Festival of Sail: The Tall Ships Races, Aberdeen 2025It’s hard to believe that it’s already a year since Aberdeen welcomed the Tall Ships back to the city. Like so many others, I spent hours wandering around the harbour with my camera, soaking up the wonderful atmosphere that spread right across the waterfront.
When Port of Aberdeen later commissioned me to create a painting to commemorate the event, I wanted it to become a lasting reminder of an occasion that meant so much to the city. More than simply celebrating the magnificent ships, I hoped it would reflect the excitement, community spirit and sense of civic pride that made those four days so memorable.
The finished painting looks across the harbour from Blaikie’s Quay towards Regent Quay, with Aberdeen’s distinctive granite skyline providing the backdrop. The ships, city and harbour are shown as they were, while colourful bunting, signs and bustling crowds help convey the harbour at its busiest and most vibrant. I wanted the finished painting to feel like Aberdeen at its very best during the Tall Ships – full of colour, joy and life.
When the painting was unveiled earlier this year, Bob Sanguinetti, Chief Executive of Port of Aberdeen, kindly said that I had “perfectly captured the essence of the event which can now be enjoyed for generations to come.” Hearing those words meant a great deal because they echoed exactly what I had hoped to achieve.
Since then, one of the questions I’ve been asked most often is whether prints of the painting would be available. I’m delighted to say that they now are.
I’ve produced two fine art editions: a larger signed and numbered A1 Limited Edition of just 150 prints, professionally reproduced on beautiful Hahnemühle fine art paper, and an A2 open edition, offering the same image in a slightly smaller format while maintaining the same exceptional print quality.
Whether you visited the Tall Ships, volunteered during the event, boarded or even sailed on one of the vessels or simply have a love of Aberdeen and its maritime heritage, I hope these prints provide a lasting reminder of an extraordinary few days in the city’s history.
Both editions are now available to order from my online shop. Prints can also be purchased and framed at:
Framing Point, Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen
Frameworks, Bishopton Kinneler, AB210TX
As always, thank you for following and supporting my work and I hope you like the picture.
Chaos & Control – Printmaking in Scotland Now
I’m delighted to have two of my etchings included in Chaos and Control: Printmaking in Scotland Now, currently showing at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh (until 26 June 2026).
The exhibition brings together the work of many of Scotland’s leading contemporary printmakers, celebrating the incredible breadth and diversity of printmaking being produced across the country today. Curated by acclaimed printmaker Ade Adesina RSA and RSA Head of Programme Flora La Thangue, the exhibition explores both the traditional craftsmanship and the innovative approaches that continue to make printmaking such an exciting medium.
For me, printmaking has always been a vital part of my artistic practice. Although many people know me primarily as a painter, I have spent many years exploring traditional intaglio techniques, producing etchings that are every bit as carefully considered and time-intensive as my paintings. It’s a highly technical, process driven artform and I love the fact that, while it still allows me to be creative in the same ways being a painter does, the day to day job of printmaking feels and is completely different to working on canvas or with paint.
The two works selected for the exhibition are inspired by Dunnottar Castle’s dramatic clifftop position and are viewed from two different angles. The etchings were produced using traditional copper plate methods. Hard-ground line establishes the structure, followed by successive layers of aquatint to build tone and atmosphere. The plates were repeatedly bitten, adjusted and, in some areas, worked back through scraping and burnishing to recover light. The final images emerge through this process of construction, erosion and recovery, reflecting the same forces of weathering and resistance seen in the landscape itself.
It was a real pleasure to attend the opening evening, to meet up with some old friends and to see such an inspiring collection of work brought together under one roof. The exhibition showcases established names alongside emerging artists and demonstrates just how vibrant Scotland’s printmaking community continues to be.
If you’re in Edinburgh before 26 July, I’d highly recommend paying it a visit. Admission is free, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to experience the richness and variety of contemporary Scottish printmaking.
Aberdeen Art Gallery Micro Commission – How I made the prints you can still see in the city art gallery
Transformation & Anticipation at Aberdeen Art Gallery
I was recently in Aberdeen Art Gallery and was delighted to see that two of the three prints I made for them were still on show after 2 years. They’re on the 1st floor in the Oot n Aboot exhibition, which brings together pictures and stories of local residents and their shared experience of living in the city.
Click here if you’d like to read the original Micro Commission article, which was written shortly after presenting the prints to Aberdeen Art Galleries & Museum in 2023. Click here if you’d like to read the original Micro Commission artic, which was written shortly after presenting the prints to Aberdeen Art Galleries & Museum in 2023.
I’ve been asked many times how I made the 3 different prints, so here is a fairly in-depth breakdown of the entire process; from my original application for the Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums (AAGM) commission, to getting the pictures made, framed and on the wall.
The Application
I was initially told about the AAGM Micro-commissions by a studio colleague the day before the deadline. I was in the middle of moving into my new studio and packing for a New Year trip to Crovie the following day. However, as a relative newcomer to Aberdeen and having spent many hours admiring the gallery’s fantastic collection, my interest had been piqued! I downloaded the application form as soon as she left and had a first draft written within an hour.
Applicants were asked to say something about their lived experience in the city, addressing themes that might include social justice, climate change, identity, diversity, representation, well-being and migration, while responding to something that was already part of the AAGM collection. The Micro-commissions could be small in scale and created over a short time period. I thought it could be a challenge to come up with an exciting print-based project that would test some of my recently-acquired printmaking skills, especially in screen and photopolymer printing. And, in the unlikely event my proposal was successful, I might just about manage to complete the rather ambitious project I had put together in my mind, despite having already committed to 2 solo shows and another important commission – all of which were to be fulfilled before the AAGM June deadline.
So the first day of our supposedly relaxing holiday was spent rewriting my application (with considerable editorial help from my patient and very understanding partner) and it was submitted within an hour of the deadline. Then, having never applied for anything like this before, I resignedly put the whole experience down to practice and relaxed for the rest of our trip.
Around 4 weeks later, having forgotten all about my application and while frantically finishing several paintings and working on the final preparations for my early March solo show, I received an email to say my proposal had in fact been successful. My initial elation and surprise at this great news were suddenly followed by a gut-wrenching dread that I might just have overstretched myself! But I do love a challenge and that’s exactly what the following 5 months proved to be!
The Proposal
In selecting a work from the AAGM collection as an initial reference for my own project, John Piper’s powerfully atmospheric painting of Dunnottar Castle immediately sprang to mind. Like many of his works, it perfectly captures with great drama and deceptive simplicity the beauty that can often be found even in a crumbling old building. This got me thinking about how the disintegration of one thing can lead to something new and possibly even more beautiful in its place (a painting in this instance, but also the castle itself).
From here I travelled north in my mind to Aberdeen city centre and thought of the recently opened Union Terrace Gardens and how they have helped to rejuvenate that part of the city.
I then took a short trip across the road to the recently demolished Aberdeen Market and pondered how that has provided an opportunity and also some hope that something better might arise out of the dust and rubble.
I decided to produce a triptych of handmade prints exploring the theme of disintegration in relation to those three well-loved local sites. To bring these ideas into fruition I wanted to use three different printmaking techniques, which would reflect the past, present and the future in their own way.
Here are some work-in-progress images and details that I hope will shed some light on the various processes used in creating each print:
Disintegration
Disintegration, the first piece in the triptych, is a traditional copper-plate etching inspired by John Piper’s painting of Dunnottar Castle.
Beginning to develop areas of tone across the whole image using a combination of aquatint, sugar lift and spit bite methods. Sugar lift involves painting the aquatinted areas where tone is required with a syrupy solution – Camp Coffee in this instance – then coating the whole plate with a protective varnish. The plate is then submerged in hot water and the sugar solution ‘lifts’ off the plate and through the varnish, allowing the exposed areas only to be bitten by acid to create tone. Spit bite combines gum arabic with nitric acid which is applied directly onto those aquatinted areas with a brush. Tonal washes can now be layered up by adding more or less spit bite in a painterly, watercolour-like manner.)
Transformation
The middle piece, Transformation, depicts Union Terrace Gardens and contrasts old and new features now present in the gardens and also in the method used to create the print; in that it combines ancient etching techniques alongside photography.
(‘Calendering’ involves running the paper through an etching press under a steel plate in order to flatten out an irregular or rough surface. This results in a smoother, more photographic final image when printed using this method. Other papers could have been used, but, as this is part of a triptych, it was important to maintain continuity of tone and colour. Using the same paper for all three prints helped with that.)
This was an early failed attempt using plastic as a support for the film. I used steel in the successful print which holds the film better and is more robust during the inking and printing stages.
Chine collé (a technique using coloured tissue which is sandwiched between the ink and the support paper) cut to shape and added to colour the base of the podium and the circular pendant light. The poles were hand finished with watercolour.
Chine collé paper is glued and in place prior to positioning the support paper on top before it is all run through the press. The pressure will adhere the tissue (glue side up) onto the support paper and the ink will be printed from underneath onto both surfaces.
The steel plate used as a support for the photosensitive film was cut to be slightly larger than the final image, creating a debossed ‘frame’.
Anticipation
Anticipation focuses on the Aberdeen Market area and poses the question: what does the future hold for this site? The imagery for this three-colour screen print was created entirely in Photoshop.
Photoshop was used to combine a drone-captured digital image with an interpretation of the Herakut mural from the old Aberdeen Market. Three colour separations were then produced: one combining the main background image and the Old Market mural and one each for the gold question mark and the silver Aberdeen Market text.
Manipulating a photograph of the old Aberdeen Market in Photoshop. Note the removal of the lighthouse and how the hand is now upturned to hold the question mark.
After editing the background, I combined a ‘ghost’ image of the girl and old market along with the gold question mark and text in layers to create 3 colour separations to produce the screens for printing the final piece. In the end I decided to hand-paint the question mark screen separation as I wasn’t satisfied with any of the fonts I tried, including the one seen above.
Testing different colours of ink for the Aberdeen Market text. Silver foil and glitter were also tried at this stage, but I went with a silvery grey to reflect Aberdeen as the Silver City.
The Micro Commission Experience
Working on the AAGM Micro-commission has been a fantastic experience as well as a great opportunity to learn. Not only because it has allowed me to develop and test my skills in traditional and photopolymer etching, as well as screen printing, but the funding that was provided by the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums has also enabled me to produce an entirely new stand-alone series of prints that are quite different from anything I have done before. It is also wonderful to know that my triptych has been accessioned into the AAGM permanent collection.
I would advise anyone who is interested in applying to the next round of Micro-commissions to absolutely go for it. This has been a hugely rewarding experience and has shown me what I can achieve under intense pressure.
And finally …
Finally, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU once again to the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums for providing the £2500 funding that enabled my Micro Commission, and many thanks also to Shona Elliot and all the staff at AAGM for their excellent support throughout. I’d also like to thank the staff at Peacock Print Studio and, in particular, James Vaas and Struan Hamilton who have both been very generous with their time, patience and expertise throughout this process.
An Artistic Journey with the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB)
A Commission from the Commissioners
Back in early 2024, I slipped a simple flyer through the doors of the Northern Lighthouse Board’s Edinburgh headquarters, affectionately known as 84 George Street by those who work there. It was an invitation to a talk for my upcoming solo exhibition, Northern Lights — a collection celebrating the beauty, history, and resilience of Scotland’s lighthouses.
I had no idea that this small act would lead to one of the most meaningful commissions of my career.
A few weeks later, CEO Mike Bullock and Heritage Trust chair Alastair Beveridge attended my gallery talk. During the event, I shared the story of an earlier architectural commission for Strathberry Ltd. When I unrolled a full-size print of that painting, it caught their eye. Alastair even bought the print on the spot!
Not long after, they invited me to discuss creating a bespoke painting of their George Street headquarters — a building steeped in history and purpose.
Stepping Inside 84 George Street
Walking into the NLB’s HQ is like stepping into a hidden world. From the elegant Georgian exterior, you’d never guess just how vast and intricate the interior is. Room after room tells a story, many filled with antique furniture and commissioned artworks that span more than 250 years of maritime history.
It’s not just a building — it’s the operational nerve centre for every lighthouse in Scotland and the Isle of Man, a place where history and innovation coexist.
Bringing the Vision to Life
For a building and commission like this, getting the perspective right was crucial. Using my drone, I captured images from multiple angles, ensuring I could represent everything — from the roofline to the subtle details of the lower levels — without distortion.
Some of my favourite touches include the subtle flash of the Bell Rock lighthouse decoration, glowing in the night sky, and the gold leaf accents used to portray the brass door furnishings. The deep blue evening sky contrasts beautifully with the warm sienna tones of the stonework. And then there were the flags — trickier to paint than they look — which needed to be clear and recognisable while still looking as though they were naturally blowing in the wind.
The Finished Painting
It took about four weeks to complete the painting, with a few much-needed sanity breaks along the way! Getting the geometry of the paving slabs right was also a challenge, but a rainy day in Edinburgh gave me great reference photos — the wet stones reflected the light perfectly, adding depth and richness to the foreground of the piece.
The final painting captures what I hoped for: a sense of atmosphere and purpose, where architectural beauty meets the vital work of the NLB in guiding mariners safely home.
A Personal Milestone Achieved on Handover
This commission wasn’t just another art project; it was the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition to work with the Northern Lighthouse Board.
As someone who grew up in Arbroath, watching the Bell Rock lighthouse flash every night from my bedroom window, and who has long been fascinated by Scotland’s lighthouses — thanks in part to Bella Bathurst’s The Lighthouse Stevensons — this collaboration felt like everything coming full circle.
Handing the painting over to Mike and Alastair was a proud and humbling moment. I’m delighted with how the painting turned out, and even happier that the team at the NLB felt the same when I delivered it personally to 84 George Street.
A Proud Moment
I recently returned to NLB HQ and was genuinely moved to see my painting hanging just inside the main entrance. It’s a little surreal to know that my work has now become part of the building’s story.
The moment was topped off when I opened the Summer 2025 edition of the NLB Journal and spotted a feature about the painting and its handover. Several staff members have since ordered prints — some to be given as retirement gifts for NLB staff — a gesture that feels like the highest compliment an artist can receive.
Prints Now Available
If you’re as obsessed with lighthouses as I am and would like to have a beautiful Giclee print of the Northern Lighthouse Board’s Edinburgh HQ, just send me an email at: cliveramage@gmail.com and we can arrange for one to be sent out to you.
Next Up
I’ll be sharing another post soon, showing the step-by-step process of how this painting came to life — from initial sketches to the final framed piece — so keep an eye out for that update.
Orkney Saga: How a Journey to Orkney Changed the Way I See & Paint the Scottish Landscape
The Moment of Change
As an artist, there are moments in your career when you feel a profound shift in your work—when something clicks, and you realise that the art you’re creating is no longer the same. This is exactly what happened with my latest lighthouse paintings, which were recently delivered to Ballater Gallery. Looking at them now, I believe these works are my best yet, but what stands out most to me isn’t just the finished product. It’s the journey I took to get here.
Seeking New Inspiration
In June of 2024, I felt it was time for a new source of inspiration. After years of painting skies and seas dominated by rich Prussian blues, I started to feel a yearning for something different. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and explore new landscapes that could challenge and refine my artistic vision. After much thought, I knew exactly where to go: Orkney.
Why Orkney?
Orkney is a place that has long been celebrated for its natural beauty and unique light, and I have always heard that many artists and poets have found it to be a deeply inspiring place. What intrigued me most was the idea of its “special light” and how it changes with the weather, time of day and season. Orkney’s rugged, windswept landscapes, with their quiet solitude and vast skies, have captivated many before me—and now, they were calling to me as well.
The Impact of Orkney’s Light
Upon arriving, it didn’t take long for me to see how different this place was from anywhere else I’d been. The soft, ethereal quality of Orkney’s light shifted my perspective, albeit without my realising it at the time. I’d come to associate the intense, vibrant hues of Prussian blue with the sea and sky. But here, I found something new and more muted, more natural: an expansive range of greys that seemed to embrace the land, sky and sea in a way that felt more intimate. The colours weren’t just what I saw—they were how I felt, a reflection of the atmosphere itself.
A Subtle Shift in Palette
This shift in palette is something I hadn’t consciously planned, but it emerged as I spent more time on the island, sketching and photographing lighthouses and the coastal landscape, as violent winds constantly roared around me and the rain poured down almost all of the time. The greys in the sky, the soft blues in the water, the shifting clouds—all seemed to whisper to me to pare things back, to allow nature to be the star. In contrast to the bold blues of my previous work, these new paintings feel quieter, more contemplative and more grounded. That’s not to say I won’t ever use Prussian blue again, but right now I am enjoying the serenity of working with this new palette.
Unaware of the Change
What is most exciting to me is that I wasn’t even aware that this change was happening until it was already underway. It’s as if the spirit of Orkney, with its elusive light and rugged beauty, had gently guided me toward a new phase in my artistic journey—one that has already had a profound impact on how I view and represent the world around me (as can be seen in the above painting Scurdie Ness, Montrose, also at Ballater Gallery).
A New Chapter in My Work
These two new lighthouse paintings—my most recent works—mark the beginning of this new chapter. And although I am proud of these paintings and excited by the new direction of my work, I know there’s still so much more to explore and achieve. Orkney has not only inspired these paintings but has also sparked a deeper understanding of my own personal and artistic relationship with light, landscape and the subtle yet powerful shifts that occur in the natural world … and I can’t wait to see where I go from here!
Looking Ahead
As always, I’m excited to continue sharing my journey with you.
Thank you for joining me on this wee adventure—both through my art and the landscapes that continue to inspire it!
In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for more exciting news about a very special commission I’ve been working on recently. I can’t wait to share more about all of that with you very soon!
Strathberry Commission
Just in time for Christmas and after several months in the making, I am delighted to share some very exciting news about recent work I have been doing for top Scottish luxury leather goods brand Strathberry.
For those of you who don’t know, Strathberry is based in Edinburgh’s West End and has a retail outlet in the city’s Multrees Walk, along with 3 stunning boutiques in London’s Covent Garden, Kings Road and Burlington Arcade.
They are internationally renowned for producing high quality, beautifully hand-crafted handbags and are the go-to brand for the likes of Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle according to Marie Claire.
The Commission
It was just over a year ago that I was approached by Amber, Chief Marketing Officer at Strathberry, in a particularly serendipitous twist of fate. The company was about to celebrate its 10th anniversary and wished to use their stunning 4 storey Georgian townhouse, in Edinburgh’s Melville Street, as the new face of the brand. She had googled ‘Edinburgh artist’ and, as a result of that search, came across a previous blog post of mine where I had detailed the various stages towards completion of a commission I had recently done of a similar townhouse in the city’s Rutland Square (see that image below and click here to read that post).
Impressed by the end results of that project and looking for something similar but uniquely ‘Strathberry’, they commissioned me to produce a detailed ink drawing of their HQ. The brief was not only to create something that was representative but something that could also be utilised in a variety of novel ways going forward: for example, an image that might be flexible enough to appear on packaging, tissue paper and product care booklets, as well as being featured in a variety of media online and in print.
With all of that in mind, I created the image above – deceptively simple in design and finish, but far from simple to produce. In order to fit the whole building into the frame (including the roof and chimneys as well as the basement) I had to somehow show it from mid height (I used a drone to get a variety of photos at different heights for this purpose). However, this created its own problems in that a bird’s eye perspective had the effect of warping the entire image, revealing too much basement and moving the focal point away from what I hoped would be a welcoming doorway that would lead the viewers into the building – so to speak.
In the end, and after a couple of time consuming false starts, I managed to compose an image which shows the entire building without warping the perspective at all, while giving equal prominence to every storey (roof and basement too) but maintaining the entrance way as the main focal point. I submitted my final ink drawing in April and, thankfully, Strathberry owners Guy and Leanne were delighted with the result.
Now it was time to paint the townhouse (see below)!
Again, I wanted to keep the painting as simple but effective as possible, while showing the Strathberry townhouse at its very best. 34 Melville Street, Edinburgh is not only the company HQ, but it’s also the place where products are designed and marketed (as shown to great effect in the magical Christmas animation above). It also happens to house a sumptuous showroom on the ground floor. All in all, Strathberry HQ is an extremely elegant Edinburgh townhouse – sophisticated, yet warm and welcoming – and I hope to have created something that reflects those qualities with these images.
Commissions are never straight forward or relaxed affairs but, much to my relief, Guy and Leanne were again delighted with the final painting, which I delivered in June (see handover picture below).
I’ll post a more detailed account of the whole procedure in a future blog piece, including a stage by stage breakdown of the creative process involved. But for now I just wanted to show the final images produced for this prestigious commission and give a little more information about how Strathberry have been using my images to help celebrate their 10th anniversary and also to showcase their stunning World Heritage listed HQ.
And and how’s this for a bit of unashamed name dropping … ? I was recently informed that ex US president Bill Clinton, while on a shopping trip to London, was entranced by the animation while walking through the Burlington Arcade store. So much so that after watching the whole clip he was enticed into the store and purchased 4 handbags for Hilary and Chelsea!
Strathberry have also used an inverted version of the ink drawing on menus for a recent press event at the Kimpton Hotel in Edinburgh.
The Strathberry story will continue to develop over coming years and I am very excited to see how the image I created for the company will be utilised in exciting new ways going forward.
In the meantime, I hope to do more of this kind of work in future. So if you are looking for a similar (but different!) picture of your own elegant townhouse, or anywhere else for that matter, and would like to discuss how to make that happen, then please do not hesitate to get in touch via the contact page or by emailing me at: cliveramage@gmail.com
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year!
Scottish Landscape Awards at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh (4 Nov 2023 – 3 March 2024)
Saturday 4 November saw the opening of the inaugural Scottish Landscape Awards (SLAs) at Edinburgh’s City Art Centre.
And I was delighted to be able to attend the highly anticipated private view of this prestigious new exhibition the evening before, having had my etching of Dunnottar Castle shortlisted for the SLAs back in July.
It was one of only 133 artworks to be shortlisted from almost 3000 entries and, although it didn’t win a prize, I was extremely proud to see it hanging in a fantastic spot in one of the country’s best and most visited public galleries.
It was a wonderful evening of catching up with some old friends in my former Edinburgh stomping ground, as well as meeting a few of my own favourite artists for the first time. It also allowed me to see what’s happening right now at the sharp end of Scottish landscape painting and printmaking.
The variety of work on show at the Scottish Landscape Awards – not to mention the talent and skill employed to create it – ensure that this is a hugely enjoyable exhibition for artists and art lovers alike, showcasing the country’s huge diversity in subject matter and the many different and intriguing techniques used to create the pieces.
And, of course, its always great to see your work shown alongside your peers and some of this country’s most successful and admired artists.
My image of Dunnottar Castle came about as part of a commission I was awarded by Aberdeen Art Galleries & Museums in January 2023. Click here to learn more about and the various printmaking methods I used in its creation. I am also very proud to have an artist’s proof of this print, along with the 3 others I produced for that commission, in Aberdeen Art Galleries & Museums’ permanent art collection.
This has been a particularly busy and hugely rewarding year for me so far: with two successful solo shows under my belt at Frames Gallery in Perth and Inverness Creative Academy; the aforementioned commission from Aberdeen Art Galleries & Museums; and another for luxury Edinburgh-based leather goods brand Strathberry Ltd (of which there will be more to report soon).
And having my work included in the inaugural Scottish Landscape Awards exhibition, as well as featured in the gorgeous catalogue that accompanies the show, means that this has also been my most successful year to date.
But it doesn’t end there for 2023, or for this particular print! I am happy to say that Dunnottar Castle is also featured in the Meffan Art Gallery annual winter show, which opened in Forfar on Friday 10 November.
As for the rest of the year, I will be working hard to produce new paintings and prints for my next solo show, which is at Graystone Gallery in Edinburgh in February. Details to follow, but I am excited to be the first artist to have a solo show at their brand-new gallery premises in Stockbridge.
The Scottish Landscape Awards is on until 3 March 2024 at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh. Click here to buy a gorgeous catalogue featuring every picture in the exhibition.
Dunnottar Castle, in a limited edition of only 40 signed and numbered prints, is currently available to purchase (in a frame) at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh and the Meffan Institute, Forfar. Unframed prints can also be bought directly from my shop by clicking here.
St Columba’s Hospice Art Show – opens in Edinburgh this Sat 28 October
Just a quick update to say I have 4 etchings for sale as part of the annual St Columba’s Hospice charity fundraising event, which opens to the public this Saturday 28th October at 10am.
I’ve been taking part in this fantastic event every year for almost a decade and it’s always a great show. This year promises to be bigger and better than ever with paintings and prints by over 70 artists, alongside a selection of sculptures, ceramics and tapestries.
Buying art, helping others
At least 50% of every penny spent on art over this weekend goes directly to the charity, so it’s a great way to buy something you’ll love and cherish forever while helping the hospice continue to do its incredible work.
This year I have contributed the 4 pieces you can see here. But you’ve only got 2 days to see the show in person and snap them up (although the works can be viewed and purchased online between 10am Saturday 28th October and Friday 3rd November). Click here for the direct link to the online exhibition!
So if you’re in Edinburgh or fancy a day out then get along to the stunning St Columba’s Hospice building this coming Saturday or Sunday between 10-4pm and treat yourself to something beautiful … you know you deserve it! It’s worth the trip for the incredible views across the Firth of Forth alone!
Here’s where to find the art show. It’s free to enter and on-street parking is available:
17 Boswall Road, Edinburgh EH5 3RW
Aberdeen Art Galleries and Museums – Micro Commission
How it all came about
I was initially told about the Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums (AAGM) Micro-commissions by a studio colleague the day before the deadline. I was in the middle of moving into my new studio and packing for a New Year trip to Crovie the following day. However, as a relative newcomer to Aberdeen and having spent many hours admiring the gallery’s fantastic collection, my interest had been piqued! I downloaded the application form and had a first draft written within an hour.
The brief
Applicants were asked to say something about their lived experience in the city, addressing themes that might include social justice, climate change, identity, well-being and migration, while responding to something that was already part of the AAGM collection.
I thought it could be a challenge to come up with an exciting print-based project that would test some of my recently acquired printmaking skills, especially in screen and photopolymer printing. And, in the unlikely event my proposal was successful, I might just about manage to complete the rather ambitious project I had put together in my mind, despite having already committed to 2 solo shows and another important commission – all of which were to be fulfilled before the AAGM June deadline!
No holiday for me … not yet anyway!
So the first day of our supposedly relaxing holiday was spent editing my application and it was submitted within an hour of the deadline.
Having never applied for anything like this before, I resignedly put the whole experience down to good practice and relaxed for the rest of our trip.
Success!
Around 4 weeks later, having forgotten all about my application and while frantically finishing several paintings and working on the final preparations for my early March solo show, I received an email to say my proposal had in fact been successful!
My initial elation and surprise at this great news were suddenly followed by a gut-wrenching dread that I might just have overstretched myself! But I do love a challenge and that’s exactly what the following 5 months proved to be!
The Proposal
In selecting a work from the AAGM collection as an initial reference for my own project, John Piper’s powerfully atmospheric painting of Dunnottar Castle immediately sprang to mind. Like many of his works, it perfectly captures with great drama and deceptive simplicity the beauty that can often be found even in a crumbling old building. This got me thinking about how the disintegration of one thing can lead to something new and possibly even more beautiful in its place (a painting in this instance, but also the castle itself).
From here I travelled north in my mind to Aberdeen city centre and thought of the recently opened Union Terrace Gardens and how they have helped to rejuvenate that part of the city.
I then took a short trip across Union Street to the recently demolished Aberdeen Market and pondered how that has provided an opportunity (and also hope) that something better might arise out of the dust and rubble.
I decided to produce a triptych of handmade prints exploring the theme of disintegration in relation to those three well-loved local sites. To bring these ideas to fruition I wanted to use three different printmaking techniques, which would reflect the past, present and future in their own way.
Three Different subjects printed three different ways
Disintegration
Disintegration, the first piece in the triptych, is a traditional copper-plate etching inspired by John Piper’s painting of Dunnottar Castle.
Transformation
The middle piece, Transformation, depicts Union Terrace Gardens and contrasts old and new features now present in the gardens and also in the methods used to create the print.
It combines very traditional etching techniques like chine collé above to add colour to the print …
… alongside methods employed in contemporary digital photography.
Anticipation
Anticipation focuses on the Aberdeen Market area and poses the question: what does the future hold for this site?
Photoshop was used to combine a drone-captured digital image with an interpretation of the Herakut mural from the old Aberdeen Market.
The Micro Commission Experience
Working on the AAGM Micro-commission has been a fantastic experience as well as a great opportunity to learn. Not only because it has allowed me to develop and test my skills in traditional and photopolymer etching, as well as screen printing, but the funding that was provided by the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums has also enabled me to produce an entirely new stand-alone series of prints that are quite different from anything I have done before. It is also wonderful to know that my triptych has been accessioned into the AAGM permanent collection.
I would advise anyone who is interested in applying to the next round of Micro-commissions to absolutely go for it. This has been a hugely rewarding experience and has shown me what I can achieve under intense pressure.
And finally …
Finally, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums for providing the £2500 funding that enabled my Micro Commission, and many thanks also to Shona Elliot and all the staff at AAGM for their excellent support throughout. I’d also like to thank the staff at Peacock Print Studio and, in particular, James Vaas and Struan Hamilton who have both been very generous with their time, patience and expertise throughout this process.
I will put together another post soon where I will go into more detail about the making of each print in the triptych … watch this space!
Last week of my show at Inverness Creative Academy – Artist talk Fri 14th July
This is the final week of my solo show Paintings & Prints From Scotland To The Moon at Inverness Creative Academy.
I’ll be on site from 2-3.30pm this Friday 14th July to give visitors a guided walk around the 40 pictures. I’ll discuss the many techniques I use to create the works as well as the inspirations and ideas behind them. I’ll also be more than happy to answer any questions about my practice and experience of working as a full-time artist.
It’s free entry so just show up at the cafe at 2pm and say hello. I’ll look forward to meeting you then!
Paintings & Prints From Scotland To The Moon is on until Saturday 15th July at 4pm.
Open daily until then 10-5pm.