Mountain rescue volunteer wins £10,000 for landslide picture at Rest and Be Thankful

A mountain rescue volunteer has won a £10,000 prize for his incredible image of a landslide at the Rest and Be Thankful.

Mick McGraw won the Lapeca Scottish Landscape Awards 2025 for the piece, titled ‘Glen Croe landslide, August 31, 2020’.

The winning photograph was taken from the slopes of Ben Donich, looking over the Rest and Be Thankful on the A83, an area repeatedly hit by landslides.

The climb out of Glen Croe is so long and steep that it was traditional for travellers and drovers to rest at the top, and be thankful for having made the highest point. 

As a member of Arrochar Mountain Rescue Team, artist Mick McGraw knows this landscape well. 

‘Landscape for me is layered with history, politics and human intervention,’ Mike said.

‘Glen Croe is not just a scenic view but a place where engineering solutions and natural forces collide, shaping how we navigate the familiar terrain. 

‘Winning this award encourages me to keep exploring these fragile intersections and to document how our attempts to control the landscape become part of its evolving story.’

Glen Croe landslide, August 31, 2020.

The winning piece is one of 107 artworks selected from over 2,100 entries currently on display at Kirkcudbright Galleries. 

Each of the works selected do not allow the viewer to be passive but instead, provoke a reaction, inviting conversations that challenge the concept of landscape art. 

Unlike traditional landscape painting, many have a greater sense of connection to a place or a time rather than depicting a recognisable location. 

The resulting exhibition is the biggest and most ambitious survey of contemporary landscape art in Scotland today and includes emerging artists alongside established professionals working across a wide range of media – from painting, sculpture, drawing and miniatures, to photography and film.

Baldvin Ringsted from Glasgow took home the second prize of £5,000 for his meticulously stitched collage titled ‘Deluge’. 

Made up from found pieces, mostly from Scottish charity shops, each found work holds forgotten memories of houses and flats long since inherited, sold or renovated. 

‘My practice relies on craftsmanship and a skilled level of fabrication,’ Baldvin said.

‘I have always been interested in found objects and how our communal memory “embeds” meaning into everyday objects and images. 

‘I believe my work has a lot in common with classic landscape painting, how it evokes memories and a sense of familiarity, even though the landscape is from an unknown place.’

Deluge.

Martin Rek from Edinburgh collected the third prize and £1,000 for his work in watercolour and carbon pencil, titled ‘Stillness, Glencoe’.

The contemplative composition was first captured during a wild-camping trip in the Hidden Valley. 

‘I saw the Scottish Landscape Awards exhibition in Edinburgh two years ago, not long after arriving from Tasmania,’ Martin said.

‘ I was deeply impressed by the diversity of work and knew I had to try entering. I have been submitting to art competitions for years and love the excitement they bring. 

Stillness, Glencoe

‘This award in particular celebrates such a range of voices – it’s stimulating and rewarding to be part of that conversation.’

The Scottish Landscape Awards exhibition is free to visit and run at Kirkcudbright Galleries  until Saturday 28 September.

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