CURRENT Exhibition

The following paintings are currently being exhibited at The Gallery at Laurieston near Castle Douglas in Dumfries & Galloway.

If you are interested in any of these paintings, you can visit the gallery to see them in person or contact the gallery for more information.

My Inspiration

I live on the Rhins of Galloway, a peninsula in southern Scotland which gives us access to many local beaches, each with their own character.  I often grab my sketchbook when I head down to the shore to record those fleeting impressions of sand, sea and sky.  Sometimes it’s the waves or skies that grab my attention, other times it’s all about what’s happening at my feet.

From seashore to abstract

The Shoreline and Wilderness Road pieces are inspired by the long stretch of sand at Port Logan where the pebbles shift with each new tide and the upper shoreline is full of natural and man-made finds.  Shells, driftwood, pebbles and crunchy dried seaweed compete for space with old netting and brightly coloured frayed rope, bricks worn smooth, nuggets of tumbled glass and (sadly) lots of sea-washed discarded plastic.

I see paths and lines everywhere – rivulets of water coming down the beach, cracks in rocks, stripes on shells, strands of seaweed, the ridges in the sand from the receding waves.

These observations form the foundation for the work I create back in the studio, where I use the inspiration of sketches and foraged shoreline treasures to develop my ideas and abstract the essential elements to create something new.

The  natural tones in the Shoreline paintings have developed into stronger, more vivid colours in the two Wilderness Road paintings, but both capturing the lines, cracks and rivulets that captured my interest at the time.

Capturing Light

Another of my fascinations is capturing light – whether that is a shaft of sunlight on the sea, the eerie quality of moonlight or the way it is filtered through leaves and branches in woodland.  Of course it gets filtered through my imagination along the way to create a colourful and sometimes other-worldly atmosphere.

Respecting the Sea

Right at the end of our peninsula, you get to the Mull of Galloway, a prominent headland at the southern tip of the Rhins.  The sea is doing its best to erode  the small strip of land that connects East and West Tarbert Bays and it’s clear that one day it will succeed and finish the job of making the Mull into an island.

The winter storms get violent here and we are frequently cut off when a storm coincides with bad weather.  I love to watch the waves crashing onto shore (from a safe distance) and it always inspires me to try and capture that motion and energy on the canvas.

Sea fever, acrylic on canvas

PREVIOUS Exhibitions

Mull of Galloway Open Studios July 2022
Spring Fling Open Studios June 2022
Spinning a Yarn, The Yellow Door, Dumfries Oct 2021
Mull of Galloway Open Studios Sep 2020
Mull of Galloway Open Studios Jul 2020
Spring Fling Open Studios Oct 2020
Spring Fling Open Studios May 2020
Spring Show, The Gallery at Laurieston Feb 2020
Spring Fling Open Studios May 2019
Mull of Galloway Open Studios Aug/Sep 2019
“An Explosion of Colour” group exhibition, Harbour Cottage Gallery, Kirkudbright Aug 2018
Lifeboat Week Open Studio, Portpatrick Aug 2017
Creative Whithorn Art & Craft Trail Jul 2017
“Down the Road” group exhibition, Kirkudbright Tollbooth and Art Centre Oct 2016
Lifeboat Week Open Studio, Portpatrick Aug 2016
Creative Whithorn Art & Craft Trail Jul 2016
“Land, Sea & Light” group exhibition, Ross Gallery, Stranraer Jun 2016
“Pilgrimage” solo exhibition, Whithorn Trust Visitor Centre, Whithorn May 2016
Creative Whithorn Art & Craft Trail Jul 2015

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