Painting at Castle Toward

PaintingCastle TowardArt courseGlasgow artist

22 Jun

Linda Livingston, Castle Toward, July 1987 © L. Livingston

My love of painting really began when I was selected to attend a two week residential art course at Castle Toward at the age of 15. This was an annual course for 4th and 5th year pupils from Glasgow secondary schools, run by the Education Department of the former Strathclyde Regional Council.

Those who wished to attend this course were asked to submit a portfolio of artwork for consideration. I was very fortunate to be accepted in 1987 and 1988.

Castle Toward is a 19th century Gothic Revival style mansion at the southern tip of the Cowal peninsula, Argyll and Bute. After the second world war it was bought by Glasgow Corporation and used as an outdoor education facility for art, music and sports. Over the next 60 years, thousands of schoolchildren spent happy summers there, living in the castle and taking part in practical work in their chosen subject.

My first summer at Toward was my first two week trip away from home on my own. I was quite nervous and thought the time there would last forever, but I soon discovered that I loved it and the days were so full that I forgot about time and everything else!

There were about a hundred of us, along with many art teachers from various Glasgow schools. We were split into rooms converted into dormitories. I remember mine well …. it was the room at the top in the centre of the above photo (with the four windows). I found myself sharing this room with eight other teenage girls, who quickly became my friends and a lot of late night giggling ensued.

Being at an art course, we were offered the choice to study a specialised subject for the whole two weeks. This ranged from sculpture to photography and painting to graphic design. I chose painting, of course! How great an opportunity that was to be able to paint in huge, bright studios all day, every day and spend the rest of the time outside in the beautiful grounds and the nearby shore overlooking Rothesay. We did a lot of sketching outdoors too and we were asked to keep a written and visual diary of our time there. I still have that diary.

My work was very different back then, as I was very young and only experimenting with styles and subject matter. It was understandable that most of the paintings I produced there were influenced by landscapes and nature. Materials were school standard, so I mainly painted on grey boards with poster paint. If the board wasn’t big enough, I would tape four of them together! My artist influences were mainly Impressionists, as I had studied them for art exams at school. Monet and Cézanne were my particular favourites. Looking back, I can see that my love of expressive brushstrokes began when I discovered their work. A few years later, aged 18, I took my first trip to Paris and was able to see many of their paintings up close, including Monet’s Water Lilies in the Musée de l’Orangerie. I was also fortunate to visit Monet’s beautiful house in Giverny and his famous garden, lily pond and Japanese bridge.

We had some great teachers at Toward, some of whom I would meet again years later at Glasgow School of Art. We were also lucky to have talented visiting artists working with us, including the painters Alison Watt and Simon Laurie and sculptor Andy Scott (creator of The Kelpies) - before they were well known. I learned a lot about the technical aspects of drawing and painting, but I also learned a lot about myself. I found some confidence I didn’t know I had at that stage, and a belief that I could survive among my talented peers.

I have so many wonderful memories of Toward. We worked hard, but we all had great fun too. There were day trips at weekends to nearby Dunoon and across the water to Rothesay (on a very dodgy boat). We had toga parties and fancy dress parties in the grand ballroom (I made a Strawberry Switchblade outfit), and film nights while lying on the floor with our pillows. The teachers performed in an end of course show, but I laughed so much that I can’t remember what any of it was about.

The culmination of our course was an exhibition of our final work at the Palace of Art in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. It was exciting for us to see our work in a gallery setting, and made me more determined to go to art school.

I went back to Toward about ten years later for a visit. There was another group of young people there at the time. I had a look inside and went for a walk in the grounds. It all still seemed very familiar …. the bustling sounds of creative activity and the smell of food wafting up from the basement kitchen. The big tree out on the front lawn was also a welcoming sight.

Sadly, after a lengthy protest, Castle Toward is now under private ownership. The residential school courses are gone, but I, like so many others, will always be grateful for my summer experiences.