Welcome to my 2020 virtual exhibition. A love letter to Glasgow is an exhibition that I've been working on that was supposed to be happening this year in the Sogo gallery on the Saltmarket. With things being so uncertain, we've created a virtual exhibition so that my paintings can be seen. Hopefully in the future, when we are all safe and healthy the show can go on. Glasgow is my city. Brought up in Anderston, currently living in the Saltmarket, I've always been central. So most of these paintings are based around town and where I live. I suppose we all have our own Glasgow, and this is a bit of mine. If you scroll down to under the map, register for updates - I'm going to pick a random visitor to receive a limited edition signed print.
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The Tolbooth is almost 400 years old, and was the crossing point for the main streets of Glasgow. I love that it still stands, full of history, (even though a lot of it grim) watching the ever changing city.
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I was heading to my sisters for Christmas eve, it was cold, misty and the lights were dazzling. Nothing was in focus but everything looked colourful.
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Glasgow loves shopping. When I was a kid my mum would take my sister and i to What Every Woman Wants, what seemed like every sunday. It was a day out. I was probably bored and being a pain but I have fond memories now.
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Glasgow's student scene is growing all the time. It's impossible to miss. On a foggy night, I liked how the colours and letters glowed over Albert Bridge. Like the Hollywood sign in a scifi movie, but with Victorian lights. Sometimes old and new mix well !
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There are so many cracking eating places around Glasgow. I really hope they all get to open back up and thrive again. I love the European culture of sitting outside and eating and drinking and watching the world go by.
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Glasgow knows how to party. Man I miss that right now! Walking along the Clyde to get to SWG3 , seeing a bunch of kids and realising ,thankfully, that they are queuing for a different artist and you can walk straight into yours.
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Built in 1929, it was built to represent one that was removed in 1659. It's thought to restore a bit of civic pride as they were important to most towns in Scotland as the spot for legal markets. It just looks out of place now, but I like that it's there.
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Glasgow is full of Scaffolding. Every journey you have to work out the etiquette of how to pass someone when scurrying underneath. On my way home one night, walking down the Saltmarket, I was taking photos of the rain and reflections and I just liked how this looked. It's total Glasgow. And what is Glasgow's thing with traffic cones ?
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Buchanan Street is always busy, but at the weekend it's totally packed. When I was a kid, It had a sculpture called 'The Spirit of St Kentigern' . Apparently to represent the bird that never flew. I always thought it was a whales tail. I think it's outside the city campus off Cathedral St now.
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These 3 girls reminded me so much of the 80s, Razzle Dazzle was the shop for neon and hair clips. I remember when I was wee being in with my mum.
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It was a beautiful morning and I wanted to catch the city without people. Little did I know.
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Mon the Saltmarket! This is the view from my window, it was raining and the sky was gorgeous. There have been a few new businesses the last few years opening and surviving, which is great .
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This is a funny bit of wild land just off the Gallowgate, I have no idea what was here, I can't find any specific info. I've walked past it many a time and it always makes me smile.
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Everyone knows the barras. When I was wee, it was the smell of donuts and the guy selling towels . A bit older and it was the smell of old clothes and flicking through vinyl looking for Peter Gabriel records.
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Living across from The Old Ship Bank for many years I've learned more Power Ballads than I know what to do with . Apparently it was the first bank in Glasgow and was set up by some of Glasgow's top Tobacco Lords.
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I'm pretty sure you could get a pint at 8:30 in the morning if you had a roll n sausage with it in the Empire Bar.
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My biggest influence is Blade Runner. The rain, colour ,light, darkness, atmosphere, and the music. Mitchell Lane was looking a bit like a scene this day with the lights and letters of the lighthouse .
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Coming down to the Green as a kid to watch the fireworks, was an adventure. We'd walk through town, past Lewis's department store on Argyle Street and ogle at the Christmas displays in the windows .
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My first gig at the Barrowlands was Faith No More, with my pal Lindsay, I think we were 15.
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Always like how lanes look, but there are very few I would walk down.
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This is an older painting and I actually gave it to my nanny for her birthday the other year. My nanny is the one who convinced me I was a Glasgow artist through and through, and I have embraced that with this body of work. I hope they re open the winter gardens and invest in the people's palace.
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I worked in an office for maybe 2 weeks. I was put on reception for 5 companies.
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The sun was shining, reminding me of Edward Hoppers' New York paintings. Waterloo is quite a wide street with old and new buildings and Central station at one end.
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I think public golf courses around Glasgow were used a lot more when I was a kid.
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An unusually really foggy night in Glasgow gave the city an old historical vibe.
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Garthamlock water tower is the largest in Scotland with a million gallon capacity. An example of Glasgow's post war suburban expansion in the 50s and 60s.
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I love how these structures stand out, they look like alien crafts that have just been left after a failed mission.
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Once I saw a fish jumping out then a seal after it. I love that wildlife just does it's thing in the middle of the city. Though on this night I was looking out for werewolves...
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I'm not a driver, I have no idea which motorway is which, but I love the views and open skies you can get as a front seat passenger.
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Glasgow's own Arc De Triomphe. It's the entrance to the great Glasgow Green, where we went as kids to watch the fireworks, as adults to TRNSMT, or just to enjoy a lovely walk in the middle of the city.
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I thought there was something quite romantic about the pair of benches. Almost like they were having a secret rendezvous in the fog.
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The Saracen Head or Sarry Heid has a pretty long history. The first time I was in, was with my dad to see Robert and May Miller who were giving me their old washing machine for my new flat. Then i'd take my pals in for a wee pint if we were going to a gig at the Barrowlands.
View the painting...All images are copyright Lee Robertson 2020. They cannot be used anywhere unless without prior agreement.