Painting the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands
His position on the teaching staff at the Edinburgh College of Art allowed him the freedom of long, expansive summer holidays. Following the birth of his three children, Thomson took the opportunity to combine family holidays with his passion for painting, travelling to the Borders and Highlands with his paints and art materials in tow. Between swimming in lochs and beaches and playing games on the grassy banks with his children, he would set up his easel and paint the scenery around him, rarely missing an opportunity to capture the Scottish landscape.
Adam Bruce Thomson in Argyll and Iona
North Argyll, and the village of Taynuilt in particular, served as a base for Thomson and his family for a number of years during the early 1930s. They were joined annually by his artist friend D. M. Sutherland (1883 –1973) and his family, as the two artists travelled around the area painting. Their trips took them as far as Iona, where Thomson produced works such as Staffa and The Dutchman’s Cap from Iona (lot 138).
Watercolours of Loch Carron and the Highlands
Thomson’s family accompanied him on many of these journeys and, as his children grew older, he travelled further north, spending time painting around Loch Carron (lot 137) and seeking out new vantage points across the area. He often worked in watercolour during these trips, as paper was considerably easier to transport, while the medium allowed him to capture the atmospheric qualities of the misty Highlands and the waters of the lochs. No two views were ever quite the same, the changeable weather continually inspired new depictions of the shoreline, boats and mountains.
