 In 1955 they awarded him an Andrew Grant Scholarship which led to a period of travelling and painting in Scotland, Florence and Sicily where he concentrated on landscape and townscape scenes with some still life painting.After Sicily, McClure returned to Scotland where he taught at Edinburgh College of Art, while continuing to paint.During this period he was commissioned as the artist involved in the reconstruction of the King's room at Falkland Palace, Fife where his murals and ceiling paintings can still be seen today.