Just a quick note to say there’s only 2 more days to see my solo show ‘Northern Lights‘ at Graystone Gallery in Stockbridge, Edinburgh.
There’s around 40 works in total, including several new oil paintings, etchings and Watercolours.
I’ve also included 3 different coloured versions of my Glitter Moon series of prints, each framed in non-reflective, museum-quality glass and currently available to buy only at Graystone Gallery.
The etchings have proved to be very popular, with A Hot Summer’s Day, Elie (seen below) having garnered 4 red dots so far. I have to thank Duncan MacMillan for his positive review in The Scotsman, describing my etchings as “certainly impressive”!
If you’d like a little more detail about the show and see a lot more pictures then I’ve written a blog post which can be found here. Or you can go directly to the gallery’s Northern Lights catalogue here.
Opening times are listed below:
Graystone GAllery OPENING TIMES
Mon-Tues: Viewings and private sales by appointment
And despite the inclement weather it turned out to be a busy private viewing, with people travelling from as far as Aberdeen, Glasgow and Fife for a first look at my latest work.
Over 40 of My Paintings & Prints on Show
With around 40 original pieces hanging across the gallery, it’s a real showcase of everything I’ve been working towards over the past 15 years.
The show is divided into three areas: oils, mixed media and etchings …
… with the pictures hung according to those groupings and in roughly equal numbers.
All in the name
I chose the title Northern Lights as it aptly reflects the nature and atmosphere of the majority of the work included in the exhibition. There are 12 oil paintings in the show, including the 3 above, which feature either Scottish lighthouses or shimmering twilight views across the Firth of Forth.
Glitter Moons – Yellow, Blue and Pink, etching and screenprint – 69x80cm (framed individually)
I’ve also included 3 original prints from my ‘luminous’ Glitter Moon series (above), as well as numerous colourful watercolours of Edinburgh and the East Neuk of Fife.
Dean Village (Sunset), mixed media – 79x97cm
The Old Town, (Twilight) mixed media – 73x87cm
It’s not all about light and colour, however. In my etchings I focus more on the details, marks and tones that help to give each of the prints something distinctly different from all of my other work. On one wall you’ll find various craggy Scottish mountains and ruined castles, including Ben Nevis and Dunnottar. These are accompanied by atmospheric cityscapes of Edinburgh’s Old Town, Victoria Street and Dean Village …
… while on the opposite wall are more etchings of seascapes, including the old piers at both Culross and Aberdour (both shown below).
I’ll be back at the gallery on 24 February (2-4pm) for an Artist Talk, where I’ll discuss how I made these paintings and prints and also inspirations. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have too.
So if you’d like to attend then please get in touch with gallery owner Lesley at: lesley@graystonegallery.com
Northern Lights is on show now at Graystone Gallery in Edinburgh’s gorgeous Stockbridge and continues until 10 March 2024. If you manage to get along to see it then please get in touch and let me know what you think at cliveramage@gmail.com
Some words from Graystone Gallery about the show …
“Look closely at the oil paintings in Northern Lights and you can sense a love of Whistler’s London nocturnes. Clive imbues his oils of lighthouses and the darker seascapes with that same feeling of delicate stillness and calm, building it with layer upon layer of transparent glazes …
The ramshackle buildings and highly detailed compositions and colour schemes of Schiele and Klimt’s landscapes have also had a big influence, which can be seen in the watercolours of coastal villages and Edinburgh in particular …
In each of Clive’s works, there is a tangible sense of yearning, of a desire to create something that is beautiful, yet distant or unattainable. It’s there in those city lights twinkling and beckoning the viewer from far across the Firth of Forth …
But there is also a drama at play in these atmospheric pieces that comes from a deeply felt need to create a perfectly constructed arrangement, or a harmonious symphony, out of the interplay between the land, the sea and the elements. Or, perhaps, the essence of Clive’s work is simply his attempt to try to capture and hold on to some long-sought feeling of calm and serenity.”
Inverness Creative Academy, just a 2 minute walk up the hill from the Eastgate in the city centre and 5 minute walk from the train station
The Assembly Hall at ICA has to be the most beautiful gallery space I’ve ever seen, never mind shown my work in, and I’m delighted with how my 20 paintings and 18 prints look in such a fabulously well-lit and stunning exhibition space.
The staircase provided the perfect place for my 3 Glitter Moons, leading visitors to the upstairs level to where my etchings and watercolours are hanging.
A panoramic view of the landing where 13 of my etchings are on show
The whole gallery benefits from wonderful natural light provided by the many windows and the great arched window on the stairwell. In addition to that there’s a spotlight above every single picture and this really shows off my work beautifully.
Photo etchings, oil and watercolour paintings and my partner Pam enjoying a cup of tea in the cafe
I had some incredible help over the two-day installation from resident artist and ICA technician Martin Irish
The view from upstairs showing my oil and watercolour paintings
And before even half of my pictures were on the walls I was presented with a glowing review of the show by Gael Hillyard, who did a wonderful job of describing the effect my oil paintings and Glitter Moons had on her. Read the full review here.
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)
One of the greatest joys of being an artist, alongside getting to do what you love on a daily basis, is when you get a request to use one of your pieces for something other than to adorn a wall.
Over the years, my work has been used to promote whisky (Tobermory) as well as various exhibitions, including the RSA and SSA annual open shows. More recently I was contacted by The Fortnightly Review with a request to use my etching of The Old Pier, Aberdour to illustrate a memoir they were about to publish by author John Matthias. Of course I gave my consent and was delighted to be given an opportunity to have my work published in such an august and highly respected literary journal.
The memoir itself is the fascinating and highly evocative story of a family who have had a very close personal connection with Aberdour and the old iron pier over the past 100 years. I loved reading how that decrepit old pile of rusted iron had once played a significant role in the First World War, allowing naval sailors to land closer to home in Fife before their battleships went on to dock at Rosyth further round the coast. Never in a million years would I have guessed at anything of this history and, had I not made that etching and posted a picture of it on my website, the editor would never have contacted me and I’d still be unaware of the intriguing past life of what is a very familiar landmark! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, art often opens up conversations that can lead to the forming of new relationships, business ventures or even inspire all kinds of other things which might not otherwise happen or … or in this case, be discovered.
I was particularly surprised to read that the entire Grand Fleet of the British navy – comprising scores of battleships and support vessels – had dropped anchor in the Firth of Forth on 11th November 1918 (Armistice Day). And how there had been “excuberant rejoicing” with fireworks and dancing on board the ships that lay across the length and breadth of the firth like a pontoon bridge when the Germans finally surrendered.
The Old Iron, Aberdour
I currently have 2 of these etchings available at half price in my Big Cartel shop. That’s just £100 each using discount code 5WXW5X. Click here to visit my shop or send me an email if you’d like more information and .
To find out more about the pier and to read this beautifully evocative memoir of life in and around Aberdour during wartime, and through the decades since, click here.
Here’s a link to some incredible footage showing the Grand Fleet at sea during WW1.
Here’s a quick note to tellk you about two paintings I have available to buy at arTay 2020. It’s an online only show, of course, but still runs for just 4 days (ending on Sunday 31st May). So you best get in quick if you want to buy one of these two or something else from one of the 80 artists also showing.
It’s been great to sell some of my work directly via the #artistsupportpledge on Instagram recently. And I’m very excited to unwrap my first pledge purchase today. I bought it having reached £1000 in sales through the scheme and, as promised, I’ll also be sending £100 to Dunfermline Food Bank this week. (See below for more details on how it all works.)
Despite the Covid19 lockdown, I do still have paintings and prints available to buy from Marchmont Gallery, Edinburgh. It’s currently closed to the public, but my pictures can still be viewed and purchased there online.
Click the link below to browse the brochure from my recent solo and contact the gallery if there’s something that takes your fancy.
And here’s a little more info on Artists Support Pledge
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists have found themselves without work, teaching, technical support and gallery work. Exhibitions and sales have disappeared. ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE is an attempt to help alleviate some of this.
The concept is a simple one. Artists post images of their work, on Instigram which they are willing to sell for no more than £200 each (not including shipping). Anyone can buy the work. Every time an artist reaches £1000 of sales, they pledge to spend £200 on another artist/s work.
Search for pictures using #artistsupportpledge; or use the same tag to sell your own work. Simple!
After a busy few months of painting, I had the opening of my solo show at Marchmont Gallery last Sunday. It was a fantastic afternoon and stayed busy throughout, with a number of people taking away paintings and prints. It was great to have so many people come along and I’d like to say a big “Thank You!” to all those who made it and to all at Marchmont Gallery for being great hosts!
Some of my paintings at Marchmont Gallery
I’ll be topping up the show over the coming weeks, but had to take a week off to recover from the inevitable post-show cold that kept me in bed for days afterwards. I have been thinking about what’s to come though and can’t wait to get back to the easel on Monday.
A wall of work
On the painting front, I’ve been really enjoying using acrylics on larger-scale plywood panels and have prepared 2 new ones to get started on. As is the case with these, I often like to use the golden ratio to determine picture dimensions and sometimes compositional elements too; here’s a recent example below, but there are others in the Marchmont show.
St Monans, Acrylic on panel 98 x 60.5cm
I am hoping to get away soon in my campervan to explore some new areas I haven’t painted before. Possibly a trip to Orkney or even further afield. The Faroe Islands are top of my list for etching inspiration and I can see a lot of printmaking happening over the summer months if I make it there.
At the framers before the show
If you get along to the show, do get in touch and let me know your thoughts. It’s always great to get any kind of feedback!
It’s been a very productive start to 2020 and I have two new shows coming up this month. There’s my solo show From Edinburgh To The Moon at Marchmont Gallery, which previews on Sunday 16th Feb. And I’ll also be taking part in a printmaking show at Frames Gallery, opening this Friday. All details below …
The Old Town (Crescent Moon) will be on Show at Marchmont Gallery
From Edinburgh to The Moon
I’m currently putting the finishing touches to the last few paintings that will be included in my solo show at Marchmont Gallery and titled From Edinburgh To The Moon. It’ll be a selection of recent mixed-media paintings (including these below) of Edinburgh and Scottish coastal scenes, as well as some hand-made etchings and prints. I will have at least 25 original pieces large and small hanging and can’t wait to see how they look as a collection. You are most welcome to come along to the opening on the 16th (1-4pm) where I’ll be happy to chat about my work and answer any questions. There will also be drinks and nibbles!
Solo Exhibition – Marchmont Gallery, Edinburgh (Preview 16 Feb 1-4pm, all welcome!) Runs until 22 March.
Cellardyke
The Royal Mile
St Monans
St Monans Harbour
Dean Village (Sunset)
St Monans (Blue and Red Boat)
Fife Dunfermline Printmakers Workshop at Frames Gallery
This Friday 7th marks the opening of the Fife Dunfermline Printmakers Workshop exhibition at the lovely Frames Gallery in Perth. The preview is from 6-8pm and there will be around 80 works including a great variety of printmaking techniques and a huge array of subject matter produced by my talented colleagues at the workshop in Dunfermline. I have the following 4 pieces in the show and, altogether, it looks like a fantastic exhibition of work. So go along if you’re in the Perth area and we’ll maybe see you on Friday.
Frames Gallery, Perth (Preview 6-8pm, all welcome!) Runs until 29 February.
I have these 2 pictures on show and for sale at the annual St Columbas Hospice charity exhibition in Edinburgh this weekend, which officially opens tomorrow with a drinks reception between 6-8pm. It’s a great cause, with at least 50% of all sales revenue going to help with the wonderful palliative care work they do there.
Dean Village iv
It’s on all weekend and there’s always lots of good art to see and buy. Maybe see you there.