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.
Edinburgh Nocturne (Aurora)
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.
Glitter Moons – Yellow, Blue and Pink, etching and screenprint – 69x80cm (framed individually)
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
A welcoming window display with my latest oil painting of Muckle Flugga (finishedand framed just hours before the show opened!)
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.
Bass Rock, oil on canvas 80x80cm framed
Edinburgh Nocturne, oil on canvas 98x98cm framed
The Bell Rock, oil on canvas 98x98cm framed
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.”
I am very excited to be showing several of my oil paintings and handmade prints with Edinburgh’s newest purveyor of fine art, Graystone Gallery. Owner Lesley has found a truly inspired space for her inaugural show in what has to be the most exquisite and stylish boutique hotel I’ve ever seen!
And you are invited to the Private View at 24 Royal Terrace this coming Thursday (details below).
On any given day, the walls of 24 Royal Terrace, aka The Art Hotel, are full of colour and when I dropped off my own works for this winter show last Friday I was astonished (in a very good way!) to see such a huge variety of great art in one incredible setting. The pictures above give only a tiny taste of what it’s really like in there!
Glitter Moon – Blue Etching and screen print 58 x 48cm (image size)
The hotel owner, who has personally collected art from around the world and curated each and every room herself, not only has excellent taste but has created a highly unique setting in which you can indulge yourself over a cocktail or a fine whisky while taking in some fabulous contemporary art.
The Bass Rock (Nocturne) Oil on wood panel 74 x 74cm framed
Alongside some pretty huge and important works by the likes of John Bellany and Alan Davie, there’s a highly ecclectic mix of landscapes, figurative and abstract pieces that should pique the interest of any art enthusiast. I could easily have spent a day in there myself!
Dubh Artach Oil on wood panel 74 x 74cm framed
For this first Graystone Gallery pop-up show a number of the walls have been rehung with works by around 20 contemporary artists from Scotland and beyond, including 9 by yours truly.
Where There Is Light Oil on wood panel 78cm x 78cm framed
So if you love art and happen to be in Edinburgh this coming Thursday evening then you need to get along to the private view (details below)!
Rattray Head (Cirrus Clouds) Oil on canvas 79 x79cm framed
If you can’t make that then the show will run until 2 Jan 2023. And, as you can see below, Lesley has also organised a number of events to run alongside this show, including an Artist’s Night, at which I and a couple of others will discuss our techniques and inspirations.
It all promises to be a very special feast for the eyes and one not to be missed this festive period!
