On Returning to Stirling

by Iona LeishmanPosted on No Comments

Returning to live and work in Stirlingshire after four years adventuring in Scotland’s northeast coast, I feel a comfort and joy. This is where I raised my family and painted its beauty and history for almost 30 years. In my heart I know it well.

I meet old friends and acquaintances in the street, and we hug and greet each other with pleasure and wonderment at the changes that we have all embodied, endured and grown through in recent times.

With quiet excitement I seek out my ‘King at His Fireside’, the Castle’s only painting. I complement the King on his fresh appearance, the light touch and passion of the image. It’s not self-congratulatory, simply a recognition of my energy and vision enabled at that time of my life. I recognise the pulse of the ancient heart of the place that opened up a working studio space for me, a new palette, muse and the courage to express it all. It greets me as an old friend with whom it has shared secrets and experiences.

Built into the medieval walls of Stirling Old Town, sits Cowane’s Hospital, another former studio space. A fifteenth century alms house built for a dozen ‘decayed brethren’. Amongst the ghosts of the decayed, I took my space and conjured up paintings of the Battles of Flodden 1513, Bannockburn 1314 and the bravery of Marie de Guise, the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. Blinking in the sunlight of the 21st century, I had stepped across the way into the Church of the Holy Rude where once again, I now draw and paint free hand, the soaring pillars and arches and feel that deep, welcoming familiarity of its architectural bones.