Splash! They say in the UK you’re never more than 72 miles from the sea. Island nations have to know where they stand, lest they get swept away. But as we know, the UK is a series of islands & some areas are much closer to the sea than others. It’s nice to know that you can always be near the coast & as we said in the dreaded bridges blog, there are lots of other water features in between. Scotland is a ragged scrap of a country, geographically speaking, embroidered with a multitude of watery stitches.
Scotland has a special relationship with the sea & the tales that surround it are many. It’s weirdly grounding to live near water & besides the rain, there is a lot of water in Aberdeen. We’re on the coast & two rivers – the Dee & the Don – join forces here. It’s surely the only reason anyone would have thought to settle here 8,000 years ago as it’s just that little bit too far from mainland Europe. Even the name of the town comes from one of the rivers, “Aberdeen” translating as “mouth of the river Don.”
Whether it’s for fishing, oil production, tourism, sea ports, the water in Scotland has an impact. Different areas of sea water are given different names which always seemed weird to me, given that they’re only 72 miles apart (apparently) & ultimately they all swish into each other. It has to be taken seriously too. It’s unpredictable & things can go wrong fast. Scotland’s figures for drowning are three times higher than those in England, seeing fifty-seven people accidentally dying in Scottish waters last year, up by fifteen from 2020.
Anyway, whether fresh or salt, in good weather or bad, Scotland’s water has provided a constant source of inspiration for artists from our shores or beyond.
View of Tantallon Castle & the Bass Rock (date unknown), Alexander Nasmyth (1758-1840)
Tantallon Castle is a 14th Century ruin by the Firth of Forth. Nasmyth (the guy who gave us our image of Robert Burns) has shown it at its turbulent & dramatic best. You can almost hear the foam on the water fizzing & the waves crashing wildly against the cliff. Like all good land & seascape artists, Nasmyth understands the need for a sky reflective of the sea’s mood, so here the heavens are louring & that black cloud can only mean one thing.
Loch Lomond (1861), Horatio McCulloch (1805-1867)
The loch of “bonny banks & braes” fame.
Barra (1902-03), S.J. Peploe (1871-1935)
The sea comes in all moods of course & Peploe depicted them a fair few times. He & often his old pal J.D. Fergusson would toddle off to Iona or Barra to record the changing atmosphere & forms of the Hebridean island seascapes. Barra is an inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides, formed from one of the UK’s oldest rocks, the Lewisian gneiss. & when I say “oldest” I mean from between 3 to 1.7 billion years.
The Wave (1961), Joan Eardley (1921-1963)
It’s an odd depiction of a wave; as it’s seen breaking over a pier, it looks more like cliff faces. It was one of four Eardley – who painted outdoors - was working on at the time & she went from one to the other depending on the tides.
Bell Rock Lighthouse (1819), J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851)
Bell Rock is the oldest standing sea lighthouse in the world & was built by Robert Stevenson between 1807 & 1810. It is located near the Firth of Tay & its light can be seen for thirty-five miles inland. In this painting, Turner shows us exactly why that lighthouse is there. Not only could a boat be swept away, it could be smashed against the rocks. What it doesn’t show within the maelstrom is the odd little series of rocks surrounding it (see photograph), a feature resulting from the power & relentless battering of the ocean.
Fingal’s Cave, on the Isle of Staffa, Scotland (1740s), William Hunt (active 1790-1842)
Fingal’s Cave is a peculiar geological feature, a sea cave with natural acoustics. It has featured in popular culture in poems, music & films. Like the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland & the island of Ulva in Scotland, it is comprised of basalt columns like hexagonal prisms. Note: this William Hunt is not to be confused with William Holman Hunt who came later...
Winter Sky, Westsandwick, Yell (date unknown), Shona Skinner (?)
Apparently free-machine embroidery “allows you to draw with your sewing machine.” I have a very talented friend that can do this sort of thing & as an avowed non-seamstress, I find her skills staggering. Shona Skinner turns this skill into art, as seen here. The brilliantly-named Yell is one of the northern-most islands of Shetland. Yes, the already very northern Shetland Islands have even more northern islands.
Loch Ness (date unknown), Marshall (active late 19th Century)
No monster pictured.
The Herring Fleet Leaving the Dee, Aberdeen (1888), David Farquharson (1839-1907)
In the distance you can see Aberdeen’s spiky skyline. I just had to get us in here.
Volunteer Spirit (2000s), Ken White (1943?)
We may lose too many people in our erratic waters but we would lose a lot more if not for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI). This mural in Invergordon pays tribute to the selfless volunteers who risk their lives in service of the largest UK charity to save lives. The RNLI has had various name changes & has rescued over 140,000 lives since its inception in 1824 & now has outreach programmes in education & training. It was criticised by one shabby right-wing UK politician in 2021 for aiding refugees attempting to cross the English Channel. Satisfyingly, this resulted in a 3,000% rise in daily donations to the RNLI.
Support them here: https://rnli.org/support-us
Shipyard (2017/9?), Lachlan Goudie (b. 1976)
Although the sea & waterways themselves don’t feature in this work, shipbuilding was once an enormous part of Scotland’s industrial landscape, particularly on the River Clyde. Until the end of the 20th Century, Scotland boasted one of the largest shipbuilding industries in the world. Indeed even today, 7,000 jobs still exist in the building of military ships, although this is currently under review. In this piece, we’re given a taste of the scale, skill, danger & complexity of creating such vessels.
Machrihanish Bay (1878), William McTaggart (1835-1910)
We love our beaches in Scotland but sadly, the water quality is not always good due to pollution & poses the threat of illness to swimmers & surfers. Then there’s the ever-present danger of the McTaggart’s painting shows the waves’ impending arrival – once it hits, a damp towel may be the least of your worries…
Float To Live campaign:
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