Carved from this Land
Athole House Studio
Dunoon Burgh Hall
Scotland 2019
Having spent more than three decades exploring Scotland both artistically and physically, I established my first Scottish studio in 2018. Following many years of teaching, during which opportunities to develop my personal practice were necessarily limited, I sought to return to painting through a more direct and physically engaged process. Working solely with a palette knife and heavy impasto oil paint, I developed a method akin to carving, constructing images that convey the elemental power and rugged beauty of Scotland’s natural environment alongside its built heritage. Combining the disciplines of painting and sculpture, this body of work was created using a deliberately restrained, earthy palette to explore the distinctive interplay of land, sea, and sky that characterises the Scottish landscape.
Athole House Studio
Dunoon Burgh Hall
Scotland 2019
Having spent more than three decades exploring Scotland both artistically and physically, I established my first Scottish studio in 2018. Following many years of teaching, during which opportunities to develop my personal practice were necessarily limited, I sought to return to painting through a more direct and physically engaged process. Working solely with a palette knife and heavy impasto oil paint, I developed a method akin to carving, constructing images that convey the elemental power and rugged beauty of Scotland’s natural environment alongside its built heritage. Combining the disciplines of painting and sculpture, this body of work was created using a deliberately restrained, earthy palette to explore the distinctive interplay of land, sea, and sky that characterises the Scottish landscape.
Athole House Studio, my base when working in Scotland, is situated on the Firth of Clyde. From this vantage point, the landscape unfolds simultaneously towards the sea and the surrounding mountains, all framed by the expansive skies for which Scotland is renowned. These shifting relationships between water, land, light, and atmosphere provide a continual source of inspiration and form the conceptual foundation of the series.
The resulting works seek not only to represent the Scottish landscape but also to embody its physical presence through materiality and process. The heavily worked surfaces echo the geological and environmental forces that have shaped the region over centuries, while the limited palette emphasises the enduring character of the terrain. Exhibited at Dunoon Burgh Hall in 2019, the series reflects an ongoing engagement with place, exploring how texture, form, and gesture can evoke the profound sense of connection between landscape, memory, and artistic practice.
