Some things in life are inevitable. When we face very tough and complicated situations, our whole lives can be transformed. How we handle these situations shapes the remainder of our lives. Keith faced the impending loss of sight due to diabetic retinopathy. Keith skillfully found an innovative technique to continue his work as an artist. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he smartly improvised the techniques which lead to a proudly enjoyable artistic and creative journey. His affection of Scottish landscape is captured pleasantly in his paintings. Keith has numerous achievements including a Jolomo Scottish Landscape Art Award.

How did your artistic life change after you were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy? What kind of technique do you use for creating art with your partial sight?K: When I was first diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy in 1990, my consultant told me that he thought I might well become totally blind within a few years, but said that he would try and save a little sight for me. As an artist this was very difficult news and for several months I stopped doing my work, wondering what the point was if I was going to lose all my sight. Then, when I thought about it, I realised that he had only said that he thought that I might lose all my sight ...it wasn’t definite. I then decided that instead of sitting around on my backside feeling sorry for myself; it would make far more sense to use all the sight / time I had to create as much work as I could. I had originally trained as a sculptor but I decided that it would be better if I now put all my efforts into the purely visual side of my work ....i.e., painting and drawing. I thought that if the worst happened and I lost all my sight then I could return to the sculpture and try and work in a purely tactile way. Luckily, my consultant was good as his word and after much lazar treatment I retained just a small amount of sight in the upper part of my right eye.
From this point onwards I spent many years almost relearning how to work. I experimented with all sorts of techniques and ways of working and didn’t exhibit any work for almost seven years I think it was. I had always been very keen on observational drawing and found it very frustrating that I couldn’t see either my subject or the drawing I was doing with any accuracy. As such I moved at first towards just using large brushes and marks, creating fairly abstract works in paint ...and leaving the drawing. Then, one day back in around 2000 I suddenly thought that I could simply scribble. In doing so I could create lines that although fairly random, still had the appearance of being detailed. I started creating what I described to people as my “organised scribbles”. These drawings were based on the harbour side in Irvine and were scribbled pastel drawings built from many over lapping layers of scribbled line ...with a vague scratchy image of the subject. I then took this further and decided to scribble line into the broad acrylic paint strokes to create the appearance of detail in my paintings. This strange way of working has gradually developed and I guess I’m still working on it. I am now also creating paintings in traditional oil but using a large 8” horse hair house painting brush that leaves coarse textured ridges in the paint surface.....imitating the scribbled pastel marks in the earlier acrylic paintings.

Can you describe abstract Scottish landscape art?K: I think that most of my Scottish landscape paintings are to some degree or other, quite abstract. All the paintings are based on the places I visit. Despite my poor sight I still walk the wild Scottish hills, mountains and glens with my partner who guides me and as I look around I see this magnificent landscape very much in terms of pattern. I see the contrasts of light and shade; I see many of the colours ... but don’t see much in the way of detail. I think my most successful paintings are those that can be appreciated equally as Scottish landscape and in purely aesthetic terms as abstract paintings. Usually though the paintings tend to one or the other. Getting the balance right is a very difficult thing.

Which is your favorite piece of work and why? How do you usually pick subjects for your paintings?K: This is a difficult question to answer as I have done many paintings since 1990. That said however, the following quite recent piece is probably one of the better ones.
'Below Canisp, passing hail shower', Oil on canvas, 2015, 80 x 80 cm, (see at the end of the interview)
I say this because it meets the criteria I set in the previous question.....it is for me both a very Scottish landscape scene whilst also being quite an abstract image. This painting was based on a view we saw back in May last year when we did a big walk up and over a fabulous mountain in the north west of Scotland. The hill, called Canisp is set well off the road and is part of a very ancient landscape. The hill is surrounded by large areas of bare rock, boulder fields and patches of short grass and heather. On the day we were here back in May the weather was very poor at times and we were caught in several very heavy and quite violent hail showers. I think this painting captures something of what it was like.
My paintings are all based on the places I visit during my walks in the Scottish upland landscape. I tend to find the days where the weather is constantly changing, the most interesting and many of my paintings are simply about these conditions and the effects they create on the landscape.

You have received plenty of awards and recognition. Which award is closest to you heart and why?K: I’ve been fortunate to pick up a number of awards for my work over the years, however, winning the prestigious Jolomo Award for Scottish Landscape Painting back in 2009 without doubt, meant the most to me. This bi-annual award was probably Scotland’s biggest art award at the time and it brought with it a lot of publicity as well as a huge (£20,000) prize. As someone who had just started working professionally, it gave my career a real boost and financially it has meant security during the last few difficult years of the international banking crisis. It has allowed me to do the work I want to do without compromising. I haven’t had to try and paint things that will sell ...I can just do my own thing and try and create the best work I can. The award, most importantly, gave me a huge amount of confidence as it was judged anonymously and my visual impairment wasn’t a factor. My work was accepted as other artists work was ...for what it was and nothing else.

Who is your favorite artist and which of his/her painting do you like the most and why?K: Difficult to say really but I guess my favourite painter is Leon Kossoff. I love his painting: “Between Kilburn and Willsdon Green, winter evening No3”, Oil, 1992 Like many of his works this piece is all about paint, light and subject.

Who is your inspiration?K: Seriously good artists in general I guess. That said, the painter Sargy Mann was very impressive. His work was highly acclaimed and sought after.....despite his being visually impaired.

What is your favorite place to visit and why?K: I love the Scottish Highlands and in particular the far north west of the country. The Torridon and Assynt regions are probably my favourite parts of Scotland. The scenery here is wild and rugged, remote and stunningly beautiful.

What are your other hobbies?K: I don’t really have many hobbies. My art takes up nearly all my time as I work professionally and run my art practice as a business. That said, I am passionate about hill walking and as this is now a very important part of my art work.....it’s a pretty good hobby to have. I have always loved reading and although I can no longer see to read in a conventional way I still read many audio books.

How can art play an important role for our special children?K: Art for me is about enjoyment. I love painting, drawing, making things..... and that is the reason I do it. It doesn’t matter whether you work full time at it like me ....or just as a hobby.....it is still about enjoying the creative process. Art isn’t just about the visual side either, it makes you think and it is all about problem solving ...... and it can also be very relaxing and rewarding.

Any special message for our community?K:  When my sight first started to fail back in 1990 it would have been so easy to simply stop making art and stop walking and climbing the hills and mountains ....to say, “I can’t see so I can’t do that any more”. I realised that if I was willing to adapt, I could still do most things. Being willing and able to adapt to your own personal situation is probably the most important thing to getting on with your life and being as successful and happy as you want to be. Best of luck and enjoy what you do.