So, at the end of last month, myself and Janet went to meet with Eric Johnstone and his wife, Catriona, at their house in Selkirk. As we were a bit early we had a light lunch at The Waterwheel Café, just a mile outside Selkirk. I had previously heard that they displayed some of Eric's paintings and indeed they did - not only displaying them but they were also up for sale. About six of them, all landscapes, and from the ones I remember, there were paintings of some Standing Stones (not sure of location), The Grey Mare's Tail (on the Selkirk to Moffat road) and The Gordon Arms (also on the Selkirk to Moffat Road). All very good, with a price range of £150 to £180. Very tempted with The Gordon Arms painting, but a bit too expensive for me at the moment.
Anyway, we found the house easily enough, up a driveway about 100 yards and it stands looking over part of Selkirk with a fabulous view of the hills beyond. Eric came out to meet us and inside was his wife and Kenny, one of his two sons. We all seemed to get on very well, enjoyed a cup of coffee and had a lovely chat about Eric and Catriona's life and family. Catriona had done some of Eric's family tree and knew all about the McGlasson's, which of course was Eric's mother's maiden name. Catriona mentioned that Eric had "painted hundreds of paintings" over the years and Eric mentioned that he had started painting full time, when the local tweed mill, where he worked, had closed - when, I'm not sure, but it was quite some time ago. We stayed about 90 minutes and I left my contact details with Catriona, and we said we would pop in again at some future convenient time.
Finally, and after we had met with Eric and Catriona, I purchased the previously mentioned painting of Eric's, of Peebles and the River Tweed. It had been for sale on eBay for £127. I contacted the seller, a Fine Art gallery, and asked if they would reduce the price to £80. They said they would come down to £112 and I went back and said £96 was my maximum. I didn't hear anything further, but I then fortuitously came across their own website, which had the same painting but at a sale price of £101. In addition, if you completed a brief online survey on their website, you saved 10% on any purchase. This I did, with the result that I bought the painting for £90. With free delivery, I thought this was a good deal. From details on the back of the picture frame, it had been purchased by someone in Galashiels on 30th April 1991, but whether this was the first purchaser I don't know. So it is at least 32 years old.
Anyway, here is the said painting hanging up on the wall in my room.
