to offer you something to help make you feel relaxed & pampered.

ARRAN Sense of Scotland has generously provided an e-gift voucher to the value of £50 – to spend as you wish. They have such gorgeous product range, you’ll find it difficult to choose!

Their indulgent bathroom selection includes bath salts & scrubs, soaps and shower gels in various scents.

On the other hand, a practical choice for the current times would be their alcohol hand rub; a fragrance-free spray that’s 80% alcohol, kills 99% of bacteria and comes in a neat plastic bottle that easily pops into your handbag or your car’s glove box.

Their ‘After the Rain’ collection reminds me of the lovely word ‘Petrichor’. It’s Greek for the smell you get when rain falls on warm, dry soil. ARRAN describes their popular scent as:

Warm and inviting, captivate your senses with our elegant floral and citrus blend. Refreshing lime and rose fuse effortlessly with a smooth sandalwood fragrance to create an alluring scent…

There are products for use on the body such as this handy roll-on scent; also hand, eye and body moisturisers. ARRAN also have an extensive men’s range, including shaving and after-shave products and eaux de cologne.

Their home section encompasses, reed diffusers, scented candles and room sprays in a variety of fragrances.

This month’s giveaway is open to UK-based readers only. To enter, please tell us which ARRAN fragrance or products appeal to you.

A £50 e-voucher for ARRAN Sense of Scotland

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: Scotland