New Exhibition-Contemporary Borders

 

I along with another  five Borders based artists am taking part in new exhibition titled Contemporary Borders. Although our work is very different to each other, collectively we  share one thing in common and that is our engagement with landscape as subject matter whether directly observed or distilled into  a more abstracted representation of it.

Some of the artists I have met and know their work and some I have not, so I am looking forward to meeting everyone and seeing how our work hangs in the lovely Christopher Boyd Gallery within Old Gala House.

The private view is Friday 8th of June, 6.30-8.30pm. Please come along if you can, a warm welcome awaits.

The show then runs from the 9th until the 12th of August. Opening times are Mon-Sat 10-4pm and Sun 1-4pm.

 

Open studio May Bank Holiday w/k

The 1st of May and the weather feels out of sync but in Scotland we comment but seem resigned to these unseasonable temperatures. Small sacrifices for the beauty that surrounds us here in the Borders?!

I'm gearing up for the coming w/k of  art@ancrum an annual event I am kindly invited to take part in and having my studio and home slap bang in the middle of 'little lovely', the village of Ancrum it makes perfect sense.

I've enjoyed the Winter  and Spring  months in the studio, working steadily exploring and developing work in response to the ever changing landscape surrounding us.

The ploughed fields reveal their hidden colours at this time of year and appear reddish pink, sometimes a muted umber depending on the light, time of day and direction in which viewed. This simple thing has enthused my dog walking and commute to work, no end in the last few weeks.

The subtle growth and somewhat raucous dawn chorus enriches each day should you care to notice.

Borders Art Fair this w/k!

Margaux and Blue  100x100cm Oil on Canvas

I am looking forward to taking part in the Borders Art Fair this weekend. This year I am joining other artists and showing in a larger stand with the White Fox Gallery in collaboration with the wonderful owners, Virginie and Stephen. 

Believe it or not, Margaux and Blue started it's life as a painting referencing the Cheviot Hills and the livestock that inhabit them, mainly sheep. As I began working further on the painting, my pathway veered wildly off course and all that remains of my original idea and subject matter is a reference to the sheep folds situated throughout the hills.

Additional and continuing formal concerns for me are to do with the horizon, a pictorial device I frequently make use of in my work. 
In Margaux and Blue I have unburdened myself (to some degree) of this  and in doing so am feeling quite liberated.... Who would of guessed that a single line, a division of a flat surface could cause so much angst!

If you are in the Borders this coming w/k the Fair looks like it is shaping up to be a great event. Please come and say hello, stand 41.

Thanks for stopping by.