I’m delighted that my drawing ‘Seraph’ got a mention in the Times this week. It’s one of three charcoal and conte drawings available from the 30×30 section of the exhibition. You can read the full article here.
Thanks to Giles Sutherland for a great piece on the Society of Scottish Artists 130th Annual show at the Royal Scottish Academy and thanks to the whole SSA team for presenting such a rich selection in this impressive gallery.
The show runs until 10th January 2023.
What a joy is was last week to be back in a big room talking to people in person about my exhibition and journey towards it as an artist. There were some thought-provoking questions at the Burgh halls event, like ‘How do you feel about the effects of recent storms on trees?’ and ‘Have you ever refused to sell a work to someone you didn’t like?’ (that was a first!)
However, while it’s lovely to do that again, I’ve realised over the last 2 years that online events and platforms can have an important role in making art and events more accessible. I’ve attended lots of talks, conferences and other really interesting online events which would have been impossible for me to get to physically, so I want to offer that to anyone interested in my work too.
My solo show is now open at Linlithgow Burgh Halls.
‘Turning Towards the Light’ brings together a collection of oil paintings and drawings which explore the complexity, vitality and sculptural presence of ancient trees.
Here’s a selection of installation images to give you a feel for how the show looks in this beautiful historic building.
All works are for sale and you can see a full catalogue here»
The exhibition runs until Sunday 26th June and I’ll be doing an artist talk there on Thursday 21st April, 6.30 – 7.30pm. Tickets are free and booking is essential, by phone 01506 272820 or email burgh.halls@westlothian.gov.uk
The Burgh Halls are are free to visit and open every day (with a few exceptions for event bookings). Find full venue details here»
I’m delighted to announce my next solo exhibition ‘Turning Towards the Light’, a collection of oil paintings and drawings exploring the complexity, vitality and sculptural presence of ancient trees.
As humans we are both fascinated by darkness and compelled to turn towards the light. This exhibition brings together three bodies of work which combine light, shade and movement to draw attention to our relationship to trees.
Like most plants, trees employ phototropism, meaning they grow towards the light to maximise available energy. Although they turn far too slowly for human detection, they are constantly moving in response to their environment; twisting, reaching and flowing towards the sun. The work presented here is about that sense of movement, as if we were able to observe tree-time sped up to match our own.
The exhibition will be at the historic Linlithgow Burgh Halls, running from Friday 4th March to Sunday 26th June. Entry is free and there’s no need to book.
There will be a private view event on Thursday 3rd March – subscribe to my Studio Newsletter for an invitation.
I’ll also be doing an artist talk in the gallery on 21st April, contact me for more details.
We artists are very adaptable, so in response to the restrictions in place during the exhibition I found some new ways to take the art to people who couldn’t be there in person.
I did a live tour on Instagram so my followers could get up close with the art…
My Artist Talk went ahead on Zoom not in a room. I always enjoy talking about the ideas and processes involved in making the works, so it was fun to be able to share that with folk across the oceans!
You can see the full exhibition online here and find installation photos in this blog post.
If you’d like to hear about future exhibitions, talks and events, you can get the inside info by subscribing to my Studio Newsletter.
My solo exhibition at Edinburgh Palette, ‘On Tree Time’ was about the ways in which trees adapt and endure.
Although they move too slowly for us to perceive, over the span of centuries wood flows, trunks twist and limbs turn. I presented a new body of works on paper in charcoal, pastel and oil, celebrating the resilience and life force of trees.
Here’s how ‘On Tree Time’ looked in the gallery.
This exhibition brought together three strands of my work about ‘Tree Time’, a phrase coined by long time champion of ancient trees, Ted Green and one which chimes with my experience of discovering and drawing them for the last 12 years.
“When I begin to draw an ancient tree I’m struck by a powerful feeling of my being a short-lived creature amongst ancients.”
June 2021 felt like a new beginning, for me having my first solo show as a full-time artist and for all of us as a time to begin living publicly again after the hardest winter months.
After many weeks of not being able to travel to my usual woodland drawing sites and working hard in the studio, I was proud to show the results to people in person at last.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding public events and difficulties with framing supplies, I made the decision to install most of the work unframed.
Many thanks to Edinburgh Palette and its staff for their support and assistance in mounting the show.
You can view the full online exhibition here.
I’ll be having a real-life, on the wall exhibition this June at Edinburgh Palette, my former studio complex and creative home in the east of Edinburgh – how exciting!!!
‘On Tree Time’ explores the way trees adapt and endure in the face of adversity. It will feature a selection of new works on paper in charcoal, oil and pastel made during winter and spring 2020-21. The show opens Friday 4th June and closes on Sunday the 20th, so that’s 16 whole days where anyone who can travel to the area can come to see my newest work in person, have a proper chat with me and maybe even choose a piece for their own collection.
So much has changed over the last year that planning this exhibition feels almost like starting from scratch, even though I’ve been doing them for 10 years now. Private views and opening parties will need to be different, open door visiting may not be possible and hugs with friends, followers and colleagues will sadly be missing.
Some things will be the same though. For visitors, there’s the chance to get up close and personal with the art, to peer at the details as well as take in the whole view, to get a true sense of the textures, colours and energy of the work. For me, I relish the opportunity to show a collection of work with a coherent theme all together, the chance to talk about the story of the work with visitors, choosing favourites and great combinations, noticing rhymes and echoes, contrasts and creative leaps. Sitting with my exhibitions has always been a favourite time for me to reflect on that body of work, review its successes and where it has fallen short of the idea. Almost always I come out of that process with new ideas sparked.
One of the things that I like many creative people have missed so much is encountering the random, unexpected or surprising which can so often be the stimulus for new ideas. Alongside travelling to distant woodlands, it’s conversations with people not in my ‘bubble’ that I’ve missed the most. I’m so looking forward to talking to visitors about their experiences of trees and art, their knowledge and perspectives are always creatively energising.
To try and make the best of the current limitations, I’m putting together a programme of online and in person events linked to the exhibition so, if you’d like to hear about these and be first to get tickets, make sure you are subscribed to my Studio Newsletter. Find out how you can visit here and I hope to be showing you my new drawings very soon.
Originally planned as an extensive joint exhibition at Drum Castle, Aberdeenshire, ‘Out of the Wood’ will now be shown online through Edinburgh Palette’s online exhibition facility.
Margaret and I, and National Trust Scotland curator Vikki were so disappointed that we couldn’t mount the exhibition as hoped due to the Covid-19 pandemic. None of us could ever have imagined the scale of the crisis that was to unfold just as we began to make preparations for hanging. Thankfully we’ve remained safe and well and I’m delighted that my former studio complex have given us the opportunity to show the work online.
The exhibition will be live to view here from 7th to the 21st August. After the 21st it will remain on the website in their past exhibitions section.
Edit from 2021 – it didn’t happen of course, the exhibition happened in a different way later in the year. I learned a lot very fast!
This year I will be exhibiting at the magnificent Drum Castle, a National Trust for Scotland property just west of Aberdeen. I will be sharing the impressive exhibition space (formerly Jacobean era bedrooms) with printmaker Margaret Pitt, who makes woodcuts.
The estate includes the Old Wood of Drum, an ancient woodland containing many old and interesting oaks. I had the opportuntiy to explore the woodlands on two visits last year and will be going back for a drawing trip next week.
The exhibition opens with a private view on Saturday 4th April and runs all through the Castle’s open season until 31st October.
I will also be doing some workshops and an artist’s talk – more details to come.