Collection: Keith Salmon

Keith studied Fine Art at Shrewsbury and Falmouth Schools of Art between 1979 and 1983, before setting up a studio in Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1989 he moved back to Wales to join his partner and together they set up a new studio.

Around this time he was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy. His sight deteriorated very quickly and within a few years he had to stop exhibiting work and instead try to find new ways of painting, using just the very limited sight he had left. He is now registered blind.

He moved to Ayrshire in 1998 and now has a studio space at Courtyard Studios in Irvine exhibiting his work. However, this has provided him with the determination to continue his unique view of the natural world around him. He has attempted to discover alternative means of working. This involved experimenting with painting techniques through a variety of mediums such as pastel and oils. In 2009 Keith won the Jolomo Award for Scottish landscape painters. The new ways of working allow him to overcome the problems inherent in producing very visual material, with very limited vision. He explores new and changing views, recording not what he sees but how he sees his surroundings. You can see his sensory approach to paint in the pieces around the gallery.

Most recently, he has worked on an art & science collaboration in Seattle, creating an audio visual installation which will allow blind and visually impaired viewers to better interpret two dimensional art work. He works with a thick surface and his use of paint creates wonderful depth, as it is scraped and forms overlapping layers of colour that allow glimpses of highlighted natural light. The places he captures are all personal favourites, and he often revists these locations, in person and painting.