RSA Scottish Art
Towards Skye
 | Artist: John Houston |
| Title: Towards Skye | |
| Year: 1975-6 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © the artist | |
| Description: John Houston has concentrated mostly on seascapes, flower paintings and landscapes in his work. Towards Skye is a characteristic landscape painting of the 1970s, when the artist was exploring the ever-changing moods of the weather and its effects on the open landscapes of the north. The composition is simple - it is centred on a watery sun set against dense, dark clouds and hills and vivid reflections from the cold sea. A windswept pond in the foreground reflects the cold light of the sun on its rippling waters. This scene can be viewed as an abstract image as well as a representation of a landscape. Houston's palette here is rigorously restricted to greys, plus some sky blue and peach hues which still allow him to accurately depict the light of north-west Scotland. Although the colours are sombre, Houston has used flashes of acid yellow, possibly representing a plant such as gorse, to enliven the foreground. The brush strokes are short and rough, suggesting the stark landscape and fleeting clouds. The mood of the scene may at first appear subdued, but look closer at the brush work representing sunlit clouds at the centre of the painting - it is possible to see a joyful appreciation of nature and light. This painting sums up the strong contrasts of the Scottish coastal landscape, as well as the mix of emotions stirred up by such remote and wild places. | |
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