Hosking Houses Trust
I was fortunate to spend the month of July at the Hosking Houses Trust in the village of Clifford Chambers, two miles south of Stratford Upon Avon.I stayed in Church Cottage, a cosy place with William Morris wallpaper, a high bed and a roll-top bath in the bedroom....
Creative Scotland Award, oil painting and fresco influences
I was fortunate to receive a Creative Scotland Open Fund Award to look at how my oil paintings and frescoes influence each other. In my practice, oil painting has generally allowed for corrections, changes of mind and layering whereas fresco has demanded a more direct...
Enclosed Spaces Linlithgow Burgh Halls
Enclosed Spaces at Linlithgow Burgh Halls comprises paintings that are tied together by the theme of enclosed spaces. Whether interior or exterior, the spaces are settings for improvised fictions. Like theatre sets or dream arenas, the action happens in a place that...
On the Wall, Off the Wall
These frescoes have been on the wall and off the wall. Twelve artworks have come out of one but have gone through many processes on the way. It all started out with a wall painting and has ended up in an exhibition in Northumberland called ‘Without Walls’. So, how did...
QEST Strappo Course, Rome
I took part in a strappo course in Rome, thanks to my QEST Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable Settlement Scholarship. This, the final part, follows on from my study visit to Naples and Rome and my gold leaf course in Bosa, Sardinia. Strappo is Italian for tear...
QEST Study visit to Naples and Rome
I made a wonderful study visit to Rome and Naples, thanks to a QEST Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable Settlement Scholarship. Following on from my gold leaf course in Bosa, I took the boat from Sardinia to the mainland and trains to Naples, Pompeii,...
QEST Gold Leaf Course, Bosa, Sardinia
As part of my QEST scholarship (Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable Settlement Trust), I spent a week in Bosa Art School, Sardinia with Carey Mortimer. She showed me how to use gold leaf on fresco panels.I started by dissolving beeswax in turpentine and mastic...
Improvised Fictions at the Scottish Arts Club
In February 2023 I had a solo exhibition, Improvised Fictions at the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh. The Scottish Arts Club is a cosy exhibition space in the heart of Edinburgh. I showed large and small oil paintings on the theme of day dreaming and invention, with...
Stephen Palmer Travel Award Bursary, Engage Scotland
In September 2022 I spent a week looking at frescoes in England thanks to a Stephen Palmer Travel Award Bursary awarded by Engage Scotland/ Creative Scotland. I would like to thank them for giving me this wonderful opportunity.I visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford...
QEST, L’Art de la Fresque, Brittany
Continuing with my QEST Scholarship, I attended a week long fresco course, l’Art de la Fresque, at the beautiful Abbaye Saint Jacut de la Mer in Brittany, France. This was run by Isabelle Bonzom and Valerie Letombe and hosted by VMSF. There were thirteen participants...