This oil painting, Loch Lubnaig, Perthshire by David Young Cameron (1865-1945) depicts a mountainous landscape around a loch on a bright, cloudy day. A path in the foreground disappears amongst bushes and rocky outcroppings, captured through varying shades of brown and green with flecks of yellow for detail. The water in the loch appears still, as the surrounding hills and mountains are reflected with strokes of dark brown against the more varied white and blue of the loch. Cameron's skillset is seen in the varying levels of dark and light in the colour tones of the mountains and clouds, placing the darkest closest and the lightest farther away to create the illusion of depth in the work. Cameron uses a technique of light layers of oil paint as the texture of the canvas can be seen underneath the thin layer of paint. Even so, Cameron's use of light and dark creates the depth needed to feel as though this work is a captured image of a serene, Scottish landscape.

Lochs and mountains were commonplace in much of Cameron's oil paintings, reflecting his interest in capturing dramatic ranges of light and dark throughout the Scottish landscape. Cameron was well known for his ability to capture 'stillness' in his work, seen here with the calm waters and reflection of the mountains within the loch. His interest in how light played a role in depicting landscapes is also seen in this work with the varying colour tones of the foreground and mountains in the background. Cameron was a well known etcher, but his oil paintings were also popular because of his display of skillsets that created a poetic atmosphere when depicting a Scottish landscape. 

Sir David Young Cameron RA RSA RWS RSW, 1865-1945

Cameron was a man of considerable importance and influence in British art circles in the 1920s and 1930s. His paintings attracted great critical acclaim and were acquired by many public art galleries in Britain and abroad. Sadly, the majority are today hidden in storerooms. Cameron's commitment to art extended well beyond the boundaries of the studio. During the second half of the First World War Cameron served as a war artist for the Canadian Government; he supervised the decoration of St. Stephen's Hall in the Houses of Parliament and of the rebuilt bank of England; he was associated with the British School in Rome for over twenty-five years; he was Trustee of the Tate Gallery and of the National Galleries of Scotland; and in 1933 he was appointed King's Painter and Limner in Scotland, an office previously held by Raeburn and Wilkie. Cameron was a son of the manse who’s deeply held religious faith was an important element throughout his life and imbued much of his work, particularly his landscapes. He devoted considerable time and energy to the Church of Scotland, advising many congregations on the redecoration of the churches.
Born in Glasgow, Cameron probably inherited his artistic ability from his mother, a talented amateur watercolourist, as did his sister, the watercolourist and etcher Katharine Cameron. While working in a Glasgow office he attended classes at Glasgow School of Art, and in 1884 he gave up office work -which he hated - in favour of painting, enrolling at Edinburgh School of Art, where fellow artists included W.M. Frazer and James Pryde.
However, it was as an etcher that Cameron first came to prominence. Like Rembrandt, who was a profound influence, Cameron was a master of light and shade, whether in a landscape, a street scene or one of his atmospheric church interiors. Over a period of some forty-five years he produced about 520 etchings and drypoints, becoming, with fellow Scots Muirhead Bone and James McBey, one of the foremost British etchers of the Etching Revival of 1880-1930.
Today Cameron is remembered as a painter of the Scottish landscape. However, his oevre included figure subjects and portraits, townscapes and architectural subjects as well as landscapes. He travelled widely throughout a long working life. His oils and watercolours show a remarkable ability to convey the character and spirit of a place.