68 Artists Magazine January/February 2020
a sketcher,evenif hewassteeredslightlytowardillustra-
tionatartschool.“ItwasoneofthereasonsthatI found
collegesohard,”hesays,“becauseI’dturnupwitha paint-
ingandmytutorwouldsay,‘Whydidn’tyoudoasI asked,
anddoalltheworkings?’I wouldreplythattheworkings
happeninmybrain.”McIntoshsaysheneverfelthehad
muchtalent,buthasalwaysbeenextremelydetermined.
“Ithinklackingartisticfulfillmenthasalwayshadaninter-
estingdynamicinthecreationofskills,”hesays.
BornjustoutsideGrantown-on-Spey,intheScottish
Highlands,heclaimstohavenomemoryofa timewhen
hedidn’tdraw.Histhreesisterswereallquiteartistic,and
hismotherwouldoftendraw.Evenhisslightlyolderneigh-
borwasa skilledartistwitha brilliantimagination.For
subjects,McIntoshalwayswentforthecombativemotifs:
“Ilikedtodrawvikings,soldiers,tanksandcastles,”he
says.“AtChristmasI wouldtakea brieffurloughtodraw
Christmas-relatedstuff.Astimemovedon,I becamea bit“ Sometimes a moment of clarity will strike straight through you,
often like an instantly fading dream.”
—ANDREW MCINTOSH
obsessed with side elevations from castles or dream build-
ings, which I would get my dad—a builder—to quote for
building costs. His answer was always £1 million.” It’s no
surprise then that buildings still hold a special appeal to
the artist.Variety Is Key
More often than not, McIntosh’s Abandoned Dollhouses
paintings begin with the background. Other times, the
artist will start with the building and tag on the back-
ground as if it’s an afterthought. The paintings that fall
into the latter category, he feels, are never quite as effec-
tive as the ones in which the landscape is important. “I
know roughly what I’m painting when I’m starting,” he
says, “apart from the cutout room. Quite often I don’t
know what that will be, or, equally, it could be that I don’t
know what the building is.”