Many of the artists who generously gave work are from two artist networks - one in Argyll and another in Northumberland.

Argyll Artists - artmapargyll.com
Northumbrland Artists - networkartists.org.uk

We are grateful to the following artists who will be participating in the exhibition:

Birtley Aris, Mike Bell, Susan Berry, Pam Carter,
Fiona Chirnside, Norah Crawford, Frank Curran, Neil Daley, Susan Dobson, Jane Duckfield, Sandra Hammer,
James Hawkins, Owen Henderson, Alison House,
Elaine Hutchinson, Simon Johnson, Shona Johnston,
Dorinda Johnson, Liz Kerr, Michelle Knight, Stephen Lowe,
Lesley MacLean, Nicola MacDonell, Annine MacLean,
Rikki MacIntyre, Fiona MacRae, Ronald Maddox, Jean Martin,
Brian Milne, John Nelson, Mick Oxley, Dave Pickard,
Lionel Playford, Peter Podmore, Kip Poulson, Jac Ramsay,
Alan Reed, Sarah Riseborough, David Robertson, John Roddam, Mary Ann Rogers, Lizzie Rose, Graeme Sharp, Patricia Sharp, Jonathan Shearer, Tim Sokell, Margery Stephenson,
Rosie Villiers-Stuart, Frances Walker, Brian Waters,
Margot Waters, Elaine Westall, Edna Whyte, Karen Willis,
Susan Woodcock, Colin Woodcock, Jim Wylie and Liz Yule

Artists' Statements

Birtley Aris
My work reflects a lifelong interest in architecture and landscape.
I am particularly drawn to remote, neglected, and rarely visited
subjects: country churches up minor roads, disused railways, and sites
with evidence of the past, set in the often bleak and austere northern landscape. My particular interest is the use of poetry and music as a
basis for picture making.

Mike Bell
Structure and composition lead me to see the landscape in horizontal bands often related to the tidal flow on beaches and wild moorland landscapes near my studio in Northumberland, from which many of my works derive. I work both large and small in acrylic, mixed and found materials, often in relief, and my pieces are intended to stimulate rather than present literal perceptions.

Susan Berry
I fell in love with Argyll as a child watching my first otter. Now as an adult I love chasing the constantly changing veils of light with watercolour.

Pam Carter
A sense of a place is important in my work but for me it's not about capturing a scene with complete accuracy. Sometimes it is the elements and the untamed force of nature that inspire, but more than anything it is the essential quality of the light which can be found in the Scottish land and seascape. I often interpret the scene with abstract elements allowing the paint to work for me. I translate this light in terms of contrast and colour - often bold but always with subtlety and balance. I ultimately want to create a visual sensation and pleasing image.

FIona Chirnside
I paint miniatures and I like to bring fine detail into small paintings using the bright colours of gouache. I am a member of the Society of Limners – Miniatures and Calligraphers.

Norah Crawford
After graduation at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art I worked as an actress on stage, radio and television. I then taught at the University of the West Indies before returning to the UK. For the past fifteen years I have been concentrating on painting – usually still life, figurative work and portraiture.

Frank Curran
After a long career as a teacher in various Midlothian schools I now concentrate on painting, dividing my time between my two studios – one on Tiree and the other in Bonnyrigg.

Neil Daley
My main subjects are the landscapes of the north of England, although
I have a passion for capturing the beauty created in our built environments. I am motivated by place or occasion, and readily confess the act of painting is sometimes a torturous affair. I freely employ extra dramatisation or romanticism as required to convey my own personal experiences.

Susan Dobson
I am inspired by northern landscapes, particularly the wild places. I have spent many years walking in and drawing the mountains and fells of northern Britain, and more recently the Alps and Pyrenees. I love to be in the high hills, in close relationship with the mountains – often clinging on for dear life!

Jane Duckfield
I work mainly in watercolours. My work has been described as ‘tumbling landscapes in sonorous tones' and work showing ‘a beautiful familiarity with the landscape’. Living in Scotland provides me with an abundance of source material and inspiration. I have now travelled to most parts of the world, but family holidays are taken in the beautiful Highlands and Islands of Scotland, which feature strongly in her work.

Sandra Hammer
I am a landscape painter working in oil and mixed media. My work is bold and colourful reflecting the energy of the Northern landscape. My current work is concerned with grasslands and upland topography.

James Hawkins
My paintings in acrylic and/or watercolour focus on the Scottish landscape. They explore the interface between abstraction and figuration, often representing extremes of weather and climate; the painting's surface is important, textures involving collaged materials can raise it up to one inch. Colour is also bright and strong.

Owen Henderson
My background is as an illustrator and printmaker. I draw inspiration for my paintings by studying the Scottish landscape and the wild and varied weather that affects it. I sketch on site and works from these in the studio to produce the finished paintings. Using oil on canvas my paintings are built up with layers of paint and glazes.

Alison House
I use a range of media including watercolour, collage and oil on canvas. Many of my images are developed from the domestic surroundings of my home and garden and from the beautiful parks, gardens and coastline of Northumberland.

Elaine Hutchinson
I work in a variety of media – creating landscapes and seascapes. I try to capture the strong and vibrant colours in my surroundings– and to use texture and light to punctuate my work.

Simon Johnson
I use oils and watercolours to create my paintings – using landscape as my main subject. I enjoy using vibrant colours in my compositions and my work varies in scale depending on subject and approach. I am a regular visitor to the isle of Tiree.

Shona Johnston
I am interested in exploring the effects of colour and pattern in landscape/seascape. Often these effects are transient but the vibrancy remains constant even as the palette changes. There is rhythm in the patterns created in puddles, fences, stonework – they are a welcome punctuation to the flatness of the land.

Dorinda Johnson
I feel I always live through my art, absorbing and observing life and hidden worlds. My life’s journey is one of adventure in this world, across the oceans and through my art: my subject -the lone traveller through life.

Liz Kerr
Since retiring as an Occupational Therapist I have enjoyed returning to painting and her work is exhibited in several Scottish galleries.

Michelle Knight
Nature is a constant and nourishing source of material for me. My work is inspired by my surroundings on a working farm, gathering information by means of sketchbooks and small paintings, as an initial response, then developing the work in the studio. This is an important process to achieve a sense of place and integrity in the work. I am particularly attracted to trees and love painting their varied and sculptural forms.

Stephen Lowe
I spend a great deal of time painting outdoors – capturing local scenes. I work mainly in acrylics and concentrate on landscape and marine subjects.

Lesley MacLean
I trained as a graphic designer, illustrator and fine artist. I work in a variety of media – oil, watercolour and pastel – and my work includes landscape, seascape and animal portraiture.

Nicola MacDonell
My work explores the boundaries between nature and the man made landscape, particularly man's influence on the environment. Intense colour, abstract forms, buildings, walls and natural features are used in expressing the atmosphere and structure of contemporary rural landscape. I work from memory, sketches and notes, mostly painting indoors. Each painting is built up in many layers using glazes to create the rich depth of colour.

Annine MacLean
I work in a variety of media and sizes and enjoy painting landscapes and seascapes based on the ever-changing scenery of Tiree.

Rikki MacIntyre
My interest in drawing and painting began with my father and grandfather – who used watercolour, oils and coloured inks. Since then my interest has been developed through painting and drawing classes and membership of a local art club run by a former art tutor. The scenery of Tiree is unsurpassed and with the suddent changes in light and weather there is never a shortage of subject matter.

Fiona MacRae
I work in oils on either paper or canvas. My subjects are primarily still life, landscape, farm animals and domestic animals observed from my Argyll home or time spent on the Isle of Tiree.

Ronald Maddox
I am a painter, designer and illustrator. My watercolour paintings are mainly topographical, reflecting my interest in the landscape and architecture of Britain. I enjoy line illustration and many from my sketchbooks were used in the area telephone directories during the 1980’s. My design work includes a series of British Stamps and other philatelic material for the UK, the USA and the Isle of Man.

Jean Martin
I am fascinated by light and texture and the way light affects the surface on which it plays. Whether it is on a delicate flower head or the stone of a church pillar, the fleeting impermanence and the vibrant subtle illumination is a constant source of delight to me. I paint using watercolour, mixed media and collage, often layering and working back into the image until I arrive at the surface, light and structure I am after.

Brian Milne
Since retiring from teaching I spend more of my time painting. I work in a variety of media and use as my inspiration the island of Tiree and views out to sea.

John Nelson
I produce paintings which I hope encapsulate my natural joie de vivre and love of colour. Always suspicious of the archetypical, I work directly onto the canvas - no preparatory drawing and as something emerges, I follow and shape intuitively. Ideas for my paintings come from a variety of sources although I am particularly drawn to landscape motifs.

Mick Oxley
I am a keen observer and recorder of the rhythms and moods of the sea and the shore. My work consists of two main types - watercolour and acrylic seascapes which are painted in response to the changing weather, the scudding clouds and the roll of the sea – and textural works which take their inspiration from the shoreline adjoining my home.

Dave Pickard
I work mainly in coloured pencils. Subjects range from stones to landscapes.

Lionel Playford
I consider myself a painter and draughtsman and I have been making pictures about the northeast landscape since 1989 including industrial and urban subjects, the upland and coastal areas. My recent work has focused on north and mid Pennine landscapes and the Northumberland coastline.

Peter Podmore
I work directly from the landscape using pastels, oils and acrylics. I used to travel widely to work but now, with a large barn studio to work from in one of the most spectacular areas of Northumberland, my subject matter is largely local.

Kip Poulson
I am interested in the play of light on the shapes of fishing boats and their reflections and this has led to extensive travels around Europe. More recently based on the Hebridean Isle of Coll I have been painting seascapes and landscapes.

Jac Ramsay
Since retiring from teaching I paint for peasure. I usually work in acrylic and mixed media, and enjoy painting the places I visit in England and Scotland. This exhibition has provided me with an opportunity to exhibit my work for the first time in many years.

Alan Reed
I produce paintings which are representational but not photographic. I'm concerned about capturing the light and the fleeting moment in time for which watercolour is ideally suited. I like to paint people and cities, depicting the hustle and bustle of street life.

Sarah Riseborough
I have been a painter of the sea for over ten years, working mainly from the North East coast, where I live with my family. My responses to the sea change; from expressive, immediate en plein airs to more detailed work using sketches and photographs. I work mainly in oils, but enjoys other media, and other subject matter.

David Robertson
After a career as a teacher, I now spend my time playing golf and painting. I work in mixed media – interpreting the landscape and
coastline of Northumberland.

John Roddam
My work is a personal response to the way I view landscape and architecture and how it is developed from observed studies of broad open views to more detailed close-ups. I am constantly drawn to look at natural aspects of landscape in the strong design elements seen in forms such as rocks, trees and land structures. Painting is an evolving process and ideas and the development of the subject sometimes changes which in turn influences the way I work.

Mary Anne Rogers
I paint cockerels, ducks, wildlife and landscapes in watercolour at my remote studio in beautiful Redesdale, where many of my subjects can be seen. My work is consistently voted into the 'top ten' living artists in print by the Fine Art Trade Guild, and top self-publishing artist in the UK. My paintings and prints are regularly exhibited in the UK and overseas, including the Royal Watercolour Society.

Lizzie Rose
Beauty and energy found amongst trees, on mountains, beside livers, lochs and seas: the land and weather in their might and beauty, ferocity and calm. Drawing in dominant in my work. Line is important to me, sometimes delicate, but always with an energy and immediacy that helps me to capture the moment.

Graeme Sharp
I use abstract marks of colour and light to represent positive energy.
I often use thick brushes for a mosaic effect reminiscent of Byzantine art,
or a palette knife to create wonderful textures within the work. My work interprets portraits in a modern way, exaggerating colour and texture - releasing my love for painting.

Patricia Sharp
I live on the Isle of Tiree where I have my studio. I love to paint surrounded by music – classical or modern – and my work is often concerned with landscapes, seascapes, still life and flowers. I also paint
on visits to Portugal.

Jonathan Shearer
I try to describe a scene quickly – to achieve a sense of drama captured a moment, not with the cold eye of a camera lens but with an expressive gesture or brushstroke. I try to capture the essence of a scene. The ambiguity of the paintings leaves something to the imagination, allowing the viewer to respond to different aspects of the work.

Tim Sokell
I am a graphic designer working mainly in print and web environments.
I also love working with calligraphy and typography, and I am endeavouring to apply myself further in the visual arts.

Marjorie Stephenson
In addition to teaching, as a freelance, I have had hundreds of card designs published. My themes are landscapes, wildlife, domestic animals and portraits in either oils or watercolour.

Rosie Villiers-Stuart
I am a painter, teacher and workshop leader. I mostly paint landscapes and wildlife, and this takes me to the wild places of Northern England and Scotland. I work best outside and have developed practical ways to continue painting in all weathers. These are the most intense times, balanced by work consolidated back in the studio. I paint directly, rarely making conscious attempts to "interpret" what I experience. I hope my work reflects my delight and a deep sense of the privilege of being in these places and encountering their birds and animals.

Frances Walker
I have a life-long love of wild and desolate places, and since teaching in Harris and North Uist I have chosen to depict the most remote landscapes. My compositions are usually based on coastal reaches, craggy rocks and deserted beaches.

Brian Waters
I’m an illustrator and photographer. My personal work is rooted in landscape using paint and graphic media. My photography is concerned with exploring the erosion of man¹s structures by time and the elements.

Margot Waters
Having spent most of my life in the countryside my work is concerned with natural forms and changing season which gives me limitless opportunities to explore colour, pattern and texture.

Elaine Westall
Working mainly in watercolour and acrylics, I try to capture the elusive light and atmosphere of the landscape, be that local woodland, west coast seascapes or the mountains of the Alps, the movement of the skies and textures of the landscapes inspire my paintings.

Edna Whyte
Year round I experience from my studio the impact of the sea, sky, clouds, vapours, horizon: the mercurial, rumbustious, every shifting elements of water, air, light: elemental forces which display their dramatic existence across vast perspectives, creating their atmosphere of space and time.

Karen Willis
I work mainly in oils and acrylics and paint on a larger scale. My subject matter is primarily landscape and seascapes with a contemporary twist.
I also likes the intimacy of still life and paint vibrant watercolours on a smaller scale. Each painting is a unique journey. I was born in
the Shetland Isles and now live in Northumberland.

Susan Woodcock
The ever changing colours, moods and movement of the sea itself are a constant inspiration. I am particularly interested is how the sea meets the land. The low-lying land mass of Tiree almost disappears in a horizontal cross-section of vast sea and wide skies giving a feeling of open space which I try to create in my work.

Colin Woodcock
I spend a lot of time experimenting with materials and I find that painting is largely about decision making and evaluation. I am always trying to capture the purity of the light and the intensity of colour seen on the land and in the sea. I work in watercolour and acrylic.

Jim Wylie
My main understanding of painting has always been through line, form
and structure. Things like colour and texture for a long time had been something of a mystery. My struggle to come to grips with colour has led to an increased use of strong local colour, and this in turn has led to greater experimentation with surface quality. Form and structure, however, are always present ghosts - things which I frequently try to deny, but can never completely escape from.

Liz Yule
My work is mainly inspired by Scottish landscapes, seascapes, harbour and street scenes. I try to capture the feeling of light in my paintings using an impressionistic style, and a bold use of colour and tone. I have always loved the freshness and transparency of watercolours but now often paints in acrylics and oils. I live in Fife.