There’s a new exhibition at my art gallery in the Cairngorms National Park and it’s full of inspiring paintings and photography.

The Mountains are Calling is inspired by the famous John Muir quote. John Muir is usually credited with creating the concept of national parks and is known for educating people about the value of wilderness.

It’s that feeling of wilderness that our specially selected artists are evoking in the works going on show at the studio in July and August.

I grew up going on walks in the hills with my family and it’s how I first learned an appreciation of Scotland’s stunning landscapes. The mountains are a source of constant inspiration for me and many other artists.

Depicting their magnificent beauty and scale is a challenge to relish and the diverse range of artists we have selected for this show have definitely risen to the task.

I love that big bold expressive marks can become the recognisable forms of a moody landscape, seen in Elizabeth Pirie’s work. That contrasts with the detail found in Kitty Watt’s etchings and Paul Phillips intricate drawings.

I have been back at the easel for a couple of paintings. One was a commission while the other featured in the exhibition and has now sold. But there are prints available of both at the gallery now.

Also among the works on show will be a 360 degree view inside a snowhole. The photograph, by Grantown-based photographer Myrddin Irwin, was taken during a trip to Glenfeshie in March 2024. Irwin and a friend spent two nights in the snowhole. The picture, part of a series about spending time in wild places, shows all their equipment, including sleeping bags, shovels and ice axes.

And Paul Phillip’s large scale drawings depict Highland mountains in intricate detail. One of the most striking images is of a colourful brocken spectre in the Cuillins. This phenomenon is the magnified shadow of a person against the clouds, their head surrounded by a halo of rainbow light.

I’ll be around during the summer so I’d love to see you for a blether! The gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm.