A Highland roofer has been inundated with requests for his artistic tile designs, combining a long career with his passion for art.
Gary McIntyre, who moved from Clydebank to Dingwall, has been honing his skills for more than 20 years at Macleod Roofing.
After a long career with them, he began creating his eye-catching work with a lead stag at a property in Contin four years ago.
The idea came about when he was on a job at Letterewe shooting estate and approached the owners to ask if they were interested in a stag design on the roof.
While the owners were intrigued by the proposal, the building was listed and therefore couldn’t go forward.
At another job, they again approached the client. At the time, he said, the project was “a big risk” and had to convince them to go ahead.
Speaking about the reaction to his work, Mr McIntyre, said: “It’s really starting to take off and get a lot of attention and it’s all positive.
“I’ve not had many negative comments. When I did the lead stag and put it up on some roofing forums, I became a bit of a celebrity within the roofing industry.”
Since then he has worked on five more pieces, all his own designs, which he installs with the help of his partner Adam Schuerman.
‘Totally passionate about what I do’
The duo has now installed pieces such as a copper stag at a property in Strathpeffer, another called an Afternoon’s Fishing in Contin, and a lead bat on the roof of the Old Schoolhouse in Balblair.
An Afternoon’s Fishing netted Mr McIntyre the award for Best Use of Slate for a Domestic Product at the 2022 UK Pitched Roofing Awards.
One of his most notable works is a recreation of his favourite artist, Banksy’s “Girl with Balloon” at an Airbnb on Telford Road in Inverness.
The head-turning design was a favourite of the homeowner’s wife, who was more than happy for Mr McIntyre to create the design on his roof, free of charge paying homage to Banksy.
The process involved using a large panel set-up at his home and building the design before moving it to the location and onto the roof.
Future projects
Mr McIntyre says a frequent question he gets asked is how to keep the roof watertight around the design.
He says 20 years as a roofer have enabled him to create complicated designs which are original and functional.
He added: “The most common comment I get online is how original these are. I’ve always been quite artistic, my aunties do interior design and paintings and when I would be at hers at the weekend, I was always in about the art books.
“I’ve always had a pretty artistic temperament and amalgamating that with my job, it was going to happen sooner or later.
“I am totally passionate about what I do and I’ve been getting more and more work out of it. I’ve got the notepad and pen out and have been thinking up new designs.”
Mr McIntyre has received many requests for his artistic work that will liven up people’s homes.
He has been asked to design a family of Highland cows for a property in Aberdeen as well as recreate the Fyrish Monument at a home in Evanton.
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