Gallery Q Dundee is inviting visitors to an exhibition of new work by the well-known Scottish artist Marion Drummond along with a mixed exhibition of paintings by gallery artists.
Marion Drummond was born in Glasgow in 1958.
Largely self-taught as an artist, she acknowledges benefitting greatly from attending life classes under Christine Ironside, Drummond Mayo and Ann Johnston.
Marion’s inimitable style has established her as one of Scotland’s most recognisable and sought after artists and she was recently awarded the title PAI (Paisley Art Institute).
Marion exhibits widely and her paintings are in private and corporate collections across Europe.
She currently lives and works from her home in Stirlingshire.
She has a particular love for the Blane valley countryside where her daily walks inspire her as she watches the seasons and light conditions change, sometimes painting outside to capture the immediacy of her subjects.
“I paint with passion in oils with fingers and rags (no brushes) and my subject matter is varied from figurative, floral and still life to landscape,” she says.
“I used to paint with a knife but found I was missing the curved line so I now tend to work quickly with my hands.
“This method evolved really out of the necessity of finding a speedy way to work from life, as a model can only sit for a finite time and I don’t like revisiting a pose.
“I find the pose is never quite the same and I’d rather start afresh.”
Use of rags
Marion explains how she makes a start with rags, dipping into oil and marking out the light, mixing on the board as she goes and dragging; working wet on wet.
“The paint is never diluted,” she adds.
“I love the feel of the paint and try to put energy and emotion into my paintings, making an abstract start and tightening as I go.
“The danger is always to over tighten and overwork the piece but I do enjoy experimenting and taking a painting as far as it can go before losing it and starting again.
“I can put a painting away for weeks or months (occasionally years) and revisit it with a fresh eye.
“When I think I’ve finished but am not quite sure I’ll put the painting at the end of my bed and wake up to see what’s lacking – a tip from the late Anne Gordon, a wonderful Scottish colourist.”
Mixed exhibition
Alongside Marion Gallery Q are running a mixed exhibition of new paintings from Catriona Millar, who has been selected to exhibit at the Venice Biennale.
Described as “one of Scotland’s most collectible artists” with “bold works that capture hearts and the imagination”, Catriona Millar has been ranked in the top five most collectible Scottish artists.
Lucinda Middleton, owner of Gallery Q, says: “Like a novelist or playwright Catriona Millar brilliantly combines her life experience and her imaginary world in her work.
“The results are unique and her richly observed, highly recognisable figurative paintings are acclaimed and collected around the world.
“Millar says she is always striving for honesty in her work. “If it is not true, it has nothing.” she has said.”
Fuelled by remarkable colour and pattern, Millar’s paintings possess an emotional resonance and a deep truth that cuts through the usual boundaries that often surround art.
There is however, a “classical and indeed an ancient voice” lying beneath Millar’s figures.
“It smiles or stares out at us telling us familiar yet half-forgotten stories about ourselves,” adds Lucinda.
“It is this connection on a hidden level that brings Millar’s work into our lives with such a potency and lasting vigour.”
Gallery Q is also exhibiting work from Helga Chart RSW RWS.
Edinburgh based artist Helga Chart studied at Edinburgh College of Art. This was followed by 12 years teaching in Edinburgh schools and another 14 years lecturing in Art and Design at Edinburgh Telford College. She has won awards from these Societies and Visual Arts Scotland.
Gwen Adair, meanwhile, grew up in Fife and still visits to paint landscapes. She trained at Glasgow School of Art, and now paints and teaches in Dumfriesshire. She was a shortlisted artist in the 2018 Scottish Portrait Awards. She has shown her work across the UK and developed an impressive following.
Also being exhibited are works by Deborah Phillips, John Paul Raine, Stuart Moir and Irene McCann plus a selection of other gallery artists.
The gallery also has its usual selection of beautiful glass, ceramics and jewellery for gift buying needs plus greetings cards.
The exhibition ends on October 16.
All work can be seen online: www.galleryq.co.uk
