The Whitehouse Gallery presents its Autumn exhibition ‘As The Nights Draw In’, which will open on 5th September and run through to 31st October.
All are welcome to attend the preview opening on Saturday 5th September from 11am, where there will be complementary bubbly and chocolates for all those who attend. This exhibition is a wonderful mix of gallery favourites alongside some of Scotland’s most celebrated fine artists & new artists to the gallery. This exhibition guarantees not to disappoint, with some really exciting artists and a varied mix of subject matter and style.
The Whitehouse welcomes three new artists to this exhibition; Ruth Brownlee, Louise Rawlings and Fiona Sturrock. Ruth Brownlee is based in Shetland and her work is based on recent responses to the rugged dramatic environment of Shetland and its visual drama of constantly changing elements against the coastal landscape and the North Sea. Her paintings are evocative and atmospheric. Illustrator Louise Rawlings work is rather different, inspired by anything as simple as a walk in the park with her much featured dog Alfie, she draws upon everyday scenes which are easy to relate to. Rawlings works in acrylics/mixed media and watercolour, and her unique and uplifting style is instantly recognisable.
Fiona Sturrock paints delightful still life. Working mainly in acrylics, Fiona has an interest in the old and new, the past and present, and how these function together within the same space. She is drawn to objects with a history, a narrative, or just a plain old vintage charm. Old vases and jugs hold and contain the vibrant newness and natural simplicity of the flowers that she favours in her paintings. Returning to the gallery is Gordon Wilson, who has seen demand for his work growing steadily over recent years and is now selling out solo shows. Working predominantly in oils, his subject matter ranges from quirky portraiture and obscure figurative to dynamic landscape. His expressive oil paintings are inspired by his native Scotland; whether dark and moody or an explosion of colour they reflect the ever changing moods of both the countryside and the artist himself. Portraiture will also be on show by Joyce Gunn Cairns MBE and Julie Barnes.
The Scotsman has described Joyce Gunn Cairns MBE as being “one of the most highly individual artists amongst our contemporaries, who is viewed as one of the doyennes in the Edinburgh art scene”. Joyce’s deepest interest as an artist is in the figure, but she also excels in wildlife drawing and has spent many happy hours at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh, studying the hares and birds in particular. Julie Barnes’ figurative paintings are bold in composition and rich in colour, using gold, silver and bronze leaf to enhance applied oils and acrylics, in turn giving her paintings a rich texture and luminosity. Award winning illustrator and children’s author Catherine Rayner returns with her ever popular silkscreen prints and original paintings of British wildlilfe. For John Threlfall SWLA, living near to the Solway Firth in SW Scotland provides him with a constant source of inspiration, influenced by the ever changing light and the ebb and flow of the tide with an abundance of bird life on his doorstep. Winifred Fergus will also return with some of her delicate paintings which capture wildlife in a sensitive fashion. Also local, Jane Blair’s work is stimulated by the rural splendour of her surroundings, and the beasts which inhabit it. Landscapes are also a popular subject matter for this exhibition.
Peter Tudhope prefers to use oils to paint Scottish landcapes which are alive with colour and texture, often adding other mixed media and collage elements to his work. Andy Cross is more interested in creating an atmosphere in his landscape paintings, from the damp and dreich Scottish weather, to the sunlit paintings of Provence. His still life work is very much influenced by Japanese art and design, where some elements are flattened and simplified, rather than conveying three dimensional objects. Also exhibiting will be Jim Livingstone, Jane McCance and Valerie Sadler, all very much influenced by the Scottish landscape. McCance describes how she has ‘a strong sense when standing in a landscape of ‘inhaling’ the land and sky, of wishing somehow to consume it. My painting is a way of expressing this feeling on canvas – an ‘exhalation’ of sense and emotion.’ 3d work and Applied Art & Craft will be on show from a number of reputable artists and makers, including recycled sculpture by Barbara Franc, sculpture by Michael Lythgoe & Jennifer Watt, ceramics from Archie McCall and Lesley Nason. Plus the usual mix of furniture, baskets, textiles, sculpture, ceramics, prints and much more.
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