A few months ago I entered the NYAS open postcard competition, to paint a local landmark on a postcard. I didn’t win, but it was an interesting challenge. I primed the card with shellac, so that the oil paint wouldn’t seep through.

On the back of the postcard, I wrote the following info about this ancient pack horse bridge:

“The Barrel Brig, Queen Mary’s Road, Fife”
Oil on shellac and acrylic primed card.

The Barrel Brig, south of the old mining village of Coaltown of Balgonie, Fife, is a narrow 18th century barrel-vaulted pack-horse bridge, built to replace a medieval bridge. Spanning the river Ore with two arches, cutwater buttresses and no parapets, this route was in use when Mary Queen of Scots rode from Wemyss Castle to Falkland Palace in the mid 1500s. An ancient right of way, it has recently been the subject of a local protest against Network Rail’s proposed closure of pedestrian access to the Barrel Brig due to the re-opening of a rail link to the coastal town of Leven. (Latitude: 56.1726 / 56°10’21″N Longitude: -3.1166 / 3°6’59″W)

You can now buy an A4 print off the NYAS website for £18! (I’ll get a small percentage if you do!)

Here’s the link: https://www.nyartschool.org/product-page/the-barrel-brig-queen-mary-s-road-by-jo-johnson-a4-print