These open edition digital prints are the last available items from a series depicting images of Edinburgh which are away from the usual tourist circuit and better known to the local inhabitants of the city. The prints are framed, ready to hang and available for sale from my open edition digital prints page.
The Union Canal, otherwise known as the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal, was opened in 1822 and runs from the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh, to Falkirk where it connects with the Forth and Clyde Canal. Its main purpose was to bring coal and minerals to the capital from quarries in Lanarkshire and it was, for a time, a thriving waterway. It fell into serious decline following the construction of the Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line in 1842. The canal was closed to commercial traffic in 1933 and closed altogether in 1965.
Grasses by the Union Canal
This is another image from a series of paintings I did of the canal, this time from an original oil on canvas. I hold a fascination and great affection for this waterway: it wends its way gently through the formerly industrial areas of Edinburgh affording glimpses of some of the more private spaces we inhabit. The revival in the fortunes of the canal, which suffered several decades of neglect following its closure in 1965, was brought about in large part by the Millenium Link, through which it was reopened in 2001, and reconnected to the Forth and Clyde Canal by the Falkirk Wheel in 2002. The original painting from which this print was taken was executed from a sketch done on a blustery summer’s day when the grasses, visible in the foreground were swaying in the breeze.
A summer’s day, Blackford Pond
Another stretch of water which is off the beaten track and a favourite place to take a walk or relax and watch the wildlife. Those of you who have followed Work in Progress II will know that this stretch of water provides me with inspiration throughout the year. Blackford Pond is part of the Hermitage and Braid Blackford Hill and Pond Local Nature Reserve and home to a variety of birds such as swans, mallards, coots, tufted ducks and little grebes. On occasions a heron can be spotted, patiently waiting in the shallows and from time to time there will be visitors such as pochard, teal and on one occasion, a spoon bill duck. Seen here in early summer, the trees have just come into leaf and are resplendent in fresh shades of green.
Art by Smart 
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