Work by Dennis McCallumWhen Dennis McCallum, who has colour blindness, left school he decided that art college was probably not the obvious route for him to take. However, he developed his drawing skills in his own time and pace and subsequently by happy fortune found a niche for himself drawing wildlife. During the 1970′s, whilst based at his cottage in Galloway, he was awarded a licence by the government to care for injured protected species. Once they were fit and well he released them back into the wild, but during their convalescence they became the subjects for many of his drawings.

With this rich selection of material begging to be captured on paper he took his first tentative steps to painting in watercolour, everything from owls to otters, using subtle colour palettes mixed by his wife Frances. This led on to exhibitions throughout the area as well as Windsor, London and Edinburgh.

As an artist he was always frustrated by the limitations this imposed but seven years ago his wife, who has Greek nationality, bought an apartment in Kalavria where many of her cousins live and he started to spend more time in this totally different culture. All Greeks have a belief that they are “artists” and slap bright raw acrylic or oil paint onto canvas to capture their Mediterranean landscape and lifestyle. “Subtle” they are not, but the results do have a childlike joy and life of their own and this tempted Dennis into “slapping pastel at the paper” just for fun.

Back in the cold reality of Scotland he invested in a selection of aquarelle pencils (all of which most usefully have the name of the colour written on them) and, on his own, had a stab at a few landscapes of sunsets where colour judgment is a less clear-cut fact. Using his knowledge of the theory of colour he began to control the colours that he was using and this allowed him to draw inspiration from the various styles used by previous Galloway artists that he had admired.

Exhibiting in the home of “The Glasgow Boys” allows him to fulfil yet another of his life’s ambitions. This exhibition of a year’s folio of paintings is an expression of, not only his physical journey from Scotland to Greece, but another step in his personal quest to become the artist that he had always longed to be.

Dennis McCallum’s exhibition runs in the Tolbooth Art Centre from Thursday, July 15 until Sunday, July 25, and is open daily from 10am to 5pm and 2 to 5pm on Sundays. Admission is free.

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