Fotheringham Gallery

Ever since Catriona Millar’s 2005 Degree Show at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen sold out within hours her unique and highly distinctive figurative oil paintings have captivated and delighted art collectors. The Sunday Herald newspaper ranks Catriona Millar in the top five most collectable Scottish artists and her work is admired and collected throughout Europe, the Far East, Australia and America. Catriona Millar’s paintings speak a universal language to all ages and many schools and colleges around the world have studied her work. 

Born in Glasgow, Catriona Millar studied at Harrogate School of Art and Grays School of Art, Aberdeen. Since the success of her sell-out 2005 degree show she has exhibited across the UK including the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. In October 2006 she came to the attention of Charles Saatchi with her first solo exhibition at the Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh . Catriona Millar now lives and paints in the south east of England.

Catriona Millar’s work takes its inspiration from the stories that lie at the heart of the human condition, and the sparkle of a narrative behind the eyes of her subjects hints at everything from longing to melancholy. Her work often juxtaposes human characters with a variety of animal confidants, with some seeming physically present in the composition while others take on a talismanic quality.

Working with a palette knife, Catriona Millar applies thick layers of paint to the canvas creating a surface that draws viewers further into the piece, imbuing her subjects with a tactile quality that seems to further humanise these stylised individuals. Colourful and beguiling, her work is about the connective tissue that defines us, from the stories we tell to the worlds we imagine.

 

Jane Cruickshank studied Fine Art at Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, completing her Master of Arts degree in 1999.  She has won numerous awards and scholarships including the Cooper and Lybrand Competition in 1996, John Kinross Scholarship to Florence in 1997 and the James Torrance Memorial Award from the Royal Glasgow Institute in 1998.

She has exhibited her paintings widely and has shown very successfully at art fairs in London and Glasgow.  Using recognisable subject matter she employs an intense realism in her paintings, whether still life or portraits. Subjects have a luminescence and clarity that make them appear as if they could move off the canvas.  Jane says, “I started painting the figure while at art college — mainly self-portraits or members of the family, usually on large canvases with the figure placed off centre to create an image of vulnerability. Pattern and surface are tools that I use to explore how the dominance of appearance manipulates the identity.”

Dot Walker has travelled and painted in many beautiful parts of the world, but favours the north of Scotland with it’s unique atmosphere and breathtaking light that plays on the land and water. She paints mainly in oils, using a vibrant palette and strong textures to try to convey the emotions that the landscape evokes in her. She often paint and sketch outdoors with the help of two enthusiastic spaniels.

Dot is based at WASPS studios in Inverness and sells her work at various galleries around the country.

After studying in London during the eighties and returning to the Glasgow art scene, Cecilia has worked as both designer and artist. Working in oils, Cecilia is inspired by urban scapes and lifestyle, observing everyday life and human nature, often injecting light hearted humour into her painting subject.
Since dedicating herself to painting full-time, Cecilia’s work has exhibited regularly, including The Royal Glasgow Institute (RGI), The Paisley Arts Institute (PAI) including pre-selection for the prestigious Royal Institute of Oil Painters in London (ROI). Cecilia’s work has gained wide interest home and abroad, one such owner of several of Cecilias Glasgow lifestyle pieces is Torchwood and Desperate Housewives star, John Barrowman.

Madeleine Hand was born in Motherwell in 1959. She graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1981, where she specialised in illustration.

She attended Glasgow School of Art 1976-81, specialised in Illustration
 Post Graduate at Glasgow School of Art 1981 
 Awarded Travelling Scholarship to Portugal 1981
 Community Artist at The Pierce Institute, Govan 1982
 One of a group of artists to set up Inks Art and Design, a gallery/ workshop in Birnam 1988-91
 Part-time Teacher of Art and Design at The New School, Butterstone from 1992 Helped establish Zigzags, an outlet for arts and crafts in Dunkeld
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Madeleine Hand currently divides her time between commissions and painting. She has been commissioned to produce work for Scottish Ballet, Ivor Cutler, Dunkeld Records and Perth Festival of the Arts. Widely exhibited across Britain, she now lives and works in Perthshire.

Her work has a strong individual and recognisable style; it is defined by an immaculate sense of line and colour, coupled with an unerring eye for making the everyday moments of life beautiful. Madeleine loves the paintings of the 1940s and has been inspired by the work of Eric Ravilious and Evelyn Dunbar.

Commissions include : Promotional poster for Ivor Cutler Scottish Ballet Workshop brochure Illustration work for Dunkeld Records Illustrations for Perth Festival of the Arts Brochure 2008-2011 Illustration and promotional material for ‘The Field’ Community Growing Project Dunkeld 2014 Promotional Design ‘The Taybank’ – Dunkeld Illustrated map of Dunkeld and Birnam [The Taybank Dunkeld]

Jim Wylie was born and raised in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art, where he graduated in Drawing and Painting before qualifying as a teacher, going on to serve as Principal Teacher of Art at Kilmarnock Academy and also working for SQA as Principal Assessor of Advanced Higher Art and Design.

He resigned from teaching in 2001 to concentrate on painting, and his workmanlike approach to his craft has led to an increasing demand for his superbly designed landscapes, characterised by the use of strong, clean colour and carefully organised compositions. He now lives in Ayrshire.

Wylie exhibits continually in a variety of independent galleries across Scotland. He is a member of Paisley Art Institute and contributes regularly to the annual exhibition, where he has been awarded prizes on three occasions.

Awards include: 1998 Judge’s prize, Paisley Art Institute
1999 Visitors’ prize, Eglinton Open Art Exhibition, Irvine2002 Miller’s Creativity Prize, Paisley Art Institute 2009 Willa Reivie Award, Save the Children, Maclaurin Gallery, Ayr 2014 Art Forum Award, Paisley Art Institute

Rob Shaw studied at Newcastle College and Teesside University and graduated in 1997 with a First-Class Honours Degree. He then went on to pursue a successful career in Interior Architecture both here and abroad. Rob’s parents relocated to North Yorkshire in 1994 and bought a cottage high up on Boulby Cliff, overlooking the fishing village of Staithes. Rob fell in love with this absolutely beautiful village and began to paint it. It’s Staithes which has continued to inspire Rob’s art work no matter where he has lived in the country and that’s where his successful career as a professional artist was born. Rob returned to live in Staithes in 2007 and began to paint full time. Since then Rob has also exhibited large Cityscapes in New York, London and Tokyo and exhibited and sold art work at the Royal Academy in their annual Summer Show.