Fife Open Studios

For the past 18 years, a wide range of artists across the north of Fife have opened their studios to the public over the May bank holiday weekend. It is an opportunity to quiz local creative people about their methods and sources of inspiration and see the environment in which the work is crafted. Naturally, the artists offer product for sale during the event.

Nicole and I decided to check out a few of the participating studios. My mother and sister often attend a similar programme in the East Neuk of Fife and have always enjoyed the experience. From their feedback, we knew roughly what to expect. Our first port of call was the small town of Ladybank, where Nicole's friend Kirsty Lorenz has a workshop within the A-listed railway station buildings. Now, this was starting to sound interesting! I knew exactly how to reach Ladybank and finding the station would be easy enough. The event website had detailed directions to each studio, as well as information about disabled access and parking availability. An interactive map allowed visitors to pinpoint the exact location. There was also a brief biography of each participant, along with links to the studio websites and online shops. All the information was clearly presented. Full marks to the designer. We parked by the station and found Kirsty's premises on platform 2. She was delighted to see us walk through the door and the walls were adorned with her flower themed artwork. Inspired by the medicinal properties of plants, Kirsty's output is informed by research into 15th to 17th century illustrations and old herbal remedies. She has scoured the archives at the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens and Kew Gardens, London. The studio opened in the former station restaurant in 2009 and a newspaper article about the development was on display. Ladybank Station is on the East Coast Main Line and dates back to 1847. Services to Dundee, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Perth call here, but I suspect the London trains speed right through. The station ticket office is open at limited times and the whole place was obviously once a far grander affair. Scotrail launched an adopt-a-station scheme in an attempt to find a use for surplus building, many of which feature spectacular Victorian architecture. Tenants have to fund renovation costs out their own pockets (perhaps aided by grants) but rents are levied at a peppercorn £1 per year. The former stationmaster's dwelling has also been given a new lease of life and now hosts the Off the Rails Arthouse. This venue was next on our list but we purchased a handful of greeting cards and postcards from Kirsty before we left. The Open Studio weekend attracts many Joe Public types as well as art connoisseurs, therefore most places offer economy products for sale, as well as lavish paintings which can cost up to several thousand pounds.

The Arthouse was established in 2011 and the property is B-listed. There are two good-sized studios, a smaller workspace and a fully-fitted kitchen. The adjacent garden can also be utilised, weather permitting. On offer are weekend workshops, lectures and talks, day classes, summer schools, training days and exhibitions. I picked up a leaflet showing forthcoming events and a typical workshop cost is around £50 per day, including all materials. Lectures are priced around the ten-pound mark. We walked up the stairs leading to the main entrance and perused Grant Newell's display of handmade diaries and journals. He uses upcycled materials wherever possible and each product is unique. Inspecting the wares, it was obvious that each book was sturdy and lovingly put together. They cost between £25 and £50. Nicole has an interest in journaling and picked out an item to purchase. Amusingly, Grant informed us this particular book was the only one he'd placed on his own website as a preview for today's event. He had jacked up the price online to discourage anyone from actually ordering it and the book safely made it to Ladybank for us to take home. Back in the car, we set a course for Balmerino, the tiny village on the Tay shore where a ruined abbey is situated. Right by the water is the home of Derek Robertson, a native Fifer and fluent Gaelic speaker who has achieved considerable success with his bird and wildlife art. We had previously seen an exhibition of his work in Dunfermline Carnegie Museum and I had also encountered a similar display in Forfar. Derek's work has been exhibited in the USA on numerous occasions and he has sold items to private collectors in over 50 countries. His paintings have found their way into the portfolios of the Tate Gallery and Royal Family. Not content with winning multiple awards for his artwork, Derek has scripted and presented several television programmes, including Drawn from Wild Places, which was nominated for a Scottish Bafta and a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His books have received critical acclaim across the globe.

We entered the garden studio where Derek was on hand to welcome guests and - in his own words - have a blether. I mentioned straight away that I'd seen his Dunfermline exhibition, while Nicole (something of a bird artist herself) was able to extract nuggets of information regarding the finer points of the craft. The tour continued in Derek's house, where his wife Sheila made cups of tea and coffee for visitors, instructing everyone to have a wander around the various rooms adorned with paintings. We could see right across the Tay estuary and I recalled walking right past the house when my sister and I completed this stretch of the Fife Coastal Path a few years back. A heron stood in the water and Derek appeared to speak about how he draws inspiration from his surroundings. Unfortunately the wading birds prefer a spot on the opposite side of the river, near Dundee. We grabbed a handful of A5 cards and I surmised that Derek probably made a few hundred pounds over the weekend from this side-line alone. Not to be sneezed at, and ample recompense for having a bunch of strangers tramp around your living quarters. Our final stop was in the village of Gauldry, a couple of miles up the road. Eileen Gardner paints contemporary seascapes from her home studio, overlooking an extensive garden. Her principal medium is pastel and some of the scenes were certainly captivating. We had a quick look around and headed back down the road. An added bonus was calling at Morrisons for a sandwich and discovering the takeaway salad bar. I hadn't seen this type of self-service since my student days, and proceeded to load my box to maximum capacity. It had been a most interesting day and a real slice of Fife culture.