Charles Nasmyth is a professional artist and retired teacher based in Fife, Scotland. His work can be divided into three main disciplines: Illustrative and Figurative, Landscape, and Portraiture. He also works in a broad range of media that includes watercolour, pastel, and acrylic works on both paper and canvas. He has exhibited his work throughout the UK, and his paintings and drawings can be found in collections on both sides of the Atlantic. He works from his own private studio in Dunfermline and welcomes enquiries from clients interested in purchasing or commissioning work, as well as those interested in coming along just to browse and chat with the artist. Appointments of any kind can be made using the contact details provided on this website.
Landscape
As a lifelong hillwalker, the artist’s landscapes frequently draw upon subject matter from the Scottish Highlands, across the UK and Europe. Although his output often involves dramatic mountain scenery, he also produces work based on the villages and coastline around Fife and the River Forth, as well as subjects from the urban environment. His style has been influenced by both British landscape painting traditions, the Scottish Colourists, and the work of the French Impressionists and en plein air painters. In scale, his work includes everything from small sketches to large works on canvas.
Portraiture
The artist’s interest in portraiture evolved from his illustrative and figurative work, which frequently involves the inclusion of well-known contemporary and historical figures. Again, his work in this field is produced in a variety of media, ranging from small sketches to larger works on canvas. He will consider commissions that involve clients sitting for their portraits or working from photographs. (Photographs can be supplied by the client, but Charles prefers to take these whenever it is convenient.) His well-known portrait of Hamish Henderson has appeared on the front cover and between the pages of numerous publications, including his own book Hamish Henderson a Conversation Piece, Lallans Magazine, Edinburgh Life, Hamish Henderson A Critical Appreciation by Ian Spring and The National newspaper.
Illustrative and Figurative Work
Charles has an interest in illustrating poetry and has produced a considerable volume of paintings and drawings based on the life and work of Robert Burns. His painting entitled Robert Burns and the Enigma of Immortality has featured in the World Burns Chronicle and Edinburgh Life magazine and is now in the collection of Mr Gordon Johnston. Similarly, his depiction of Robert Burns and Jenny Cruickshank, commissioned by Professor David Purdie, Editor in Chief of the Robert Burns Encyclopaedia, has also featured in the World Burns Chronicle and Edinburgh Life. Never short on humour in his work, the artist’s series of paintings based on Tam o’ Shanter can be found on YouTube with Kevin Thompson narrating the poem. Also, his graphic novel The Comic Legend of William McGonagall, based on the life of Scotland’s alternative bard, was published in 2007. With a foreword by Richard Demarco, the book attracted the attention of the BBC TV and radio networks, as well as being the subject of articles in Scotland on Sunday, The Independent and Sunday Post newspapers.
Publications
Charles Nasmyth’s books The Comic Legend of William McGonagall (Waverley Books 2007) and Hamish Henderson A Conversation Piece (Rhizome Press 2022) are available through Amazon UK.
