RSW take five

RSW five t a k e

E x h i b i t i o n o f p a i n t i n g s

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C h r i s t o p h E r w o o d p p s s a r s w r g i

1 8 M a y – 2 3 J u n e 2 0 2 4

D O U B T F I R E

g a l l e r y

O p e n i n g w i t h r e f r e s h m e n t s - S a t u r

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h r i s b r o o k

Chris Brook RSW

living in the scottish borders, self-taught and working professionally since 1995, Chris’s painting and printmaking works are essentially landscape driven.

“never intended as site specific, instead best described as reinvented retreats, a collection of marks and shapes alluding to the kind of place i would like to find, a place which is within reach and offers solitude, comfort, protection, and shelter ”

the starting process for making 2d constructional works begins by sifting through an ever-increasing collection of discarded and disregarded materials. both natural and man-made materials are selected for their individual qualities, whether that be colour, shape, texture or form.

“My attempt, through the layering and pairing of countless combinations of these objects, is to find an affinity, a natural, complementary harmony of pieces being brought together for the first time this, in turn, will dictate the next step

“being guided by the materials means that there is never a fixed scale in mind, and finished sizes vary from works which i refer to as token pieces, small in scale and intricate in construction, through to larger works which present a more totemic quality ”

images:

above left blue quilt, mixed media, 48 x 72cm

above right Vista, mixed media, 24 x 11cm

below we found a place, mixed media, 100 x 70cm

Chris Brook RSW

m i c h a e l

Michael G Clark RGI RSW PAI

Michael graduated from Edinburgh College of art in 1983.

he often paints scenes from everyday life: a couple hugging in paris, a waiter balancing a tray, a conversation at a café table. if there is a narrative taking place in his paintings, he wants the viewer to share the story

“i don’t spend much time drawing i prefer to just paint it has always been like that. i can remember primary school and the cakes of poster paint which turned gooey with just the right amount of water and the frustration when our art class was cancelled because william Morrison knocked over his water jar

“if i work from my photographs, they are just the starting point, the inspiration for the painting. it might be a mood or a posture that i respond to as i often end up painting out the detail, simplifying the image. the painting has to deliver more than the photograph

“My paintings are a response to my surroundings, places, and people i love and if in my daydreams i find our garden in spring, i also find france or italy in the summer and autumn.“

Michael G. Clark, Ayrshire 2024

“his paintings depict life kissed by the restorative power of the sun and a chilled bottle of wine waiting to be shared among friends ”

Dr Nia Clark MA MPhil

images:

Michael G Clark RGI RSW PAI above door, provence, france, oil on panel, 40 x 40cm below the blue gate, mixed media on saunders waterford, 50 x 65cm

l y n n m c g r e g o r

Lynn McGregor RSW

lynn was born in pittenweem, fife and trained at Edinburgh College of art. she was elected rsw (royal scottish society of painters in watercolour) in 2001 and is a professional member of Vas (Visual arts scotland) and ssa (society of scottish artists)

“ the source of my work is landscape in memory i work intuitively to try to find a balance between the various elements of texture, movement and geometry found in the landscape, using energetic overlayerings of colour and blocking out shapes and marks as i work initially, i allow myself to be led by the paint and the marks, then later take control of the medium, hopefully without losing the initial immediacy. My studio sits between a wooded hillside behind and loch awe in front, and this setting is the source of my inspiration ” she shows regularly at the annual exhibitions of rsw at the royal scottish academy, Edinburgh, in galleries throughout the Uk, and her paintings are held in numerous corporate and public collections

images: Lynn McGregor RSW

top after rain, acrylic on board, 61 x 61cm

middle shimmer, acrylic on board, 58 x 54cm

below winter glen, acrylic on board, 66 x 63cm

m a r g a r e t l s m y t h

Margaret L Smyth RSW

Margaret trained at Edinburgh College of art where she also completed her post graduate in drawing and painting. she was elected a professional member of the ssa in 1985 she lives and works in pittenweem, fife

“for many years now i have been attracted to a variety of imaginative elements which i enjoy combining in a poetic way My aim is to generate a set of mysterious, dreamlike scenarios, with a cast of theatrical characters of interchangeable scale sometimes found within a toy theatre, a circus tent or a hot air balloon drifting through the sky, wandering within the land or floating on the sea

“My aim is to try to evoke that moment in the theatre when the curtain lifts on the stage and reality is suspended.”

often, references to travels abroad slip into her compositions and allow vistas of tuscan landscape to be juxtaposed with close-ups of architectural details or art historical quotations

images: Margaret L Smyth RSW above Coppelia’s surprise, mixed media, 140 x 89cm below winter fairy, mixed media, 23 x 40cm

c h r i s t o p h e r w o o d

Christopher Wood PPSSA RSW RGI

Christopher trained at Edinburgh College of art, graduating with an honours degree in drawing & painting in 1984 he has been a full-time professional artist since his first one-man exhibition in Edinburgh in 1987

inspired by the artist ’s coastal environment near his home in dunbar, wood’s palette is infused with the reflection and absorption of light to be found in ever changing elements of scottish land and seascape

“My work encompasses landscape, seascape and abstraction, using oils, acrylics, collage and mixed media My working practice is intuitive and improvisational - an approach which fosters the unexpected. through the processes of painting, of layering and scraping, of looking and reacting, the work finds its own identity, with a purpose, history and a voice of its own i endeavour to leave enough room for the viewer to engage with my work through the lens of their own experience.”

Christopher is a past-president of the society of scottish artists, an elected member of the royal scottish society of painters in watercolour and an elected member of the royal glasgow institute of the fine arts

images: Christopher Wood PPSSA RSW RGI above out of nowhere, acrylic & collage on panel, 76 x 61cm middle foreshore, acrylic & collage on panel, 61 x 30cm below the weather turned around, acrylic & mixed media on cradled panel, 46 x 51cm

"After

Dave Brubeck

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