It’s the end of May, which means it’s that wonderful time of year again when Frames Gallery in Perth invite over 80 of their regular artists to show their work under the banner (and canvas) of arTay, which is held in a huge marquee next to Perth’s Royal Concert Hall over the next 4 days.
The Bell Rock (Gale Force 10) Oil on canvas 25x25cm
I’ve been taking part in this excellent exhibition for around 10 years now, and it’s always great to catch up with old friends during the hand in and hanging of the works and to see what everyone has been working on recently.
Unfortunately, I was unable to help out with the hang this year as I was on a whirlwind journey around half the country dropping off more work to several other galleries on the day (more on that to come!). I did, however, manage to stop by with the 3 oil paintings here, including the newly finished Bell Rock above, as well as this brand new hand-painted etching of Bow Fiddle Rock below.
Bow Fiddle Rock (i) Hand-painted etching 40x59cm
There’s always a great selection of paintings, prints and objets d’art on show and this 4 day event only seems to get bigger and better each year.
Edinburgh Nocturne (ii) Oil on canvas 80-x80cm
The official preview night, know as the arTay Party, takes place this Friday night (24 May) 6pm – 7.30pm and this is your personal invite! Entry to that and throughout the whole weekend is free, so if you happen to be in or near Perth then do come along and see a huge variety of great work by some of the country’s best artists.
Isle Ornsay (ii) Oil on canvas 70x100cm
Opening Times:
Thursday 23 May 10am – 5.30pm
Friday 24 May 10am – 7.30pm
Saturday 25 May 10am – 6pm
Sunday 26 May 10am – 7.30pm
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.
At the Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums’ (AAGM) Treasure Hub where I gave a talk about my Micro Commission work to the Friends of AAGM
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 (with considerable help from my patient and very understanding partner Pam) 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 final 3 prints that make up the triptych: Disintegration, Transformation & Anticipation. I named the triptych with a nod to the 3 institutions that feature in the middle print; namely the Central Library, St Mark’s Church & His Majesty’s Theatre, collectively known by locals as Education, Salvation &Damnation.
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).
Dunnottar Castle by John Piper
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.
Newly reopened and rejuvenated Union Terrace Gardens (January 2023)
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.
The currently vacant site of the old Aberdeen Market
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.
Disintegration – 40x60cm – copper plate etching with hard ground and aquatint (including sugar lift and spit bite) on Hahnemüle etching paper
Inking up the plate
Disintegration is signed and ready to deliver to Aberdeen Art Gallery when framed
Transformation
Transformation – 40x76cm – photopolymer etching with chine collé and watercolour on calendered Hahnemüle etching paper
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.
Chine collé tissue cut to shape for adding colour to the etching
It combines very traditional etching techniques like chine collé above to add colour to the print …
An acetate was used to expose the image onto a photopolymer-coated steel plate
… alongside methods employed in contemporary digital photography.
Transformation completed at Peacock Print Studio in Aberdeen and ready for the AAGM collection
Anticipation
Anticipation – 40x60cm – screen print on calendered Hahnemüle etching paper
Anticipation focuses on the Aberdeen Market area and poses the question: what does the future hold for this site?
Making a composite of the various pictorial elements in Photoshop
Photoshop was used to combine a drone-captured digital image with an interpretation of the Herakut mural from the old Aberdeen Market.
A proof incorporating the hand-painted golden question mark
The final image of the triptych, Anticipation, is signed and ready to frame
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.
Describing the processes involved in producing each print at Aberdeen’s Treasure Hub
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!
Saturday 10th June marks the opening of my first ever solo show in Inverness.
With this body of work I hope to showcase both my varied interests and inspirations as a landscape artist, as well as the many techniques I use and often combine in their creation.
The Bell Rock (Twilight)
In conjunction with Wasps Artist Studios, I will present around 30 pieces in total. These will include dramatic new oil paintings of Neist Point and Isle Ornsay in Skye, alongside several mixed-media cityscapes of Edinburgh and surroundings.
Neist Point, SkyeIsle Ornsay (detail from wip)Towards Arthur’s Seat, EdinburghFidra Lighthouse
Also on show will be a selection of atmospheric etchings featuring, among other things, several Scottish lighthouses, castles and mountains.
Dunnottar CastleVictoria Street, EdinburghNorth Face, Ben Nevis
There will also be 3 different coloured versions of my recent series of Glitter Moon limited-edition handmade prints, framed with non-reflective glass and available to buy for only the second time.
Glitter Moons – Yellow, Blue & Red, etching and screenprint, 47x57cm (individual image size)
So, all in all, there will be plenty to see across the two floors my show will occupy.
I will be at Inverness Creative Academy between 12-4pm for the opening on Saturday 10 June, so please come along if you are in the area. It would be great to see you there!
It’s that time of year when everyone’s looking for a good deal. So I’ve decided to offer a HUGE 25% Black Friday DISCOUNT on all my giclée prints and etchings for a very limited time only. (Ends Sun 27th Nov at 11.55pm)
Dean Village (Sunset) – 65x50cm (usual price £150 – now £112.50)
So if you’re looking for an extra special and very personal Christmas present for yourself or a loved one then look no further!
The Old Town, Edinburgh – 65x50cm (usual price £150 – now £112.50)
Select anything from my Big Cartel shop using discount code BLACKFRIDAY and you’ll not only get this great saving but you’ll also receive it carefully wrapped and packaged well before Christmas.
Towards Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh – 45x33cm (usual price £95 – now £71.25)
And that includes one of my very rare and highly saught after Blue Moon etchings! There’s just a couple of these available right now, so you’ll have to be quick off the mark to get one at this price – and with almost £150 off the usual price!
[PLEASE NOTE: my Blue Moon numbered edition has now SOLD OUT! See most recent post for details on how to reserve a a very rare Artist Proof Blue Moon!]
Blue Moon A/P – etching 57x47cm image size (usual price £595 – now £446.25)
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!
“The theme of the sea also comes up again and again in the work of Fife Dunfermline Printmakers Workshop in the Lesser Hall in James Street. Also part of the invited programme, this artist-run cooperative brings together a range of artists working in different styles and media. Particular highlights include Clive Ramage’s striking etching of the moon and Catherine King’s large monotype landscape, capturing weather, clouds and water in saturated shades of blue and grey.”
And I am also delighted to report that 3 of my Blue Moon prints sold on the very first day! That means there’s only 2 left to buy from the very limited edition of just 20 numbered prints!
One of 3 Blue Moons sold at Pittenweem on opening day. I wish this framed one had been left there for the whole show! I’ll have another framed for my NEOS event in September though, where I’ll also have some artist’s proofs for sale. Some lovely work also on show here by my Dunfermline printmaking colleagues Catherine King (left), Olga Krasanova (bottom right) and Peter Kirley (top right).
This moon etching really does seem to glow as brightly as the real thing and it makes a beautiful and bold statement on any wall. It comes from an extremely limited numbered edition of 20 and they have consistently sold at the few shows I’ve entered them.
Here’s a video of me pulling a print from the copper plate just last week …
There are now only 2 numbered prints left, plus a few artists proofs (which I’ll be holding on to for my North East Open Studios (NEOS) event 10-19 Sept 2022 – more details to come!).
Me with my moon print at the preview on Friday night
So if you want your very own Blue Moon to gaze at whenever you like then get in touch with me now or follow the link to my shop and bag yours before they’re all gone!
My Dunnottar Castle print at Pittenweem alongside work bt Peter Kirley (left) and Bethany Snaddon (right)
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Original, hand-made etching printed on 310gsm Hanhmuhle etching paper.
Limited to an extremely small edition of only 20 prints.
Image size: 57.5 x 47 cm (22.5 x 18.5 inches)
Paper Size 71 x 53.5 cm / (28 x 22 inches)
Shipping: The print is sold unframed, but lovingly wrapped and rolled in tissue and packaged in a tough cardboard tube for protection. UK p&p is £20 and shipping time is around 2 weeks. International delivery is £25 but allow up to 3 weeks.
Tomorrow marks the start of the Pittenweem Arts Festival (6-13th August) and I’m very happy to be taking part alongside fellow members of Fife Dunfermline Printmakers Workshop. I’m looking forward to seeing all the work we have on show at the preview this evening.
All are welcome to come along tonight for an early viewing between 6.30-9pm at Lesser Church Hall, James St, Pittenweem.
Dunnottar Castle
Above are 2 of the large framed prints I have in the show, St Monans and Dunnottar Castle. Both etchings were produced in July especially for this event.
I’ll also be showing my Blue Moon etching (below). There are only a few left from this very limited edition of 20 numbered prints, so if you want to own one you best hurry to bag yours!
Blue Moon
I have a few other mounted prints available from the venue including the following, all of which are fairly local to the area:
A Hot Summer’s Day, ElieThe Old Wooden Pier, CulrossEdinburgh CastleThe Old Iron Pier, Aberdour
If you can get to Pittenweem during the festival you will find art filling the streets and almost every home above the beautiful harbour and beyond. It’s a fantastic event and well worth the trip for a great day out!
Where There Is Light, oil on wood panel – 78cm x 78cm (framed)
After 2 year’s absence from the art show calendar, I really can’t wait for arTay 2022, which opens at 10am in Perth this coming Thursday 19th May and runs until 7.30pm on Sunday 22nd.
Every May, and as if by magic, a large marquee appears next to Perth’s Concert Hall and is filled to the brim with a great assortment of fantastic artworks.
Dubh Artach, oil on wood panel – 75x75cm (framed)
But all the real magic is what’s on show inside the marquee!
With more than 70 artists taking part and a few hundred pictures to hang and label, it’s a challenge to get it all done and looking great in just a few hours. It’s not all hard work though and there’s always a great atmosphere, with Hugh and his team making it all the more fun by providing lots of coffee and cakes to keep us all going until the show is hung. Remarkably – considering the often competative nature of a typical ‘hang’, and with so many artistic egos to be found in one relatively small compass – I have yet to witness a punch up!
Rattray Head, oil on canvas – 57cm x 57cm (framed)
As well as helping to hang the show on Wednesday, I’m also very much looking forward to catching up with lots of artist friends and maybe matching some new faces to familiar pictures and names too.
So these are the four paintings I’ll have in the show. Three fairly large atmospheric lighthouse oils and my latest dreamscape (or ‘longing’) painting of Edinburgh, as seen at night from across the Firth of Forth.
[Contact Hugh at Frames Gallery, Perth for more details, or if you would like to reserve one of these paintings. Tel: 01738 631085]
Edinburgh Nocturne, oil on canvas – 95x95cm (framed)=
If you happen to be in or near Perth then do come along and see a huge variety of great work by some of the country’s best artists. Along with many of the other artists, I’ll be at the ‘arTay Party’ preview on Friday 20th from 6pm.
Hope to see some of you there too!
I currently have several of my etchings in a fantastic new printmaking show at Frames Gallery in Perth.
I was very happy to see some red dots below some of my pieces at the private view, including the ones below, and also to be showing alongside some of my favourite Scottish printmakers.
The North Face, Ben Nevis 🔴
It really is an excellent and varied exhibition, showcasing some of the best in contemporary printmaking techinques and styles and I’m delighted to be taking part. Click here to see the works on show and do drop by if you are in Perth.
Spanish Hornet (ii) 🔴
As these are editioned prints there are several of each still available, so get in touch with Frames Gallery if you are interested in anything you see here (or there!).
Here are a few more of the framed etchings I have on show at the gallery, and click here if you’d like to see the whole show online.
Edinburgh CastleThe Old Wooden Pier, CulrossBlue MoonDean Village, EdinburghThe Old Iron Pier, Aberdour
A recently finished commission: East Neuk (Waxing Moon and Stars)
Until recently, I’d never heard of “The Beggar’s Mantle Fringed With Gold”. It was King James VI of Scotland who coined that description of Fife’s coast; the ragged shoreline being the frayed cloak from which the begging hand of Fife is held out in hope that the sea will provide sustenance. The gold lining perfectly captures the beautiful fishing villages that fringe the East Neuk, especially when the phosphorescent orange street lamps are aglow and the houses are lit up and cosy on a cold winter’s night.
I came to hear of it one Saturday morning a few weeks ago when my phone pinged to inform me that another painting had sold from my Big Cartel shop. As always, I got in touch with the buyer right away and, after discussing postage and various other details, asked where he’d come across my work.
Back to the beginning
The reply was so very unexpected and it not only made my day but also gave me the biggest confidence boost an artist could wish for.
The answer had its roots way back when I first started exhibiting in 2008. In fact, it was at the first exhibition I ever entered (the annual open at Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery) that Jim had spotted my work. It was an oil painting of a row of typically-colourful cottages all huddled together along the shore, looking almost fearful of the next incoming tide. I’d given it the title Awaiting The Turn of The Tide with that thought in mind.
East Neuk (Starry Night)
A few days after the opening I returned to see the whole show and was thrilled to find my first ever red dot. The painting really seemed to glow and stand out quite nicely in that large space. I walked out with my feet in the air and feeling this idea of being an artist I’d had for a while might just work!
But you never really think about all the other people who might stop and have a look at your efforts in a gallery. So it came as a big surprise to hear that it was way back then that my new buyer informed me he had first seen my work. He had gone in on a mission to find inspiration for a song he was trying to write for a performance he’d soon be giving at that year’s Stanza Poetry Festival in St Andrews. The song had to capture that ‘beggar’s mantle fringed with gold’ feeling. He told me that it was my painting of glowing cottages tumbling down into the sea that had helped him to visualise an idea of what he wanted to capture in words. He went off and wrote the lyrics below for Dances With Angels, performed it at Stanza and that, as they say, was that.
East Neuk (Crescent Moon)
But now, 12 years later and living in Kent, he told me he’d always remembered that painting (someone else had bought it) and was now in a position to buy one of my East Neuk pictures for himself. In fact, he’d had a hard job choosing between the two I had for sale on my website and a couple of days later he ended up buying the other one as well. (The two paintings directly above.)
That he’d remembered my work all that time was incredibly uplifting for me. But that it had also helped him to write his lovely song was just wonderful to discover all these years later.
And so One thing leads to another
Jim has since gifted me a cd of his work, much of which has been covered by internationally renowned folk singer June Tabor. It’s a wonderful, highly evocative album and I’d recommend it to anyone who loves great music and the romance of the sea – and the East Neuk of Fife in particular. It’s called Diamonds In The Night by Andy Shanks and Jim Russell and is available to download at Amazon or from Greentrax Records. Dances With Angels isn’t on this album, but here’s a link to a Youtube video of Andy and Jim performing it live in Orkney back in 2000.
I think it’s great when work made in one art form inspires and informs that made in another. And to have had a wee part in that myself is a lovely thing!
I’ll be listening to Diamonds in The Night a lot this winter while I work, and I’m sure it will in turn inspire many more pictures that are still to be conjured up and painted into existence.
Dances With Angels, words by Jim Russell
The whole town is tumbling down to the sea,
Footsteps we left in the sand
Are gone when the moon pulls up the tide
Changing the paths we had planned.
Where is my comfort? There’s no angels here,
Unless they’re all hiding their wings,
Or dancing in small towns with strangers like me,
Hoping tomorrow brings.
Dances with angels
Dances with angels
They say angels dance by the steeple clock moon
With lighthouses flashing like stars,
Casting shadows and shapes and turning in time
To the staggering songs from the bars.
Now we travel with care and the tracks of our lives
Are a cage, but if you break free,
Go tumbling and turning then soaring like gulls,
Crow stepping down to the sea!
But where is my comfort? There’s no angels here,
Unless their all hiding their wings,
Or dancing in small towns with strangers like me,
Hoping tomorrow brings.
Dances with Angels
Dances with Angels
The streets are all dancing
The children are dancing
The songs from the bars spin around with the stars.
Isle Ornsay (ii) Oil on canvas 70x100cm
