A. G. CARRICK / H.M KING CHARLES III former PRINCE OF WALES (bn.1948)
Beinn a' Bhùird (1,197m - 3,927ft)
United Kingdom (Scotland)
In Beinn a' Bhùird, watercolour on paper, 2005
The mountain
Beinn a' Bhщird (1,197m - 3,927ft), meaning mountain of the table in Galic, is a Munro in the Cairngorm mountain range of Scotland. In Watson (1975) the author suggests the mountain should be named Beinn Bтrd - table hill, saying that local Scottish Gaelic speakers pronounced the mountain Paing Bтrd, with some of the older local folk still using Painna Bтrd. The closest village to Beinn a' Bhщird is Braemar, Aberdeenshire and the most common approach by car is through this village. To reach Beinn a' Bhщird by car, the most common approach is by the Linn of Dee road along the south side of the River Dee to the Linn of Dee, looping back along the north-bank to the car park at Allanaquoich where camping is permitted. The distance between Braemar and Allanaquoich by this route is about 10 miles.
In the early 1960s there was an attempt to develop a large ski area on Beinn a' Bhùird. The development was financed by the Panchaud brothers (Gerald and Jhon) of Switzerland who had purchased the estate when skiing in Scotland was booming. The area was to be called Mar Lodge and opened in 1963 after a series of record snowfalls. At the time of opening there were two T-bars on site, one 620 ft long and one 2050 ft long. These offered a total uphill capacity of 1,400 people per hour. Unfortunately, the seasons of 1963-64 and 1964-65 offered very little snow to the area, meaning that the ski lifts were rarely used, with the resort becoming abandoned in 1965. When the resort closed both T-bars were moved to Glenshee to become the Cairnwell T-Bar and Trainer Tow.
In 2006 a glider pilot from Deeside Gliding Club crashed on the hillside, spending 24 hours trapped in his plane before he was located by the RAF.
The painter
Arthur George Carrick is actually H.M. the King Charles III, former Prince of Wales.
When he began showing his paintings, he was too nervous to display his name so displayed under a pseudonym. Arthur George are two of his names (Charles Phillip Arthur George) and one of his titles is Earl of Carrick. King Charles III is an experienced watercolourist. He has been painting for most of his adult life, during holidays or when his official diary allows. King Charles' interest began during the 1970s and 1980s when he was inspired by Robert Waddell, who had been his art master at Gordonstoun in Scotland. In time, King Charles met leading artists such as Edward Seago, with whom he discussed watercolour technique, and received further tuition from John Ward, Bryan Organ and Derek Hill.
The Royal Family has a tradition of drawing and painting, and King Charles’ work first came to public notice at a 1977 exhibition at Windsor Castle at which other Royal artists included Queen Victoria, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duke of York.
King Charles paints in the open air, often finishing a picture in one go and his favourite locations include The Queen's estate at Balmoral in Scotland and Sandringham House in Norfolk, England. Sometimes King Charles III paints during his skiing holidays, and during overseas tours when possible.
The copyright of King Charles' watercolours belongs to A. G. Carrick Ltd, a trading arm of The King's Charities Foundation. Over the years King Charles III has agreed to exhibitions of his watercolours and of lithographs made from them, on the understanding that any income they generate goes to The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation.
Money from the sale of the lithographs also goes to the Foundation but the paintings themselves are never for sale.
In the 1980s King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, began inviting young British artists to accompany him on official tours overseas and record their impressions, a tradition that has continued to this day.
Reference :
- The prince of Wales paintings
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2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau