It’s hard to believe it’s been a full five years since moving to Fife, and 4 years since the completion of Birchtree Studio. It has become a joyful place of creative contemplation, play and production which we love to share with our visitors. As I contemplate the changing colours in the garden this early Autumn, I’m excited to share my art news for the coming calendar year.
Studio Visit weekend
On November 4th-5th 2023 we are hosting a Birchtree Studio Visit Weekend. Click to reserve a visit via Eventbrite..
I’ll be showing an archive of previously unseen notebook drawings and watercolours, having learnt new conservation techniques to extract them from 25 years of journals. Work in progress paintings, new drawings and a 2023 collaborative print for sale. We look forward to seeing you!
Tracers – a collaboration
TRACERS : I am delighted to been invited to collaborate with Glasgow-based performance artist Stephanie Black-Daniels, in this new cross-generation project between October 23- February ’24. It will be based on Stephanie’s research into the history & experiences of women ‘Tracers’ in the Glasgow Shipbuilding Industry in the early/mid 20th Century. I am excited about working with Stephanie, returning in a new form the industrial maritime genre that I explored back in the ’80s & 90’s. The project concerns the nature of movement in drawing and the lives of women. Tracers will culminate in a performance of drawing and dance at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow in February, and is supported by Creative Scotland.
TRACERS R&D @stephanieblackdaniels @creativescots collaborator @katedownie56 and producer @jojo.maffyews
Scottish Women Artists – 250 years of Challenging Perceptions
I recommend a visit to the Dovecot if you haven’t been already to see Scottish Women Artists – 250 years of Challenging Perceptions. Its a beautifully curated exhibition, and my work from the City Arts Centre Collection ‘Study for Three Bridge Evening’ is is represented adjacent to a magnificent Catherine seascape by Joan Eardley. Here I am at the preview with co-curator James Knox, director of the Fleming Collection, and Charlotte Rostek who wrote the excellent accompanying publication. until January 8th 2024
A painting for the Paris Olympics ! – Dialogue
I am delighted to announce my inclusion in the forthcoming exhibition ‘Dialogue’ at the Musée Maurice Denis in St Germain-en-Laye near Paris during the 2024 Olympics, from May 21st – December 31st, 2024.
‘Dialogue’ will present a renewed and original display of the Museum’s collection in dialogue with the work of 9 invited contemporary British artists, to be integrated into the heart of the exhibition, resonating with the works from the past. My painting ‘The Manse Cherry’ will be hanging with works by Denis, Gaugin, Maillol, Redon alongside other invited UK artists including David Hockney, Anna Ginsburg, Lynette Yiadom Boakye, Andy Goldsworthy and David Nash .
It promised to be a fascinating exhibition, and I feel honoured to have my painting seen in this vibrant curatorial context. Manse Cherry will be rotated through 108 degrees half way through the exhibition to mark the transition of the seasons.
‘ Siblings’ – a forthcoming Solo Exhibition 2024
‘Siblings’ will open next September 2024 at the award winning Glasgow Women’s Library, and will feature the body of work created during my 2021-22 research and ‘completion’ of the unfinished painting by Joan Eardley ‘Two Children’, as well as my final work ‘Four Children 1962-2022′. I am currently working on a series of painted banners for this exhibition which involve collaborative work with siblings of all ages.
More news to follow on this as the project develops. This exhibition with an associated program of workshops and talks will be available to tour, for hire from January 2025, please contact me for further details if interested.
Here is my latest etching, completed in February ’22 in Glasgow, inspired by the confluence of bridges over the Forth Estuary, each crossing representing three different centuries of design. From my particular viewpoint (as seen from Carlingnose Point in North Queensferry) they appear to intermingle in a distant perspective of transport options spanning the river.
