CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF BALBIRNIE

ELECTRICITY WITH PAINT, at Balbirnie House

This week my wife Gaynor and I visited Archie Forrest, Scotland’s most renowned contemporary Colourist, in his Glasgow studio. We returned back to Fife with 6 framed Multimedia originals of Balbirnie House. These are all now heading into secured storage until the artist is happy with final touches on a further oversize oil painting, which remains sat in place on his easel today. 

Here's the easel, with the edge of the frame itself. 

One fine day in the not-too-distant future, all 7 works will combine together and install in Balbirnie’s Drawing Room, which is to be re-modelled in advance. This is something which we’re going to take our time with and not rush, as that part of the journey is in itself also intended as a most joyful process.

This is where the big painting has been designed to go:

The end result is going to be two individual Multimedia works, and a wall of 4 Multimedia works centred with the main oversize oil painting, which measures a breathtaking 1.75m x 1.5m, the most special project and installation ever seen in Balbirnie’s history. And we’re dating that comment from the year 1777.

The main wall is to be highlighted using a cutting edge overhead lighting feature. The entire 3 room dynamic of our West Room, Library Bar and Drawing Room, is therefore going to become something totally new, in a remarkably transformative way.

This has now been a project which has been 2 years in the making, aligned specifically as commemorating Balbirnie's first quarter century of hotelkeeping, 1989 all the way to 2014, the year in which Archie’s daughter Maya married at Balbirnie House.

The combined installation, is a celebration of all Special Events, a gesture of such sincere appreciation to all who have visited Balbirnie, and a wonderful acknowledgement of all those who have worked here over the years.

After recovering some composure having seen the big oil for the first time yesterday, I said to Archie, 'welcoming those who worked at Balbirnie over the first 25 years back to the house, and walking with them through to the Drawing Room to show them all this, well that'll be quite something'.

Multimedia original for main oil painting:

Artist Biog highlights the memorable phrase, 'Electricity with Paint'. 
Well all we can say, is just wait and see how this has translated into the Balbirnie oil painting. 

We now have images of the main painting, but these won't be used for anything other than showing to our pals, until the Drawing Room project completes.

Walking around the easel to see the oil for the first time? Gaynor exclaimed 'It is sooooooooooo beautiful', and all I can say is that these are memories of a lifetime. The painting is absolutely remarkable, jaw-droppingly beautiful.

To stand in the very place it was created, was an experience we'll never forget.

To see such a painting of Balbirnie left us speechless, even more so, being in the actual place where it was created, let alone beside the artist himself. 

Many future visitors to Balbirnie, will certainly be pausing to view the collection, with much contemplation and joy. Many Special Event clients will clearly wish to have their photographs taken beside the collection.

As an historic note, the main wall of the collection is to be fronted by our existing Drawing Room Trotter desk, which is the only single piece of furniture we have, which is unique to the original Balbirnie House. History and timeless classic, meets the future.

Here's the desk, in current position:

It has also been amazing to contemplate the evolution of the scale of the project. Having agreed at outset that we would have one solitary original to commemorate the 25 years, this was achieved with the Multimedia work which all working at Balbirnie helped us to choose in summer 2016. 

In turn the spirit of generosity and ambition from the artist, expanded to 6 originals, plus the moving from original scope of one A4 size, to the oil of 1.75 metres by 1.5 metres.

Archie Forrest contemplating the wall:

And the way in which aspects have evolved have certainly underlined a real lesson in life from the artist, there’s never any point in setting out half-heartedly to accomplish any important task.

Whilst our initial suggestion was initiated as most heartfelt at outset, the project has evolved so significantly beyond our dreams, as it has been created by so much passion, and it is such a beautiful and vibrant celebration of a totally unique 25 years.

On behalf of all at Balbirnie over all these years, our most sincere gratitude to Archie Forrest. Our eternal thanks, and our blessings counted as always.

With Linda and Archie Forrest, in Balbirnie's Drawing Room. 
That was the day in 2015, that the oil painting inspiration was defined.

Nicholas Russell / MD Balbirnie

We have a 5 minute clip about this project, on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGUg6Wr-rjo