Edible Spring Fling

From Spring Fling

From paintings made with pomegranates and coffee to huge stone pears – Spring Fling marks the Year of Food and Drink

An abstract painting created using tea, coffee, liqueurs, fruit and mustard powder has gone on show in an exhibition inspired by Scottish food and drink.

Spring Show: Art, Food & Drink, has just opened at the McGill Duncan Gallery in Castle Douglas and runs until 23 April. It also features giant stone pears and pictures made from kitchen garden herbs and petals among an abundance of paintings, jewellery, woodwork, photography and ceramics. The theme for the exhibition, which takes place in Scotland’s national food town, was specially chosen as part of the celebrations for Scotland’s 2015 Year of Food and Drink.

Around 90 artists and makers, mostly from Dumfries and Galloway, were invited to submit pieces inspired by the edible for the show, which acts as a taster for the Spring Fling visual art and craft open studios weekend in May.

Painter Annirose Ansbro decided to take the theme literally for her own work entitled Drool. “I thought it would be fun to take the food and drink theme all the way, so I scoured the kitchen for ingredients I could use as well as conventional paint. “In the end I used a pomegranate, a tangerine, sloe gin, melon liqueur, orange squash, herbal teas and fresh coffee. The smell of the painting was absolutely wonderful.”

In the gallery garden are three huge stone pears made by sculptor Max Nowell. The distinctive drystone sculptures Max makes have been commissioned for gardens and landscapes all over the UK.

Suzanne Stuart Davies had been wondering what to contribute when she arrived home from the shops one day. She said: “I had bought the veg for a ratatouille and shoved it in a bowl – then I suddenly thought ‘that’s just right’.” Normally a landscape artist working in oils, the experience has led her to create a whole series of still life watercolours.

Another of those taking part is Jennie Ashmore who uses leaves, plants and flowers – often edible – to make intricate pictures.

Spring Show: Art, Food & Drink has also led to collaboration, like the one between Clare Dawdry who has made hand-thrown bowls that nestle in slender woven willow baskets by Geoff Forrest.

Leah Black, Spring Fling Director, said: “The artists really warmed to the food and drink theme and came up with some amazingly imaginative ideas. There really is something to suit every taste. “It’s great to be able to have such a lovely food and drink themed exhibition in Scotland’s food town for the national year of food and drink.”

Things are hotting with A the Airts latest Mediterranean exhibition

From Sara Bain at A the Airts

The debut exhibition of New Cumnock artist Jane Ross is taking place at A’ the Airts in Sanquhar this month. Inspired by the hot hues of the Spanish landscape, Jane’s colourful, often sparkling, acrylic canvasses of trees and fruit are evocative of the searing heat and arid conditions of a Mediterranean summer.

“I wanted to capture the hardship that plants face growing in the high Spanish temperatures,” Jane said. “Despite such adverse conditions, vegetation manages to grow and produce fruit. Nature is an amazing thing. “The colours I use, in particular, help to depict the Mediterranean heat as well as the vibrancy and sparkle of life inside its harsh environment.”

A prolific painter, Jane’s manifold collection of canvasses, prints, cards and postcards are on display in the exhibition area at A’ the Airts until March 30.

Welcoming the Spring Fling Newbies of 2015

From Spring Fling

Spring Fling is welcoming a fresh crop of 23 new exhibitors to Scotland’s premier contemporary visual art and craft open studios event.

They range from sculptors, photographers, painters and jewellers to a theatrical prop creator and a violin maker who manufactures his own varnish using resin from local bee hives. Between them they offer the chance to see an amazing variety of highly skilled work – decorative, functional, intriguing, delightful and sometimes challenging.

Among the exhibitors to watch out for is Kate Knott who specialises in figurative paintings with curious narratives. She said: “Whether it’s vintage oddities, fascinating faces or curious animals, I enjoy discovering the best way to represent them. My paintings can feel quite romantic with considered colour palettes and a loose painterly style.” There is also Steven Burnie who loves the landscape of Dumfries and Galloway and said: “I work from the landscape to create paintings and drawings that detail the character of the region. My recent work has been informed by the changing light of the Solway Firth and the surrounding landscape.”

Jamie McLennan with a Vaughan Trower violin

Vaughan Trower, started instrument making when one daughter took up the harp and the other the violin. He said: “Violin making is technical and creative. Each musician and instrument needs to be carefully suited to the other. “I source the tonewoods from a sawmill in Mittenwald, Germany, where I select each piece. I make my own varnish to finish the instruments, this includes propolis from hives at John Mellis, local beekeeper in Dumfries & Galloway, this produces a rich golden varnish and is a distinguishing feature of my instruments.”

Edward Howat has made props for The National Theatre of Scotland, Tron Theatre and many others. Commissions have included dragons, prosthetic masks, aliens and 10 bionic eyes which moved and glowed blue.

Alien prop by Edward Howat

Leah Black, Spring Fling Director, said: “One of the ways Spring Fling stays fresh is to invite new artists to exhibit and 2015 is no exception with 23 out of 94 never having taken part before. “We are delighted to represent a hugely diverse and varied new group, a mix of established and emerging talent; from Vaughan's violins, to Edward's sculpted costumes and props, through to five new photographers, and three new installation artists. “We know that Spring Fling visitors like equally to see familiar faces and to be surprised and challenged by the work of new artists, and we hope that this will attract some new audiences to Dumfries and Galloway in 2015.”

The other new exhibitors are Annirose Ansbro, Anupa Gardner, Barry Young, Beth Watson, Davy Brown, Diana de Gruyther, Eric Pye, Evelyn Gray, Holly Goldsworthy, Kirstin Pilling, Laura Hudson Mackay, Laurie Campbell, Michael Pell, Michal Sur, Morven Browne, Natalie McIlroy, Sarah Stewart, Sarah Tew and Terri Campbell.

Spring Fling flagship exhibition at McGill Duncan Gallery

From Spring Fling

Anupa Garner Green Peas and Casserole, linocut, £700

WENDY KERSHAW, The Tea Girl, ceramics, framed illustrated porcelain panel, £330

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

Anne Butler and Victor Henderson at A the Airts

From A the Airts

An exhibition of paintings by two of Dumfries and Galloway’s most talented artists goes on show at A’ The Airts in February.
Victor Henderson and Anne Butler will be showcasing a range of their popular artwork at the Sanquhar community arts centre from Saturday, February 7.

Last year was a busy time for Durisdeer landscape artist Anne. With a number of solo exhibitions at venues from the south of England to Edinburgh and participation in regional arts events in Bristol, Pittenweem and Dumfries and Galloway’s Spring Fling, Anne has found her work very much in demand. From her Ferndale Studio, Anne creates strong, vigorous landscapes of bold colours and textures that are intended to evoke emotions as well as provoke reactions.

A watercolour artist of high acclaim, Victor has been producing paintings in his gentle but brightly coloured signature style since showcasing his first works at the Singer-Friedlander exhibition in 2004. A decade later and Victor’s work has been exhibited at many galleries and private collections across Scotland from Stranraer to Inverness and he shares his talent with aspiring art students from his studio in Drumlanrig Stableyard.
Working primarily in watercolour, Victor paints abstract, industrial and traditional landscapes as well as a range of still-life subjects from the inanimate to the animate. He works directly onto the canvas, without any preparatory drawing, and enjoys experimenting with papers, textures, paints, brushes and colours. He said: “It is the constant balancing act between accident and technique which I love.”

The exhibition kicks off with a lunchtime launch at A’ The Airts on Saturday, February 7, from noon to 2pm, where visitors will get the chance to meet the artists and speak to them about their work over a glass of mulled wine.
The exhibition runs until February 28. Entrance is free.

Jennifer Watt and Victor Henderson at the Whitehouse Gallery

From the Whitehouse Gallery

Would love if you could join us for the

Preview Opening 

  Saturday 31st January

 from 11am onwards.

Exhibition runs from 31st Jan - 21st Feb

The Whitehouse Gallery

47 St Mary’s Street

Kirkcudbright

 DG6 4DU

www.whitehousegallery.co.uk

Philippa Sinclair at the Workshop Gallery

From Kenny Livingston


After our successful exhibition of art work by Philippa Sinclair this August 

A D Livingston and Sons are pleased to be hosting a further exhibition of her beautiful paintings in ,"The Workshop Gallery",

"The Workshop Gallery " is part of our antique restorers workshop down the lane just off King Street

Please come and have a browse and warm yourself this winter in front of the woodburning stove

Friday Night at Lochdougan

From Hannah McAndrew

This weekend, starting on Friday 14th November Doug Fitch and I are hosting an evening of art and craft in our Galloway workshop with a series of films about each of our guests being shown from 7pm. Doors open at 6 and so please do come and join us for some mulled wine and beautiful Galloway art and fine craft. 

We have the super talented Amanda Simmons, glass artist of international reputation (traveling back from SOFA Chicago as I type), and Hazel Campbell, creator of bold, loose and vigorous paintings describing the Galloway landscape. What with these two and our our own pots we hope there will be something to interest everyone.

Please find the poster attached to this email. Many thanks and we hope to see you there,

Best wishes from 

Amanda, Doug, Hazel and Hannah

Patti Lean @ Catstrand

From Patti Lean

A great chance to catch some of Patti's work at the Catstrand until the end of this month, including new work from her recent residency in Iceland this summer.

'We are thrilled to be exhibiting the work of local artist Patti Lean at the CatStrand throughout November.  Patti  lives and works near Dunscore, Dumfries. She studied History of Art at Edinburgh University, then completed a BA (Hons) and a Master of Contemporary Fine Art at the University of Cumbria. She is influenced by contemporary abstract art, and makes frequent visits to Seawhite Studios in West Sussex to study with the abstract painter John Skinner.  Patti describes her work as “a response to the idea of the ‘continuous act of seeing’ that comes with hiking and walking in the environment; not only seeing, but also experiencing the sensation of rain, wind, snow etc., and hearing the sounds of the outdoors.” 

Olafsfjörður, Iceland: hiking study

(Limnology/Oceanology Series)

2014.  I

Exhibition is FREE and the work is for sale. For more info contact CatStrand 01644 420374 '

Project Art Lockerbie's 4th Birthday Bash

From Heather Andrews at Project Art Lockerbie

We at Project Art Gallery in Lockerbie, a co-operative of around 20 artists, and started as a pop-up shop, to be open for 10 weeks. So successful was the venture, that we are still open 4 years later, and that calls for a celebration.

 

That means everyone is invited to our 4th birthday party on Saturday 15th November, 10am – 4pm

. Join us for a glass of wine (or a cuppa), birthday cake, and more. There will be a jewellery-making table, and a prize draw to win a £50 gallery voucher. (All purchases between now and2pm Nov 15th qualify for an entry to the prize draw). D&G Life plan to be there.

Thistles by Martine Berlemont

We offer great value, individually created art work, beautiful photography and design-led hand-crafted gifts.

Project Art Gallery, 53 High St, Lockerbie, DG11 2JH  (opposite the sheep)

Have a look at their website here

Enchanted Christmas @ Whitehouse Gallery

From Lynne at Whitehouse Gallery

8TH NOVEMBER – 31ST DECEMBER

The Whitehouse Gallery is feeling all festive this year with the opening of ‘Enchanted Christmas’ which will run from 8th November through to 31st December. All are welcome to attend the preview opening from 11am on Saturday 8th November, and enjoy a glass of bubbly and complementary chocolates. Not only will there be the usual mix of high quality Fine Art on the walls, an equal emphasis has been placed upon the Applied Art & Craft this year. The gallery will be a treasure trove of original gift ideas to suit every pocket.

Fiona Miller. Little Winter House.

There are a few new Fine Artists to the gallery for this exhibition, including Jane McCance, a Glasgow School of Art graduate whose atmospheric semi abstract landscapes and still life paintings are quiet, reflective works which Jane describes as being ‘concerned with the themes of memory, loss and renewal’.

Rona Lee & Patricia Sadler will be showing some of their beautiful still life work in this exhibition. Both artists’ flower studies are alive with colour, each with their own undeniable style but both searching for an emotional response through their work.

Julie Barnes figurative paintings are bold in composition and rich in colour, using gold, silver and bronze leaf to enhance applied oils and acrylics, in turn giving her paintings a rich texture and luminosity.

Este Macleod’s paintings are playful and usually contain a narrative. Her background as a textile designer is evident in her paintings, which range from landscape and still life through to more design and narrative fantasy artworks featuring bold flowers and birds.

An interesting collection of work will be on show from local artist Helen Acklam, whose recent travels to the Orkney Islands have sparked inspiration to produce a series of paintings, bookwork and mixed media sculpture.

Returning Fine Artists include Grace McDonald Cameron, Stewart Lammie and Peter Tudhope with their unique, powerful interpretations of the Scottish landscape, ranging from the more traditional through to the semi abstract. Fiona Millar will also have some of her extremely popular work on show, depicting landscape and still life studies in her own unequivocal style. Kirkcudbright based artist Margaret S Milligan was the best seller of last Christmas, and returns with a collection of her endearing still-life oil paintings.

We are excited to introduce some new makers to the gallery for this exhibition, including Kim Steeden who creates exquisite framed driftwood pictures depicting harbour and seaside scenes. Kim’s work will sit well with work from existing exhibitor Cheryl Smith, whose 3d and framed driftwood work is also combined with Scottish textiles to make her gorgeous work unique.

We have two new jewellers joining Susanna Hanl, who is returning with a collection of her beautiful handmade jewellery in silver, gold and precious and semi/precious stones. Miya Hayes is a contemporary designer whose silver work is largely influenced by nature, and Lisa Rothwell Young whose work is characterised by colour and texture and often accentuated with gemstones.

We are introducing a new basket maker to the gallery. Geoff Forrest works with willow to create traditional basket work, as well as pursuing a more contemporary style of work, often incorporating different materials to create beautiful works of art.

Textiles are a-plenty this Christmas, with four textile artists giving us collections of their work. We have a collection of framed textile pictures from Kate Buchanan, with subject matters ranging from beaches and landscapes to the more quirky and fun. Joining Kate are regular exhibitors Jo Gallant, with a new collection of her handmade cushions, as well as felt work by Rachel Morley and Heather Potten.

There will also be a selection of framed and 3d glass work by Niki Crew, framed illustrative porcelain pictures by Wendy Kershaw, new sculpture by Michael Lythgoe, ceramic sculpture by Helen Kemp, Paul Jenkins & Urpu Sellar and ceramics by Debbie Barber & Karen McPhail. Ongoing work will also be on show including furniture, sculpture, glass, forged ironwork, ceramics, artist prints, cards, books and much more.

In keeping with the theme of Christmas, we will also have some very festive handcrafted Christmas decorations, including glass decorations by Jo Newman and ceramic decorations by Shirley Vauvelle.

Don’t forget, you can spread the cost of most items in the gallery between £100 - £2000 INTEREST FREE with OWN ART. Please ask us about this.

For more information, contact us on info@whitehousegallery.com or 01557 330223

Buildings and Buttercups at Castle Douglas Art Gallery

From Fiona Love

Fiona Love, the Dalbeattie based artist, exhibits at Castle Douglas Art Gallery from Wednesday 29th October to Saturday 8th November 2014. The exhibition titled 'Buildings and Buttercups - man made and God made structures' displays her collection of building and still life paintings inspired by her love of architecture, flowers and treasured objects. The show opens from 10.30 -4.30 Mon-Sat (closed Sunday).

Solway House Artists at Ottersburn Gallery

From Steven Burnie

Sheila Mullen exhibition at The Workshop Gallery

From A D Livingston and sons

We are hosting an exhibition of new paintings by Sheila Mullen at The Workshop Gallery, 183 King Street, Castle Douglas

Opens Saturday 18 th October for till 8th November

THE WHITEHOUSE GALLERY PRESENTS ‘COUNTRY PURSUITS X

From The Whitehouse Gallery

The Whitehouse Gallery in Kirkcudbright is to host the tenth of its annual ‘Country Pursuits’ exhibitions, focusing upon different interpretations of the rural life theme. The exhibition will open from 11am on Saturday 13th September, and will run through until Sat 1st November. All are welcome to attend the opening, and enjoy a glass of fizz and chocolates by the Cocoa Bean Company.

David Greenall and his wife Ruth O’Dell live on the Isle of Lewis, and their everyday experiences of rural life are captured through their painting. Greenall’s landscape paintings are infused with a knowledge and understanding of light, and by mixing his own colours from raw pigments and blending mediums such as wax, resin, oil and egg tempura, he produces works of great vigour. In contrast, Ruth O’Dells pastel works are small and intimate, capturing moments of everyday life in Lewis from the winter feeing of sheep in the snow, the first spring lambs, to turfing and cutting the peats in early summer. O’Dells captures wildlife in a sensitive fashion, and her work is full of charm and vitality.
From the Isle of Lewis to Ireland, we are pleased to welcome renowned Irish artist Neal Greig to the list of exhibitors. Greig aims to capture the beautiful, rich and changing Irish landscapes and translate them into exceptional, dramatic and powerful art works for others to enjoy.

Another new addition to the gallery, Janet Cleghorn’s interpretation of the rural theme is rather interesting, by taking traditional everyday objects which carry a sense of nostalgia and giving them a contemporary feel. You can see Cleghorn’s background in textiles is a large influence in her work.
Injecting some colour and fun into the exhibition will be Claire West, with her happy paintings. West believes in the power of colour therapy in uplifting the spirit, so her work explores colour and its vibrant and intense nature. She works on canvas in acrylics and inks, preferring to layer the paint to add texture to the work. Although a familiar name to the gallery for her mixed media sculpture and framed wall pieces, Shirley Vauvelle will be providing some of her paintings for the first time. Shirley’s paintings explore colour, texture and space on the canvas rather than representational responses to the moments that inspire her. Like West, Vauvelle loves to layer paint to add texture, and creates energy by rubbing away or using different instruments to mark the paint with. Vauvelle will also be exhibiting some of her gorgeous freestanding and wall hung sculptural pieces.

Returning to the gallery will be four of our favourite artists; Pamela Grace, Catherine Rayner, Helen Tabor and Gordon Wilson. Grace is best known for her solar plate etchings, but in this exhibition we are being treated to some of her original watercolour, pen and ink works, in which she captures the local countryside beautifully. Rayner is an award winning children’s book author and illustrator, who has been exhibiting her wonderful silk screen and original paintings of animals with the gallery for many years. Tabor’s paintings have a certain mystical, ethereal quality to them, whether she is depicting figures and still life or seascapes and landscapes. Tabor’s main interests are in the properties of colour, the effects created by the movement of the paint and the mood created in a painting. Wilson is also interested in colour, with his deep love of the west coast of Scotland shining through in his evocative work. Painting from the heart, Gordon’s expressive oil paintings reflect the ever changing moods of both the countryside and the artist himself.

To complement the fine art, there will be a rich selection of applied art and craft on show, including exquisite jewellery collections by Anna De Ville and Sheena McMaster, ceramic vessels and wall tiles by Jacqui Atkin, ceramic bowls and bird sculpture by Debbie Barber, mixed media horse sculpture by Alexandra Shorey, wire and paper sight-hound sculpture by Lorraine Corrigan, driftwood sculpture by Lynn Muir, wooden sculpture by Michael Lythgoe and textiles by Jo Gallant.

The Whitehouse Gallery is a member of the Own Art scheme.
For more information, please contact Lynne on 01557 330223 or info@whitehousegallery.com www.whitehousegallery.com

Call for Entries: Stranraer Open Art Exhibition

From Christa Makinson

Entries are invited for this year’s Stranraer Open Art Exhibition to be held in Stranraer Museum’s excellent exhibition space.  The exhibition will take place between 15^th November and 6^th December 2014.

The organisers are keen to encourage exhibits from across as wide a range of visual arts as possible including drawing and painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, weaving and fabric, wood carving etc.

Displays are professionally mounted by experienced gallery staff and have always enjoyed significant footfall and public interest.

Miner's Houses by Davy Brown

Artists who wish further information should contact Anne Ramsbottom by email: stranraermuseum@dumgal.gov.ukor telephone: 01776 705088 or 01557 331643.

The Sky's the Limit

We wanted to get in touch with you to let you know that the application deadline for Portrait Artist of the Year has been extended until May 6^th at 9am.

We would be extremely grateful if you could let you art contacts know about this deadline extension so that anyone who is interested in applying is aware that they have extra time to do so. We do advise that they apply as soon as possible though to allow time for processing.

 

Ewan McClure paints Leo Blanmire at the McGill Duncan gallery's recent exhibition opening People and Places. Ewan was a finalist in last year's Sky Portrait Artist of the Year

It would be a fantastic help if you could post the below on Facebook and Twitter to help us get the news out. Good news! Entry deadline for @SkyArts Portrait Artist of the Year extended to MAY 6TH 9AM! Apply at sky.com/portrait Please share!

Many thanks - we really appreciate your help

The Portrait Artist of the Year Team

When the brush moves, water flows from a spring

Blog reposted from some LANDSCAPES 

'Consider that when the brush moves, water flows from a spring, and when the brush stops, a mountain stands firm' -  Sun Guoting (648-703)

Sun Guoting, part of the Treatise on Calligraphy, 687

  
In Tim Ingold's book Lines: a Brief History he quotes two writers on the history of Chinese calligraphy (Yen andBilleter) who describe the importance that has been attached to emulating nature - not in its forms, but in its movements.  Sun Guoting, for example asked his readers to consider the difference between two strokes - the 'suspended needle' and the 'hanging-dewdrop' - and to draw inspiration from rolling thunder, toppling rocks, flying geese, animals in flight, dancing phoenixes, startled snakes, sheer cliffs, crumbling peaks, threatening clouds and cicadas wings.  An earlier Jin Dynasty text, Lady Wei's Chart of Brush Manoeuvres (quoted by Yen, but not by Ingold), suggests that 'an elongated horizontal line should convey the openness of an array of clouds stretching for a thousand miles' whilst a dot should 'contain the energy of a rock from a mountain peak.'  A sweeping stroke (na) should contain the 'orgiastic vigour of rolling waves, or crushing thunder and lightning.'

From Billeter's The Art of Chinese Writing Ingold gives five more examples:

• A thirteenth-century master who compared the moment the brush makes contact with the paper to ‘the hare leaping and the hawk swooping down on its prey’
• Another who in writing two particular characters tried to move his hand like a flying bird, and for two others imitated the 'somersaulting of rats at play'
• The Sung Dynasty calligrapher Lei Chien-fu who 'described how he heard a waterfall, and imagined the water swirling, rushing and tumbling into the abyss. ‘I got up to write’, he recalled, ‘and all that I had imagined appeared beneath my brush''
• Another Sung Dynasty calligrapher, Huang T’ing-chien (Huang Tingjian, 1045–1105), who only mastered a particular stroke after observing the way boatmen on the Yangtze River angled their oars 'as they entered the water, pulled through in the development of the stroke, and lifted them out at the end, and how they put their whole body into the work'.
• And a treatise on painting from the same period describing the way Wang Hsi-chih (or Wang Xizhi, 321-79) drew inspiration from geese, whose necks undulate like the wrist of the calligrapher

 Qian Xuan, Painting of Wang Xizhi (and geese), thirteenth century.

To read the post in full, head to the some LANDSCAPES blog here

Minette Bell Macdonald @ Thomas Tosh

Thomas Tosh: Saturday March 1st-Saturday April 26th

10am-5pm Monday-Saturday

19 East Morton Street DG3 5LZ Tel: 01848 331 553

Thomas Tosh in Thornhill launches this Saturday (1st March) its first exhibition of 2014 with work from Minette Bell Macdonald. Minette is pursuing new artistic directions too.

The Dumfriesshire artist uses watercolours and most recently has specialised in wildlife with her series of hares, birds and foxes. The usual high class of paintings of those subjects can be found in the exhibition, plus the odd barn-yard pig.

Minette’s new dimension is her depiction of flora that can often be overlooked: our region’s hedgerows and the foliage of its beautiful trees.

Minette explains:“My inspiration came when walking and absorbing the colours and shapes of the leaves around me. I started by doing very detailed studies of hedgerows and then began to take out a lot of the detail and just concentrate on the colours and shapes of the leaves." 

She continues:“It’s all about looking and seeing how beautiful nature is, and how we seem to miss so much.”

A graduate of Carlisle College of Art, Minette is a regular exhibitor at the Anthony Woodd Gallery in Edinburgh, and her most recent Dumfries exhibit was at the Yellow Door gallery in Dumfries. She has had very successful previous exhibitions at Thomas Tosh.

All pictures on display at Thomas Tosh are for sale.