Artist takes to the chilly hills

Eric Timms knows it will be cold but is looking forward to the solitude

An artist is preparing to spend 10 days in the freezing cold hills and forests of Glen Lyon to save his gallery from the effects of the credit crunch.

Eric Timms, 55, will head to the glen with his paints and a mountain pony called Angel on 5 January.

He will then do some colour sketches and take photos before returning to his studio to create 10 large paintings.

The artist will unveil his work at an exhibition in April and has sold the paintings upfront to raise money.

'Mysterious glen'

Mr Timms, from Aberfeldy, will take a tent and all the supplies he will need for spending at least nine nights out in the cold.

He said: "It'll be very rough, very rough indeed, you're probably looking at wind-chill of minus 10, it's not going to be easy but it is do-able.

"I believe I can do it, I believe that I'll be coming out of the mountains alive armed with hopefully some great work.

"It's courage, or maybe it's madness, I don't know. I'm making sure that I've got everything that I possibly can to keep me alive and safe and warm and nothing ventured, nothing gained, it's as simple as that."

Mr Timms believes that Denovan Adams was the last to complete such an adventure in Glen Lyon in Victorian times.

The modern-day artist is most looking forward to the peace and quiet of the trip.

He said: "The solitude. I'll be seeing what most people don't see really - the Glen Lyon in winter.

"It's a very remote and very mysterious glen full of mystique.

"I'm least looking forward to the the cold. I know it's going to be tough, there's going to be moments where it's going to be bloody cold."