The Lone Piper
A couple of days ago you saw Rowdy Wylie's latest painting commemorating and reflecting on those who sacrificed so much to keep us safe when Australia was at war.
If you missed this years' AnArt4Life Remembrance Day Rowdy Wylie Commemorative Painting please click here.
Rowdy is a wonderful narrative artist who works very hard to share his conviction that we must never forget those who have sacrificed their lives so that others can live free from fear and oppression.
Rowdy belongs to the Victor Harbor Regional Gallery - a group of artists who meet regularly and who are all involved in creative activities in their community. Soon we will be bringing you a series of posts which tell the story of how Victor Harbor came to be one of the most active creative communities in Australia.
You must all be wondering where this post is leading and asking the question What has all of this to do with a Lone Piper?
Regular readers of the blog will know that I have just returned from the UK and as part of my holiday I had the pleasure of taking a 10 days cruise around the islands off the coast of Scotland.
I was very excited to know that the itinerary included a visit to the Inverewe Garden in the Scottish Highlands on the northwest coast. You can check out the posts by clicking here and here.
As we approached the small pier at Inverewe in the zodiac craft a lone piper stood on the rocky shoreline and played Over the sea to Skye and piped us ashore as we clambered up the narrow path towards the Inverewe Garden.
It was a very moving experience for me as I have a very solid dose of Scottish DNA descending from Jacobite families who fought courageously to keep their lands for as long as they could. I was brought up wearing a kilt and toasting Bonnie Prince Charlie!!
The sound of bagpipes still to this day will bring more than a tear to my eye! And so this was a wonderful day and turned out to be one of the highlights of the cruise as I remembered that these gardens are home to my beloved Woolemi Pines. You will need to go back and read the posts to see why. But back to the Lone Piper.
Rowdy Wylie saw my photo of the Lone Piper (taken by my friend Debbie) and knowing how much I love the bagpipes and Scotland decided to record this in a painting to thank me for doing some of the research on the Victor Harbor Regional Gallery Art Community posts which you will be seeing very soon.
Rowdy commented:
I think it’s a great story… showcasing the “warm” Scottish welcome that tourists receive when coming ashore from the ship…. The sound of “Bag Pipes” is so powerful & unique…. especially at our ANZAC Dawn Services…
The details in all of Rowdy's narrative paintings are fascinating both in terms of the painting techniques he uses and the way the configuration pieces together the story.
Thank you Rowdy for the wonderful painting which now graces my lounge room alongside other paintings you have so generously painted for me. Thank you for giving me something very special by which to remember my Scottish trip of 2023 and my heritage ....
And thank you for being such a wonderful member of the AnArt4Life blog team. You bring so much to our posts through your knowledge and passion.