The Loch
by Ken White (2004)
in consultation with Albyn Housing Society and Kildary Angling Club
As the first mural painted in Invergordon as part of the Invergordon mural trail, it was a really important stage of the project.
Here you can see the Albyn Housing Society building before The Loch mural was painted.
Ken White, who was Richard Branson’s retained mural artist at the time, met the challenge from the funder Forward Scotland of “portraying quarrying in a positive light.” His approach also converted some remaining mural sceptics too! As it was the first mural of the trail to be painted, this was crucial to the success of the whole project.
The central panel shows Kildary Loch (Lochanan) which is a haven of tranquillity for local anglers. It was created out of a former sand quarry and is maintained by the Kildary Angling Club. They do not mind sharing the odd fish with the ospreys in return for the magnificent spectacle.
Some artistic licence has been used to include Balnagown Castle, owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, who had been generous to the angling club.
Hear Calum Macaulay (former CEO of Albyn Housing), and artist Ken White talking about The Loch mural in the video clip below, and watch the mural appearing on the wall.
Film footage from Invergordon Off the Wall On the Map (2007).
“Ken White met up with Albyn workers and the anglers several times and spent quite some time at the loch. Although he never did see an osprey there he had been informed that they were so it took pride of place.
There is a degree of artistic licence in this photo as the turrets of Balnagown castle are depicted although they are nowhere near the loch. This was a gesture to Mr Al Fayed who had been generous to the angling club.
Ken also painted in a red kite which did not frequent that area at the time but as luck would have it life has an agreeable habit of imitating art and they are now in the vicinity.
Ken also has a wicked sense of humour and just as he was finishing and we were at the stage of doing the very last safety check on the mobile scaffold tower he painted in a couple of trompe l’oeil cracks in the wall at the top right. I think you can still just about see them. Anyway they must have been convincing because the night before the opening ceremony I had a very anxious phone call from our chairman Jim!”
Marion Rhind, founder of Invergordon Off the Wall
The opening of the first mural
