Keith Charles Salmon (born 1959) is a British fine artist. His work is principally semi-abstract Scottish landscapes which are created based upon his experience as a hill walker. Even though he is registered blind Salmon has climbed more than one hundred of Scotland's
Munro
A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...
s, many of which have been captured in his artworks.
Education and experience
Keith Salmon was born in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
and moved to
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
Falmouth School of Art
Falmouth University ( kw, Pennskol Aberfal) is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth College of Ar ...
between 1979 and 1983. He originally trained and worked as a sculptor, constructing pieces from steel, wood and cement fondu. On completion of his studies he moved to
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...
in the north east of England where he set up his first studio.
In 1989, Salmon moved back to Wales and set up a new studio. Around this time his sight deteriorated very quickly and within a few years he had to stop exhibiting work. He then decided to make the most of the time he still had sight and put his efforts into drawing and painting, finding new methods using just the very limited sight he now had left.
In 1998, he moved to
sound installation
Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, sound art ...
, and which was first shown at the 50th celebration of 9e2, originally created by
Robert Rauschenberg
Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...
and then taken to Edinburgh, Scotland.
At present Salmon keeps a studio space at Courtyard Studios in Irvine and is regularly exhibiting his work again.
Awards
In 2009, Salmon won the Jolomo Award for Scottish landscape painting and was interviewed by ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'',Salmon interview /ref> one of Scotland's top broadsheet newspapers.
landscape artist
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...
Andrew Heiskell
Andrew Heiskell (September 13, 1915 – July 6, 2003) was chairman and CEO of Time Inc. (1960–1980), and also known for his philanthropy, for organizations including the New York Public Library.Institute of International Education, 7 May 2003 ...
Braille and Talking Book Library, NYC, New York, 2006
Prizes
Jolomo Award 2009 *Rotary Club Prize, North Ayrshire Exhibition 2006
*Northern Arts Artists' Award 1984