Scottish painter Andrew McIntosh (previously) paints bridges, castles, and forgotten homes, repurposing the structures’ windows and arches as vibrant portals into another world. The deep red and orange sunsets found in these negative spaces serve as the heart of each work, which each cast an intense glow into the surrounding desolate landscapes.The works are centered around scenes found in his native Scotland, areas that don’t necessarily illicit awe or intrigue from the average viewer.

“McIntosh is drawn to the plain and ordinary – a Victorian lodge, a simple tower house, or an unremarkable castle set in scenery that is not immediately picturesque or inspiring – subjects that wouldn’t usually attract an artist’s attention,” writes Dr. Richard Davey in an essay about McIntosh’s paintings. “They are born from deep knowledge of the land, painted by an artist who wants to probe the limits of landscape painting, who knows that nature is much quieter than it is more usually portrayed, and that capturing the undramatic, ordinariness of nature, is more difficult than it may seem.”

The confined sunsets serve as secretive elements of power to each crumbling form of architecture. McIntosh intends for these private moments to remind the viewer of everyday wonder, and to search for these moments during the mundane aspects of the day-to-day. The painter has an upcoming solo exhibition of his work at Beaux Arts London opening October 19 and running through November 18, 2017.