James Paterson's trees

James Paterson

Craigdarroch Water (Landscape with River), 1889

Oil on Canvas

One of the name that came in my art group yesterday was the Scottish painter James Paterson (1854-1932). Loosely associated with the Glasgow Boys, Paterson along with contemporaries such as James Guthrie and John Lavery, influenced Scottish art in the 1880s and 1890s and challenged the dominance of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Art (good old city rivalry in practice) - many of them to become later in their career established society painters.

In any case: Paterson painted primarily landscapes around the village of Moniaive in Dumfrieshire where he had moved to in the mid 1880s. His paintings in oil and watercolours were often done en plein air - in the spirit of the Glasgow School.

I think I found the painting Tom recommended to me yesterday, but it's a fairly poor reproduction. However, the painting is displayed at the Kelvingrove Gallery, so I will pop along to have a better look at it. Tom admired Paterson's ability to paint the trees very lightly, and transparent while giving them solidity nonetheless.

James Paterson
Craigdarroch: Looking down Glencairn, 1891
Oil on Canvas

Paterson was also a keen photographer - capturing many of his scenes on film. This publication in honour of his 150th birthday in 2004 provides some very good examples of how photography and painting complemented each other in his works.