GET READY!

The Menagerie is coming!

Featured here are 'Yellow Flower', 'Work of Art' and 'Cafe Creme' and are just 3 of the fabulous creations Barbara Franc has made for her solo exhibition.

TIP: This is a MUST SEE exhibition!

Fingal's Cave

Hello everyone,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtJkEWCQEbE
'Fingal's Cave' by Felix Mendelssohn

 















'Staffa', mixed media, by Beth Robertson Fiddes

Two breathtaking works of art on the same subject.  What more could you want?

Making Waves

Hello everyone,

There is much to get excited about when viewing our current exhibition, the Beth Robertson Fiddes Solo Exhibition, and all of those who have seen it so far have been overwhelmed by her beautiful, dramatic landscapes.  One recurring comment we are hearing is that Beth clearly loves the landscape she is painting - it positively radiates from the work.  Surely that, above all else, is a sign of a successful painting.  Viewers are also moved by her commitment to her work - drawing in situ, hiking for miles with all her equipment and camping out to find the best light to capture.  The results are simply stunning.

This commitment to her practice is exemplified in the three beautiful 'wave' paintings that have been so admired in the last two weeks.

'Summer Shore', mixed media on panel, by Beth Robertson Fiddes.

The creation of this exhibition has been exasperated by Beth suffering for much of this year with a trapped nerve in her back, which at times has made painting very difficult.  These paintings, of the beach on the tiny Outer Hebridean island of Berneray, were painted at just such a time.  Beth had gone to Berneray to relax and rest her painful back, and was lying on the beach when she saw the ripples and waves from a viewpoint that she had never seen before. And the result is these remarkable paintings:

'Berneray Waves', mixed media on panel, by Beth Robertson Fiddes.

Now we may all think we've seen waves like this before, but would anyone other than an artist with the creative flair and talent of Beth have had the skill to sketch them on the spot and to turn them into such powerful work?  I think not.

'Clear Water, Berneray', mixed media on panel, by Beth Robertson Fiddes.

I do hope you all manage to see this extraordinary exhibition - I guarantee it will be worth it.

 

Call of the Mountains

"Thousands of tired, nerve - shaken, over- civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.."
John Muir.

'Suilven', mixed media on panel by Beth Robertson Fiddes.

'Towards Stac Polliadh', mixed media on panel by Beth Robertson Fiddes.

Beth Robertson Fiddes Solo Exibition

This October, award-winning Beth Robertson Fiddes is showing us how to move mountains at UG.

Coupled Up

Hello everyone,

This weekend and next Monday offer you a last chance to see our lovely Autumn Exhibition before it makes way for the stunning Beth Robertson Fiddes Solo Exhibition.

One of the things that you'll find if you get here over the weekend, is a number of 'couple-related' paintings - quite an unusual turn of events for UG.
For Example:

'Burton' and 'Taylor', acrylic and collage on panel, by Colin Brown.

And:

 
 

'Mr.' and 'Mrs.', oil on panel, by Dylan Lisle.

Maybe there's something in the air, or maybe it's just great, imaginative work by some great artists, but whichever, we are delighted to see such exceptional work in the gallery.  After all, who can resist the wonderfully sensitive and delicate charms of Joyce Gunn Cairns MBE's works, such as:

 
 

 













'Mutual Regard', oil and pencil on card.

Don't miss the chance to see all this talent yourselves - Monday is the deadline.

The Height of Sophistication

Hello everyone,

In my last blog I promised we would take a closer look at something fishy in our Autumn exhibition.
Here it is:

'See no Fish, Hear no Fish, Catch no Fish', acrylic on canvas by James Newton Adams.

OK, so the fishermen might look a little comical with their big yellow gloves and rubbery red overalls, but James Newton Adams is making reference to the very serious issue of the declining fishing industry in Scotland. I love the glum expressions of their faces.

And there's more:

'Mallaig Fishermen' acrylic on canvas by James Newton Adams.

Now this is a painting I really wanted to take a closer look at!
I have often heard people refer to James as a 'niave' or 'primitive' painter. Yes there is a deliberate stylising of the figures, which in themselves appear childlike, and that of course is part of the appeal of James' work, but there's so much more to his work and this is a brilliant example of it.
There is nothing primitive about James' techniques as an artist: indeed every mark on his paintings is premeditated, skillfully rendered.

Just look at that fisherman's head!
In what seems to be an awkward and anatomically impossible face, the gruelling and relentless conditions which he has endured for many years are etched on his chiseled features.
It's so authentic you can practically smell him!
I also really enjoy the movement in this painting. The composition is clever, chopping up the canvas to mimic the choppy seas on which it's all 'niavely' balanced.
It is a buoyant and brilliant painting.

Come back soon to catch more marvels of the Autumn Exhibition :)