Just a quick update to say I am very excited to be working with Heriot Gallery in Dundas Street, Edinburgh. They recently got in touch to say they admired my work and requested some for their current Winter Show.
The Old Town, Edinburgh (Twilight), Mixed media 65×50 (image size)
So I delivered these paintings yesterday and very much looking forward to continuing to work with owners Angela and Lorna. I haven’t shown any work in Edinburgh since moving to Aberdeen earlier this year, so it’s great to have some of my locally-inspired pieces available in the Capital once again.
Ramsay Garden (ii), Mixed media 60x18cm (image size)
The show runs until 29th Jan 2022, after which I’ll also be including new work in their follow-up exhibition Land & Sea in February 2022.
Dean Village, Edinburgh, Mixed media 65×50 (image size)
I’m currently working on some new Edinburgh-based oil paintings for that, so watch this space for further details … !
St Monans (Blue & Red Boat With Smoking Chimneys), 35x15cm (image size)
I’m delighted that my latest Dean Village hand-painted etching (Sunset) has been accepted to be exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy Annual Open 2017. It’s the 4th in a series of 10, each of which depicts the scene at a different time of day or season.
I’m especially pleased that this painting was accepted as I think it it’s the best piece of work I have done to date. It’s certainly the one I’m most satisfied with, insofar as it’s the closest I’ve gotten to achieving what I had in mind when I began the series last year. I’m also really pleased to have work in this particular RSA Open as it’s on during the Edinburgh Festival, so it’s going to be very busy.
I won’t make it to the opening of the exhibition unfortunately, but I’ll look forward to seeing the exhibition when I return from my summer holiday. I’m off to Belgium and Holland to get up close and personal with all my favourite paintings by artists like Bosch, Brueghel, Avercamp, Rembrandt and Vermeer. I’m especially looking forward to going back to the Rijksmuseum which was mostly closed for refurbishment the last time I visited, so I only saw a fraction of the artworks they normally have on show.
I’m currently reading the weighty Van Gogh, The Life tome and so this is also going to be a bit of an artistic pilgrimage to the places where he lived, worked and painted in those 2 countries. I’m hoping to come back brimming with ideas and inspiration and, despite the huge amount of anticipation I have for going on this trip, I’m already looking forward to getting back to work when I return.
I’ll try and post a few pictures from my trip here and on my Instagram page, so watch this space.
On another note, I just delivered a batch of etchings and paintings to The Coach House Gallery in Pittenweem, which will be on show there during the Pittenweem Art Festival. So drop in for a look if you’re planning a visit (which runs between 5-12th August). And if you haven’t been to Pittenweem or the festival before then it’s well worth the trip. The village is stunning and the interiors of some of the houses perched on the hill above the harbour are well worth a visit in their own right. There’s over 100 artists showing, as well as music and other events so there’s plenty to see and do.
Dean Village at Dusk (Blue & Green) 67x50cm – SOLD at St Columbas Hospice charity event
I was delighted to sell this painting of Dean Village at Dusk along with a Super Moon aquatint this weekend and help to raise some funds in the process for St Columbas Hospice in Edinburgh. I recently finished the painting below (Dean Village Sunset) which will be up for sale later this month along some more of my work in support of Maggie’s Cancer Care. The way I see it, working with charities like this is a ‘win win’ way of exhibiting my work.
Selling art through charity exhibitions is a fantastic way to increase both the profile of artists and the charities and I would love to see more of this kind of opportunity for both to work together. It works the same way galleries do, in that the charity takes a percentage commission for any sales made. So the artist still gets paid appropriately for their work, but the charity makes money too. I know many galleries are struggling in today’s tough economic climate, and art can be seen as a luxury, but if those who appreciate art feel like they’re also helping to give something back to society while getting something that they can cherish forever then that is a real double whammy for all concerned! Not to mention the important point that any sale helps to promote art and artists and to encourage them to continue to do what they and hopefully some others love.
I’ll certainly be looking out for more opportunities to sell my work via charity exhibitions in future. Watch this space!
