This week we have been putting the final touches to our new exhibition which opens this Saturday 12th September. Filling the gallery’s three rooms are the work of 4 acclaimed Scottish artists, Rosanne Barr, Emma S. Davis, Jane Hunter and Victoria Wylie. 

The world we live in is made up of various shapes and shades of colours, allowing us to view and interpret the world in our own way.
Our new exhibition Life in Colour showcases this at the heart. Through colour, memories, emotion and connection each artist shares an appreciation and celebration for the Scottish landscape and create meaning and value in all its beauty. 

Rosanne Barr - Eye Catching Array & Perfect out West

Many of Rosanne’s paintings for this exhibition were created after returning from her annual summer trip to Orkney. Working from memory, rather than depicting the landscape, she couples striking colours, with cleverly contrasted tones, creating a relaxing and serene feel. Blended lines and simplified shapes form the basis of her distinctive abstract style with a combination rags, sandpaper and even a shower squeegee used alongside more traditional tools to capture the impression of these locations. New work in this exhibition features a small selection of floral pieces, a new direction for Rosanne, with her aim remaining the same, to capture the feel of a bouquet while painting from her intuition.

Jane Hunter - Nature's sounding line to the surface

This collection of paintings are the first Jane has had available for sale since Spring this year.
Nature is at the heart of Jane’s colour choices and equally important for her is the emotional representation of these colours. Meticulously researching areas of the land, she immerses herself in specific locations, observing, interpreting and communicating how she sees colour and shape within the landscape. She explores the subtle details of island life, the changing landscape, movement of water and the changes in light.

Her work encompasses her connection to a place - the landscape - and encourages us to think deeper about our relationship with the world around us.

Emma S. Davis - Sunset North Berwick & Kyles of Bute, Tighnabruaich

Immersed in the world of drawing and painting for as long as she can remember, for Emma the Sottish landscape never fails to inspire her, leaving her with a deep sense of pride and gratitude to call this country home.
Visiting locations with a sketch book in hand, she continues to draw inspiration from Scotlands coast and Islands, with her paintings reflecting their physical beauty and the memories, emotions and moods she feels which connect her to these locations. Capturing the strength and light of colour, her works are highly personal and often thought-provoking interpretation of special places or moments.

Locations such as Camusdarach, Tighnabruaich and North Berwick feature in this exhibition alongside a selection of still lifes.

Victoira Wylie - Into the Quiet

Exploring the visual tension between the meeting of land, sea and sky, Victoria captures the energy and atmosphere of the landscape through bold striking colour and playful mark-making.
Seeking inspiration from her outdoor excursions, coupled with her fascination of horizon lines which have stayed with her since childhood, she balances control with spontaneity. Her paintings celebrate the ever changing drama of the shifting elements and the vastness of Scotlands wilderness, representing her connection to and respect for the natural world which is central to her practice and one she hopes resinates with viewers of her work.
Each work captures a memory of a specific place and moment while encompassing numerous experiences, rather than literal depictions.

Together Rosanne, Emma, Jane and Victoria’s work reflects a shared appreciation and celebration for the Scottish landscape and a reminder of the beauty in the colours of the natural world, while inviting viewers to consider their relationship and connection to both places and moments in time. This exhibition is more than an art show, it is a thought-provoking map of emotion and connection, imprinted in colour.  

Life in Colour opens on Saturday 12th September, with the artists present 1-3pm, and continues until 10th October.