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New Colourists 17th June - 13th July
choose to be original
about scotlandart.com ~ over 1000 affordable, original paintings; something for every taste and budget ~ ~ gift vouchers & wedding lists for family & friends ~ ~ interest-free instalment plans ~ ~ commission a painting from one of 150 artists, and commemorate your special moments in life ~ ~ free art consultancy services, including personal visits to your home or business and digital layouts of your wall space ~ Our experienced staff will always be delighted to discuss your needs and help you choose the perfect artwork to animate your home. 193 Bath Street, G2 4HU 0141 221 4502 enquiries@scotlandart.com www.scotlandart.com
Tuesday-Friday: 10.30am - 5.30pm (Thursday: 10.30am-7pm) Saturday: 11am - 5pm Sunday: 12pm - 5pm
Published by scotlandart.com galleries, registed trading name of The Emerging Artists' Partnership, Ltd. First published by scotlandart.com galleries, June 2016 Text written by Hollie Meikle & Lizzie Cowden, 2016, except where quotation is indicated. Images copyright of the artists, unless otherwise credited. Cover images (front): Jonathan Hood, 'Fruit of the Gods (1 of 5 a day)', Oil, ÂŁ3,250.00
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PREFACE J.D. Fergusson, the most celebrated of the Scottish Colourists who revolutionised Scottish painting in the early part of the last century, was quoted in 1943 as saying:
‌Everyone in Scotland should refuse to have anything to do with black or dirty and dingy colours, and insist on clean colours in everything. I remember when I was young any colour was considered a sign of vulgarity. Greys and blacks were the only colours for people of taste and refinement. Good pictures had to be black, grey, brown or drab. Well! let’s forget it, and insist on things in Scotland being of colour that makes for and associates itself with light, hopefulness, health and happiness‌ Our aim, with the current summer exhibition at ScotlandArt, is plain and simply to decorate our walls in such a vibrant way that all visitors to the gallery should feel, whether or not the work of Fergusson has ever featured on their radar, that the unconscious spirit of these words is alive and well in Scottish painting, providing all our lives with a little light. There are nine artists exhibited, each of whom helps achieve this in a profoundly different way. We hope you enjoy them all for what they have to offer, and that this catalogue provides a little insight into how they have come to offer it. - Sam Reilly
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BRIAN PHILLIPS Born in 1939, Brian’s artistic talent led to a 25 year career in advertising, before deciding to pursue a career in the mental health field. He has however painted continuously during this time, resulting in nearly 50 one man exhibitions and accolades including 2015 & 2016 ‘Artist of the Year’ by two UK Art Magazines. Brian’s work is instantly recognisable; his fresh and unique use of colour provides striking results, drawing the viewer in to his mesmerising world. His innovative and individual painting style has drawn many fans over the years, including LS Lowry. Defiance has proved a major artistic influence to Brian, and he strives to break the traditional principles of the early masters – something especially evident in his most recent work which is all about colour and unconventional composition.
(1) 'Aintree Stray', Acrylic, 30x30cm, £240.00
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“Colour theories are ok for some, but not for me. My colour plan doesn't exist, anything goes, the more off-beat the better. I work hard to find colour combinations that should never see the light of day, yet still work, in a bizarre sort of way”
(2) 'The Paper Bag', Acrylic, 54x33cm, £450.00
(3) 'Cool Dude', Acrylic, 60x60cm, £520.00
(4) 'Naked Person'', Acrylic, 70x35cm, £450.00
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JOHN BATHGATE Although born in the rolling Border country, John has sailed the all over the world through his work in the Royal Navy. However, his love for the rugged and wild countryside and the Scottish seascape encouraged him to return to Scotland and settle on the Isle of Skye, where he currently works from his studio at Roskhill. His art education followed an apprenticeship style training with the artist Robert Fraser. By 1979, he had joined the ’Lothian Group’ of artists and had begun to exhibit in group and one-man exhibitions in and around Edinburgh. John works in various media and enjoys exploring ways of applying paint and collage to create his interpretations of the elements that shape the Scottish landscape. He works with water-based media which allows a flow of ideas, from thin layered washes to thickly applied acrylic with collage integrated into the paint.
(5) 'Sutherland Croft', Acrylic, 30x30cm, £450.00
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“What holds my interest is the fact that the landscape never stays still. Every aspect of this visual feast is ever changing before our eyes…I am no longer interested in a bonnie view, nice though it may be, what I want to show through my paintings is what I feel about the visual world around me. Stones gathered in a cleft of rock, seaweed tangled and tossed up on the shore, the wonderful colours of the work may come out as abstract shapes or sometimes quite traditional looking paintings. If the finished work does not have the quality and finish I look for in a painting then it is scrapped and I try again. It is the artist’s job to manipulate the visual world around us and produce something more than just a record of what was there.” John has paintings in private collections all over the world and features in the new edition of The Dictionary of Scottish Painters 1600 to the Present by Julian Halsby and Paul Harris, published in October 2010. He has also had work hung and sold in the RSW exhibition in Edinburgh.
(6) 'Loch Na-Faolin, Skye', Oil, 30x30cm, £450.00
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ROWENA COMRIE Rowena Comrie has worked as a professional artist for the past 30 years; in january 2010 she relocated from Aberdeen to Glasgow where she now works from a WASPS studio in Glasgows Briggait. She was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and in 1982 completed her BA(Hons) in Fine Art at Reading University where she embraced expressionist colourfield painting with confidence and passion. She continues to develop this dramatic and emotive painting style saying:
"I make these works from a specific aesthetic point, that personally expresses sublime elements of human experiences. Over many years I have refined and developed my technique, a process that continues to challenge and intrigue".
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(8) ' Walberswick Nights', Oil, 111x92cm, £1,430.00 facing page (7) 'Top Gallant', Oil, 58x46cm, £620.00
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MARY BATCHELOR Mary Batchelor credits Scottish Colourists - Cadell, Peploe, Fergusson and Hunter as a source of great inspiration in her paintings. She admires the bold use of colour and texture, and the confidence exuded in every brush stroke which has contributed so richly to the tradition of Scottish painting. Mary Batchelor is an artistic member of Paisley Art Institute and Primera Arts. She is also an associate of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and Visual Arts Scotland.
(9) 'Cherry Blossom, Helensburgh', Oil, 71x71cm, ÂŁ920.00
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"All I try to achieve with my work, is to do justice to the land and sea which I see before me in Scotland. They are my passion and the reason I never struggle for inspiration. I love to make new discoveries and find new visions around each corner, but, equally, I have certain favourite locations of which I never tire, returning over and over again - often finding new light or element to capture. It is Scotland's ability to surprise, no matter how well you think you may know her, which has always amazed me...long may it continue to do so. "I paint solely using acrylics. They sit well with my technique which is one of broad application and rapidly working the paint. The fast drying paint has to be manipulated quickly and it is this to which I attribute the sense of movement and spontaneity within my work. "I was trained under the tutelage of Norrie Kirkham, Peter Howsen and David Linley at Glasgow School of Art - all of them were, and remain, a huge inspiration, as are the brilliant Scottish Colourists."
above, left (10) ' Rhu Bodach Farmhouse', Oil, 37x44cm, ÂŁ620.00 above, right (11) ' Wild Poppies on the Dunes', Oil, 71x71cm, ÂŁ920.00
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MARTIN OATES Martin Oates' landscapes capture a wild and elemental Scotland, a drama of changing sky and sea. The quick, loose brushwork, the deceptively simple palette, the flowing, painterly style bring us effortlessly to Arran, to Mull, to Iona. Martin was born in 1952 in Glasgow and attended classes at the city's Art School as a child. By the age of sixteen, he had been accepted as a student by two Colleges of Art, but was unable to enrol due to family circumstances. Largely self-taught, Martin's style is bold and experimental. His use of deep, pigmented jewel-like flashes of colour create evocative moments of the dramatic Scottish landscapes he depicts. They are unmistakeably influenced by the Scottish artistic tradition of strong colour. In his watercolours, it is Martin's effortless balancing of both contrasting and harmonizing colours in a single artwork that form his distinctive works.
(12) ' Nightsky Argyll', Watercolour, 55x55cm, ÂŁ420.00
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(13) 'Plaza Mayor Madrid', Watercolour, 72x62cm, £620.00
(14) 'Glasgow Central Station', Watercolour, 72x62cm, £620.00
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VICTORIA STEWART Victoria is a Scottish native, born in Dumfries, but has travelled throughout the UK, Italy and America. These locations continue to inspire her work and the experiences and imagery collected from travelling are regularly expressed in her work. Victoria trained in Fashion and Textile design at the Scottish College of Textiles which accounts for her exceptional use of repeating patterns, graceful forms and appealing textures in all her paintings. She specialises in minimalistic compositions that emphasize her expert use of intense colour to create compelling atmospheres.
(15) 'Our View'', Acrylic,122x76cm, ÂŁ495.00
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Her new works have evolved with the addition of charming figures and town landscapes against the almost otherworldly backgrounds. This effect of a populated and captivating scene, achieved with only a few skilled brushstrokes, shows what a capable artist Stewart is.
top (16) 'Summer', Acrylic, 76x61cm, £295.00 centre page (17) ' Rainbow II', Acrylic, 10x114cm, £215.00 above, left (18) ' Our Place', Acrylic, 110x110cm, £540.00 above, right (19) 'Swift', Acrylic, 70x70cm, £295.00
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JONATHAN HOOD Jonathan became a full time painter in 1986, mostly working in watercolour and collage. From 1988, upon moving into a studio, he started working in oil and conducted various children's workshops in mask-making, painting and collage. Jonathan also taught painting in nightclasses and three of his students continued their education in art college. In 2006, he conducted a collage and painting workshop in Morgan Academy, Dundee for the Racial Equality Commission enabling 2 school pupils to reach the final. Since 2006, Jonathan has also run the WASPS studio open weekend in Dundee. Currently, Jonathan is working mostly in oil, using bright colours and painting on board. He has been exhibiting regularly in galleries around the UK, and also in Holland, France and Italy.
(20) 'Lovers with Apples', Oil,51x43cm, ÂŁ775.00
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(21) 'Fruit of the Gods (1 of 5 a day)', Oil,105x85cm, £3,250.00
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WILLIAM MCLEAN KERR William McLean Kerr was born in Fife and moved to Ayrshire in 1966. He is now based in Troon. William has experience teaching art and has previously written and illustrated a book on drawing skills. His expert artistic ability can be seen in his mastering of perspective and strong commitment to the grounding of any artwork in a technically sound approach. This can be clearly seen within all of William's artworks as even his most romantic Scottish landscapes show his deep understanding of composition and colour.
"The West coast of Scotland - with its ever changing sea and sky - has always been a great source of inspiration to me"
(22) 'Afternoon, Kelvingrove Park', Oil, 57x57cm, ÂŁ475.00
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(23) 'Quiet Day, St Monans', Oil, 50x50cm, ÂŁ395.00
William particularly enjoys capturing the contrast between bright evening skies and the strong, dark shadows and silhouettes the light creates. His work is held in many private and corporate collections worldwide; in 2008 East Ayrshire Council commissioning him to paint Dumfries House near Cumnock as a 60th birthday present for HRH Prince Charles, and some of his work which features black and white musical instruments was bought by the Sydney Opera House.
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KAREN CAIRNS Born in Edinburgh, Karen Cairns is an artist and an architect. Her architectural training is apparent in her expertly rendered buildings and cityscapes but the emotion evoked through artistry is entirely her own.
"I paint the effect of light on familiar urban settings. My favourite times are early morning and evening, and I try to capture the intense colours in the sky and reflections in water, wet pavements and even puddles. The cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh provide stunning backdrops and there is so much beauty to be captured that I am never stuck for a subject."
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Karen works predominately in watercolour in a loose impressionistic style, painting urban streetscapes and the harbour scenes of the east and west coasts of Scotland. She has mastered the demanding medium of watercolour to the point where she can capture scenes of complex draughtsmanship with a mixture of loose brushstrokes and a measured sense of the paint's unpredictable behaviour when applied wet onto wet. Karen aims to delight using her ability to capture the vagaries of restless weather and the rare moments of light which transform familiar urban settings into living art.
facing page left (23) 'Spire and Span, Kelvinbridge', Watercolour, 55x65cm, £595.00 facing page right (24) 'Gothic Tower Glow,University Avenue', Watercolour, 55x65cm, £695.00 above, left (25) 'Girders and Trusses, Forth Bridge', Watercolour, 108x87cm, £1,950.00 above, right (26) 'Titan Sky Hooks, Glasgow', Watercolour, 37x46cm, £315.00
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....light, hopefulness, health and happiness... All works shown in this catalogue, plus many more by all of these artists, are available to reserve and purchase at scotlandart.com, and to view at our Bath Street Gallery.
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coming up at ScotlandArt MATTHEW BOURNE REINVENTING TRADITIONS launches July 22nd We are thrilled to welcome Matthew Bourne, whose tempestuous landscapes have taken Glasgow by storm in recent months, for his first headline show in Scotland. Bourne’s painting is a highly individual, refreshing take on the genres of landscape and still-life. Patterns of bright colour in thick oil paint dance upon the 2D surface of the canvas; that is, until you look deeper into the painting, and find that the masterly treatment of perspective transports you to a mist-shrouded hillside, or focusses your gaze upon an array of bright flowers. Exhibiting alongside will be Paul Bennett, with his atmospheric, semi-abstract seascapes.
193 Bath Street G2 4HU Monday - Friday 10:30am - 5:30 pm Late night opening Thursday 7pm Saturday 11am - 5pm Sunday 12pm - 5pm 0141 221 4502 www.scotlandart.com enquirires@scotlandart.com