Fenceposts and markmaking

Angus Archeology

Belated blog post, it snowed! And with that snow I was inspired to make snowy paintings. I really love the graphic quality of the Angus farmland and hills in snow, sometimes when I’m walking in it I can imagine I’ve walked into one of my images! I was reading a few archaeological news stories as I worked on this painting and thought about integrating how archaeologists piece together the story of a pace from many fragmented clues sometimes. So I picked a few symbol-like things to pop in there; the sheep (everywhere) a sickle I found as a girl on the farm (forgotten tool or good luck offering?) and a cow bell (found in a field) Since archaeology is intimately connected with the land, and is my other passion, I really want to draw more on it in my work.

Meffan Winter Exhibition

I have two pieces of work, 'Journey' and 'Fishermen mending nets' in the Meffan Christmas exhibition in Forfar! There are so many pieces of beautiful and skilled work in it, so you should definitely visit them
to see the amount of local talent. You can see more information here.

A little bit Eva Hesse

I had an idea for a sculptural piece set in the forest floor looking a bit like fungi to show people something that is viewed as a forest treasure, with the thought that small sculptures would be viewed in a similar way.
I decided to re-make an old sculpture so I took it apart, carried it to the park near my home and arranged the parts. After documenting the process, I took the sculptures away again but really wished I could leave them as surprise art for the next walker to find them.

Solo show at Diaosu Limited, Land // Marks

Here’s some photos taken at my show last month!

Land // Marks

I have a new exhibition opening next week at Diaosu Limited in Dundee, Land // Marks with a new series of paintings. It runs during September to October with the opening on 27th September from 7:30 to 9:30pm.

Rock and stone

The start of a body of work that juxtaposes the permanent, strong structures of hills, that are in a way the bones of the land, and the wistful farms and bothys that populate the highlands of Scotland that fade with time. The mountain is stoic against the extremes of Scottish weather; the building is worn down by the wind, the rain, the snow. Organic parts tend to degrade and leave only the stone behind. The work above is inspired by the ruins of Gairlaw farm and mill that I found whilst wandering the countryside, there were also a group of hut circles on the way there. The farmer we met told us a ceremonial sword had been found near them!!
'Forgotten Dwellings(All of my neighbours are sheep)' is now well under way, much research has been done, more treasures still to find and art to make! I think I'd like to build a small ruin in the middle of the space, to be surrounded with images on the walls or perhaps  a kind of arch in the form of the wall cavity from a broch as the first thing to see, a literal and metaphorical entrance to the project. My oil paints are calling me now, 'till next time.

New Highland Graduates

I'm currently exhibiting in the ‘New Highland Graduates’ at Inverness Museum & Art Gallery.  The show is running from September 14th to October 19th. For more information see https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inverness-Museum-and-Art-Gallery/198683390165858
 
The show contains work form many different artistic disciplines, including design, film- making, painting and sculpture. If you're in the area, I highly recommend going to see the work on display.

Landmarks and the beauty of ash

A little while ago a friend of mine and I discussed a collaborative project for next year as she also works with ash in a way, making stunningly raw and lovely smoke fired ceramics. This set me thinking about why I like to use it in my artwork. There is the wonderful colour it has, I have always been very fond of the numerous shades of grey, but also the intimate connection to home and place it has. 

A girl staying with me at the moment returned yesterday from a bonfire, shrouded with the scent of wood smoke. The smell enthusiastically reminded me of my home, the wood burning stove at my mother’s house and the stubble burning in the fields around it. I think this is another reason I like to use it in my paintings, this visceral connection to the subject of my work in my mind and also by physically bringing something from that place into the space of the painting.










A little while ago the wild geese started arriving from more Arctic regions. Barnacle geese are the most common around here an I finally got aroung to making a small painting of them. I'm still toying with a title for this body of work, trying to bring in the connection to place, mapping and memory. Perhaps something like Home // Land // Marks. Aesthetically I like the look of Land // Marks better. Hmm, decisions, decisions...