ethel walker 5th – 22nd november 2013
T H A C K E R AY G A L L E RY E ST. 1968
There is always a starting point for a painting and a body of work. It may be for me an effect of light, an arrangement of form or a juxtaposition of colour – something which seems to demand translation into paint. This starting point has to be vivid, concise, essential. Keeping this dynamic in the finished work requires disregarding anything that detracts from the original idea. Less is more. My technique has evolved to accommodate this. I use the calligraphy of brushwork for structure, a smooth ground rather than the distraction of textured canvas and glazed layers of pigment to build up colour and depth. Living on the West Coast of Scotland my inspiration mainly comes from the ever-changing skies and unexpected weather overlying and affecting ancient landforms. The light on the land can appear to change contours, solid can seem unsubstantial, and air, sea and stone merge into an interdependent whole. I hope to encapsulate a visual instant – a sense of immediacy and imminent change but also a sense of enduring place. Painting is a compulsive occupation. It is also a lonely one. As an artist, one is one’s own harshest critic, always trying to push the boundaries and explore the concept that bit further while remaining true to one’s individual artistic identity. The ‘buzz’ comes when sometimes one stands back from the easel and realises that a piece of painting has really ‘worked’ and has done so with integrity. Ethel Walker
page one thames, down river evening – still water oil on board 24x24ins.
oil on board 25x34ins.
mist on mountains oil on board 21x27ins.
4
summer sky oil on board 24x24ins.
6
storm sky, machrihanish oil on board 24x30ins.
8
leaving mull oil on board 20x20ins.
10
jura oil on canvas 12x12ins.
12
setting sun over jura oil on board 16x16ins.
14
early morning, tiree oil on board 24x48ins.
16
firth of lorne oil on block board 36x48ins.
18
incoming tide, kintyre oil on board 34x48ins.
20
sand dunes, islay oil on board 24x48ins.
22
west of ireland oil on board 23x34ins.
24
nightfall, crinan oil on board 15x18.5ins.
26
mountains, skye oil on board 26x29ins.
28
hill road oil on block board 36x36ins.
30
flame – late summer oil on board 20x30ins.
32
BIOGRAPHY solo exhibitions 1941
Born Ayrshire, Scotland
1959-64
Glasgow School of Art
1970-79
Great King Street Gallery (Edinburgh), Lillie Art Gallery (Milngavie). Scottish College of Textiles (Galashiels), Torrance Gallery (Edinburgh) Eden Court Theatre (Inverness), Kes Mosaics (Edinburgh), Crafts (Edinburgh)
awards
1980-89
Broughton Gallery (Lanarkshire), Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Gladstones Land (Edinburgh), Torrance Gallery (Edinburgh), McIan Gallery (Oban), The Gatehouse Gallery, Glasgow
1990-93
Macauley Gallery (Stenton), The Gatehouse Gallery (Glasgow), Flying Colours (Edinburgh), Rowan Gallery (Drymen), Tolquhoun Gallery (Aberdeenshire), Ancrum Gallery (Jedburgh)
1994-96
Thackeray Gallery (London), The Gatehouse Gallery (Glasgow), Macaulay Gallery (Stenton)
1997-99
Thackeray Gallery (London), The Contemporary Fine Art Gallery (Eton), Stenton Gallery (Stenton), The Gatehouse Gallery (Glasgow), Flying Colours Gallery (Edinburgh International Festival), Corrymella Scott Gallery (Newcastle), Thackeray Gallery (London)
1982
Anne Redpath Award, Scottish Society of Women Artists
1986
Glasgow Herald painting Competition, Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts (RGI)
1995
Alva Computers Purchase Prize, Scottish Society of Artists & Craftsmen (SAAC)
1995
The Whyte & Mackay Group Award, SAAC
1997
The Scottish Provident Award, SAAC
1998
Most well received work, SAAC
2000
Barclay Lennie Award, Glasgow Society of Women Artists (GSWA)
2000-02
Thackeray Gallery (London), The Contemporary Fine Art Gallery (Eton), Stenton Gallery (Fettes College, Edinburgh)
2002
Mabel McKinlay Award, RGI Annual Exhibition
2003-04
2012
Invited Artist, Home House, London
Thackeray Gallery (London), Flying Colours Gallery (Edinburgh International Festival), Roger Billcliffe (Glasgow), Contemporary Fine Art Gallery (Eton)
2005-06
Thackeray Gallery (London), Flying Colours Gallery (Edinburgh International Festival), Roger Billcliffe (Glasgow)
collections
2007-08
Thackeray Gallery (London), Flying Colours Gallery (Edinburgh International Festival), Roger Billcliffe (Glasgow)
Bank of Scotland; Heriot Watt University; Lillie Art Gallery; Royal Bank of Scotland; Britoil; Trustees Savings Bank; Argyllshire County Collection; Sarah Lee Holdings; City of Edinburgh Art Collection; P&O: City of Edinburgh Art Collection; Scottish Power; Nomura Securities; amongst others.
2009-10
Thackeray Gallery (London), Flying Colours Gallery (Edinburgh International Festival)
2011-12
Thackeray Gallery (London), Flying Colours Gallery (Edinburgh International Festival), Roger Billcliffe (Glasgow)
And in many private and corporate collections throughout the UK, Europe, USA, Hong Kong and Australia.
2013
Thackeray Gallery (London)
sky and sea, pale silver oil on block board 48x48ins.