6 Women Artists
Lime Tree Gallery, Fort William
This exhibition came to life after visiting the Paisley Art Institute’s Annual Exhibition in 2013. Whilst viewing the exhibition, it became abundantly clear that a great number of paintings being exhibited in Scotland, were the work of female artists. This has inspired us to take it upon ourselves to spread the word about some of these artists and for our first exhibition of 2014, we are exhibiting some fine examples of the work of Helen Turner PPAI PAI, Margaret Ballantyne, Claire Harrigan RSW, May Byrne PAI, Jennifer Mackenzie and Lynn McGregor RSW. Although this exhibition is titled ‘6 Women Artists’, gender and nationality are the only significant traits that these women share. Painting a range of still life, landscape and figurative works, each artist brings something completely different to the show in terms of technique, medium and philosophy. For example, Helen Turner and Lynn McGregor both paint landscapes, but Helen favours an impressionist style with a soft tonal range, whereas Lynn’s paintings command a more vibrant palette as she creates her abstract works.
As well as introducing some of these artists’ works to Fort William for the first time, we feel this show brings a great range of skill and experience to the Lime Tree Gallery - 6 Women Artists is not to be missed.
8th
Open 10am – 10pm February till 16th March.
Helen Turner PAI PPAI Helen M Turner PAI PPAI was born in Glasgow. When she left school she joined the design studios of James Templeton and attended Glasgow School of Art in the evenings from 1952 to 1960. There she studied drawing, still life and portraiture under Trevor Mackinson and William Gallagher. Continuing her career with James Templeton,and other companies, she became a documented designer in Aubusson and Beauvais, travelling extensively throughout the world. Helen's designs can be seen in the Waldorf Astoria, Turnberry Hotel, San Francisco Opera House, The New York Plaza, P & O Cruise Liners and many Casinos throughout the world. Eventually, she gave up her design work to become a full-time artist. Helen was elected President of the Paisley Art Institute from 2001to 2004. She is also a member of the Glasgow Society of Women Artists and exhibits regularly in galleries throughout the UK. Helen won the East Linton Award in 1972 and 2004 and was commended in the Soroptomists' International Fine Art Award in 1992. In 2000 she became a Diplomat of the Paisley Art Institute [PAI]. Helen has work in the corporate collections of Robert Fleming Holdings, Dunedin Fund Managers, Ramco Oil, the TSB, Dunedin Fund Managers, South Ayrshire Council, Paisley Museum and Art Galleries and many in private collections at home and abroad.
Kenmore Oil on Canvas, 66 x 76cm, ÂŁ4000
Caravans at Treigh Bay Oil on Canvas, 61 x 86 cm, £4100
Solitude Loch Sunart Oil on Canvas, 71 x 101 cm, £4500
Narcissus Oil on Canvas, 50 x 56 cm, ÂŁ3500
Whispering Grass Sanna Oil on Canvas, 66 x 71 cm, £3900
Hills of Galloway Oil on Canvas, 61 x 71 cm, £3800
Jennifer Mackenzie Jennifer Mackenzie is a Scottish artist who lives and works in Golspie, Sutherland but is originally from Coatbridge near Glasgow. She graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1971, spent a further year at Jordanhill College of Education and then taught Art and Design in schools in Lanarkshire, Inverness and Sutherland. Since leaving teaching in 2001, Jennifer has been a full time professional artist.
“My paintings are very much a personal response to my environment, in terms of colour, light and space, and in the Scottish painterly tradition, reflecting my time at GSA with tutors such as William Drummond Bone, Sandy Goudie, and David Donaldson. I enjoy exploring colour and the tactile qualities of oil paint, largely through still life.”
Still Life with Pink Lillies Oil on Canvas, 60 x 60cm, £1350
Lillies by the Window Oil on Canvas, 90 x 90cm, £1750
Chrysanthemums and Lemon Oil on Canvas, 54 x 54cm, £800
A Little Still Life Oil on Canvas, 59 x 59 cm, £800
Winter Whites Oil on Canvas, 67 x 67cm, £950
White Tulips Oil on Canvas, 46 x 40cm, ÂŁ450
Margaret Ballantyne Margaret Ballantyne lives and works in Glasgow where she attended Glasgow School of Art. She is an elected member of the Glasgow Society of Women Artists and the Paisley Art Institute, where she won the Col. Neville Award. She exhibits with the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours. Margaret has also exhibited in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions for several years.
She was invited by International Artist Magazine to contribute an article on her painting and method. Her work was chosen at the Mall Galleries in London for the Laing Calendar. For several years the National Trust for Scotland used her paintings for their annual Christmas card, and many of her paintings have been reproduced by the Robertson Collection as cards which are available in numerous galleries and National Trust for Scotland. Margaret’s work is in many private and public collections at both home and abroad.
Early Snow Perthshire Oil on Canvas, 76 x 66 cm, ÂŁ2500
Iona Oil on Canvas, 36 x 36 cm, £500
Corner of the Village, Iona Oil on Canvas, 77 x 77cm, £600
Still Life with Pineapple Oil on Canvas, 66 x 66 cm, ÂŁ1500
Tide Patterns, Bute Oil on Canvas, 41 x 42cm, £600
Scalpsie Bay, Bute Oil on Canvas, 80 x 70cm, £2500
Claire Harrigan RSW Claire was born in Kilmarnock in 1964. She studied art at Glasgow School of Art from 1982 – 86 graduating BA Hons in Fine Art (Drawing and Painting). She very quickly came to the attention of several galleries and set up studio to become a full time artist. Her early exhibitions proved successful and demand for her work grew steadily. Her first solo show was staged at the Macaulay Gallery at Stenton in 1988 followed in the same year by a solo exhibition at Christopher Hull Gallery in London. Since then and over the years, her solo shows were a major feature of her work schedule alternating every two years between prestigious galleries, with mixed shows also being accommodated in many of the major UK commercial galleries. Claire has been the recipient of many major awards including The Mary Armour Award at the Glasgow School of Art, The Lily McDougall Award by the Scottish Society Artists and Artist Craftsmen, James Torrance Memorial Award by the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, The Latimer Award by the Royal Scottish Academy, and the Glasgow Arts Club Fellowship award, RSW. In 1992, Claire became an Elected Professional Member of the Royal Scottish Watercolour Society – RSW. She was listed in “20th Century Painters and Sculptors” by Frances Spalding and first listed in “Who’s Who in Art” 26th edition (1994) published by Art Trade Press Ltd. In 2007 a book about her work entitled “Abstract and Colour techniques in painting” was published by Batsford. Her painting style is vibrant and bold in use of colour with a high key palette a permanent feature of her work. She paints distinctively with colour and abstract elements working well together in clever and mature compositions
September Moon Acrylic & Oil Pastel on Board, 73 x 92cm, £2500
Leafy Oranges Acrylic & Oil Pastel on Board, 49 x 49cm, £800
Tulips Acrylic & Oil Pastel on Board, 49 x 49cm, £800
Young Musician Acrylic & Oil Pastel on Board, 93 x 118 cm,£2500
Sunflowers Acrylic & Oil Pastel on Board, 70 x 78cm, £1500
May Byrne PAI May's artwork focuses mainly on the islands of the Uists in the Outer Hebrides. With her family history intrinsically entwined with that of South Uist, May's art is an evocation and interpretation of the Gaelic rhythms of her native island. An unconscious absorption of the history, culture and environment of the chain of islands that make up the Outer Hebrides has proved to be integral to her art. Although born and raised in Glasgow, May gained first-hand experience throughout the 1960s and 1970s of her family's traditional methods of crofting. Whether it was cutting hay, stacking peat or tending to the livestock, including everything from chickens to native Hebridean sheep, there was an expectation for family members big and small to help out during a busy summer period. A subsequent lifelong fascination with the crofting lifestyle, the environment and its resilient people, allied to her instinctive awareness, appreciation and understanding of the Hebridean landscape, has shaped May's very distinctive voice. Using photography and sketches to record the underlying tension of the changing weather and seasons of the islands, she expresses the huge expansive skies, the colour palette of the machair, the hidden depths of the lochans, vastness of the beaches and drama of the mountains. Over a number of years May has developed an expressive, loose approach to painting. Two styles of painting dominate her artwork – on the one hand, a colourist approach, using strong, vibrant colours and on the other hand, a more muted and understated approach. May uses broad brushstrokes and palette knives to create layers of texture as means to capture the light and effects of the weather on the environment.
Winter Landscape, Uist Mixed Media, 51 x 51 cm, ÂŁ380
House on the Hill Mixed Media, 54 x 54 cm, £420
Sandy Cove Mixed Media, 44 x 44 cm, £420
Summer Days Oil, 41 x 41cm, £450
Rannoch Moor Oil, 44 x 44 cm, £420
Winter Solstice Mixed Media, 44 x 44cm, ÂŁ280
Lynn McGregor RSW
Lynn McGregor was born in Pittenweem in the East Neuk of Fife and trained at Edinburgh College of Art. In 1988 she completed a BA Hons in Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art, going on to achieve a postgraduate diploma in Painting and Printmaking. In 1991 Lynn was awarded the Scottish Society of Women Artists Special Award along with the Scottish Arts Club Award. In the succeeding years Lynn was also elected a Professional Member of Visual Arts Scotland, the Elie Lilly Purchase Prize, the Mabel McKinley Art Prize, McLellan Galleries. In 2001 Lynn was elected RSW (Royal Scottish Society of Watercolours) and her semi-abstract landscapes are shown in galleries throughout the UK. She works between Scotland and Ireland, currently living in the otherwise uninhabited island of Islandmore on Strangford Lough, with her writer husband Michael Faulkner. Their island home is the primary source of inspiration for Lynn’s work at present.
Imprint After the Rain Acrylic on Board, 61 x 61 cm, ÂŁ2200
Late Spring Snow Acrylic on Board, 58 x 58 cm, £2200
Light Breaking Through Acrylic on Board, 61 x 61 cm, £2200
Summer Islands Acrylic on Board, 61 x 61 cm, £2200
Island Trees Acrylic on Board, 61 x 61 cm, £2200
For more information on any of the artists and paintings, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Lime Tree An Ealdhain Achintore Road Fort William Inverness-shire PH33 6RQ T: +44 (0)1397 701 806 E: gallery@artfortwilliam.co.uk