Fields and Feathers at McGill Duncan

From Zoe Blamire at the McGill Duncan Gallery

Fields and Feathers

A major exhibition of new work by local print maker Lisa Hooper and painter Tracy Levine is on show in Castle Douglas from Saturday 7^th February. The show takes place at McGill Duncan Gallery. Owners Jill and Zoe Blamire said ‘We decided to call the exhibition 'Fields and Feathers’ as Lisa Hooper’s work very much concentrates on birds and Tracy Levine paints landscapes. Lisa’s bold graphic prints, using techniques such as linocut and etching complements Tracy’s atmospheric landscapes.'

 

Tracy Levine Buttercups and Daisies III 

Tracy paints seascapes softened by dramatic light, moorland in wild weather conditions and meadows so evocative of summer that you can almost hear the buzzing of insects. She uses a variety of inventive media and has been known to incorporate small amounts of sand or earth in her paintings, adding to their sense of place. Many of her paintings are executed outside  - ‘en plein air’. To enable her to work in this way Tracy has a bicycle with a trailer that holds her painting equipment. McGill Duncan Gallery has made a film to screen during the exhibition. The short film shows Tracy talking about five of the paintings in the exhibition. She discusses her working methods and the inspirations behind the paintings. The film will run in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition. The body of work for this exhibition features the Yorkshire Dales, Scottish Islands, including Colonsay and Iona, and, more local to home, Logan Botanic Gardens near Stranraer.

Lisa Hooper Summer Oystercatchers

In contrast to Tracy’s work, Lisa Hooper’s bold prints have strong lines and vibrant colours. Lisa uses the quiet of winter to work in her Port William studio, producing new work. This is the third year that McGill Duncan Gallery has exhibited her work during February - it is the perfect time to exhibit new prints that have not been seen before. Birds featured in the new work include Barnacle Geese,  Ringed Plovers, Curlews and Oystercatchers. Lisa is renowned for her use of diverse print making techniques. This year she has a new printing process called ‘tessellated linocut’. This involves building the print using individual pieces of lino that fit together. Those interested in learning more about tessellated linocuts can come to the gallery between 11 am and 1 pm on Saturday the 14^th of February and watch Lisa demonstrating this fascinating technique.

The exhibition runs until Saturday 14 March 2015.

Further information on the McGill Duncan website here