Beatles' hit '˜Long and Winding Road' inspires Jolomo art show

The road which inspired The Beatles' hit '˜The Long and Winding Road' is to feature in a new exhibition of paintings by best-selling Scottish artist John Lowrie Morrison, OBE, (known as 'Jolomo').

'Heavy Snow on the Skipness Road, by JoLoMo. Picture: Contributed

Two paintings of the Skipness road down the east coast of the Mull of Kintyre feature in ‘Jolomo: ‘Seasons of Argyll’, opening at Gallery Q in Dundee on Saturday.

Morrison said: “Paul McCartney said the road which inspired the song was the B842 running to Skipness, Carradale and on to Campbeltown, near his farmhouse on the Mull of Kintyre. I’ve painted the beginning of the road, where there is a red roofed cottage.

“As a Beatles fan and a McCartney fan all through the 1960s, it was always a great connection for me. We used to see him and his family often in Lochgilphead and Ardrishaig when the McCartneys lived on the Mull of Kintyre.”

McCartney wrote the song, which was inspired by the increasing tensions within The Beatles, at High Park Farm in Kintyre which he used as a retreat with his family.

Speaking about the single which featured on the album ‘Let It Be’ released in 1970, McCartney said: “I just sat down at my piano in Scotland, started playing and cane up with that song, imagining it was going to be done by someone like Ray Charles. I have always found inspiration in the calm beauty of Scotland and again it proved the place where I found inspiration.”

The exhibition which is Morrison’s first in 2017, features new paintings celebrating the landscapes of Argyll through all four seasons ranging from blue skies and wild flowers in summer, to stormy skies and winter snows.

Morrison added: “I’m always drawn back to painting Argyll. The light here is wonderful, and it varies so much from season to season - even from day to day. Every time I look at the landscape there is something new to see.

“I wanted to do an exhibition which brought together paintings from all four seasons because it highlights the contrasts in the light and the colours. The paintings - ‘Heavy Snow on the Skipness Road’ and ‘A Quiet Sunny Evening near Skipness’ are selling for £5,600 and £3,700 respectively.

Morrison, who trained at Glasgow School of Art, is famed for his vivid and colourful expressionist landscapes with celebrities such as Sting, Madonna and Rick Stein buying his work.