Scottish_Gallery_Frances_Macdonald

Frances Macdonald passing islands

Frances Macdonald passing islands 4 february – 2 march 2013

16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ Tel 0131 558 1200 Email mail@scottish-gallery.co.uk Web www.scottish-gallery.co.uk

Cover: Late Afternoon – Port na Fraig, Iona (detail) oil on canvas, 30 x 40 ins, 76.25 x 101.5 cms

foreword

From her studio overlooking the Corryvreckan, Frances Macdonald has a clear view across the Sound of Jura to the north end of the island; to Scarba, the mountains of Mull before the great expanse of the North Atlantic. Having lived at Crinan for 40 years, Macdonald’s painting is based on her intimate understanding of the landscape around her.

Her knowledge of sailing informs her of approaching weather patterns, and she captures fleeting Hebridean sunshine alongside the winter squalls with equal immediacy.

Peploe and Cadell’s paintings of Iona cast a long shadow in Scottish art history, yet Macdonald has established herself as a worthy heir to the tradition started at the end of the 19th century. Like Peploe and Cadell she finds delight in the juxtaposition of angular rock and white sand. Her use of the palette knife creates a dynamism and animation in each painting. She works her paint across the canvas in angular lines; her assured marks arrived at through careful elimination of aesthetic non-essentials. It is bravura painting, her means perfectly suited to capture the broken skies and raging seas in full force, with rocks transformed into cubistic patterns.

For this, her third exhibition at The Scottish Gallery, she has looked at new subject matter: sketching the flora and fauna of the Galapagos where she visited in November, and the South of France where she often visits. She has recently been awarded the Charles Rennie Mackintosh residency at Collioure, which will commence in May 2013. The results are eagerly anticipated.

Tommy Zyw January 2013

Left: Frances Macdonald in the Galapagos, November 2012.

Duntrune Castle from Crinan oil on canvas, 20 x 24 ins, 51 x 61 cms

Rugged coastline, Kintyre towards Jura oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms

Knockvologan near Fionnphort, Mull oil on canvas, 40 x 60 ins, 101.5 x 152.5 cms

The Burgh from the White Strand of the Monks, Iona oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.5 x 45.5 cms

Evening at the North End, Iona oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.25 x 45.75 cms

A break in the clouds from the Machair, Iona oil on canvas, 30 x 40 ins, 76.25 x 101.5 cms

Le Crois de St Croix – near Nice oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms

Toulon Boat at St Tropez oil on canvas, 12 x 16 ins, 30.5 x 40.5 cms

Above: Locked in at No. 14, Crinan oil on canvas, 10 x 10 ins, 25.5 x 25.5 cms Right: In for the night, Crinan oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.25 x 45.75 cms

Traigh Gael, Mull, late Summer oil on canvas, 40 x 50 ins, 101.5 x 127 cms

Low cloud over Mull oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.5 x 45.5 cms

Rhum & Eigg from Portuairk oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.5 x 45.5 cms

Martyr’s Bay, Iona oil on canvas, 36 x 54 ins, 91.5 x 137 cms

Lunga on the horizon from Iona oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms Tidal Race – Storm Island, Iona oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms

Perfect Pinks oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms Last Sail, heading for the Dorus Mhor ‘from my studio’ oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms

A little tuft of Pinks, Ronachan oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms

St Tropez, Old Harbour oil on canvas, 12 x 16 ins, 30.5 x 40.5 cms

Sunday – The Harbour, St Tropez oil on canvas, 15.75 x 19.75 ins, 40 x 50 cms

Pale emerald mist over Cara & Gigha oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms

The Gauldrons, Machrihanish oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms

Hydrangeas at Crinan Lighthouse oil on canvas, 8 x 6 ins, 20.5 x 15.25 cms

Clouds over Ben Mhor from Iona oil on canvas, 12 x 12 ins, 30.5 x 30.5 cms

Strong winds across the Sound of Iona oil on canvas, 40 x 50 ins, 101.5 x 127 cms

Les Alpilles oil on canvas, 18 x 20 ins, 45.75 x 51 cms

Le Plan de la Tour – St Maxime oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81 cms

Poltalloch Wood, June oil on canvas, 30 x 40 ins, 76.25 x 101.5 cms

Blue boats at Crinan Pier oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms

The Paps oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms

Towards Jura from Kintyre oil on canvas, 32 x 24 ins, 81 x 61 cms

The Sgarbh steams by past my Rowans oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.25 x 45.75 cms

Port Bhan – Iona oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms

Duntrune Castle, late September oil on canvas, 8 x 8 ins, 20.5 x 20.5 cms

Blustery day near the Corryvreckan from my studio, October oil on canvas, 12 x 12 ins, 30.5 x 30.5 cms

A favourite place of mine, Iona oil on canvas, 12 x 12 ins, 30.5 x 30.5 cms

Lighthouse at Crinan, Lock 15 oil on canvas, 8 x 6 ins, 20.5 x 15.5 cms

Cara in the distance, Kintyre oil on canvas, 8 x 6 ins, 20.5 x 15.25 cms

Misty morning at the North End, Iona oil on canvas, 36 x 60 ins, 91.5 x 152.5 cms

frances macdonald

1983 – 1986 2004 – 2010 2013

Born Glasgow Elected Council Member, SSWA Elected Council Member, RGI Charles Rennie Mackintosh Residency at Collioure

Solo Exhibitions 1975 Gallery Paton, Edinburgh 1977 Shore Gallery, Edinburgh 1988 Macaulay Gallery, Stenton 1989 Sue Rankin Gallery, London 1993 The R.G.I. Kelly Gallery, Glasgow 1994 The R.G.I. Kelly Gallery, Glasgow 1995 The R.G.I. Kelly Gallery, Glasgow 1996 The Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh 1997 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh 1998 Cyril Gerber Fine Art, Glasgow 1999 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh 2000 Portland Gallery, London 2001 Art 2001: The London Contemporary Art Fair 2002 Portland Gallery, London 2003 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh 2003 Portland Gallery, London 2005 Art 2005: The London Contemporary Art Fair 2005 Portland Gallery, London 2006 Portland Gallery, London 2007 Portland Gallery, London 2008 Portland Gallery, London 2009 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

2009 2010 2011 2013

Portland Gallery, London The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh Portland Gallery, London The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

Selected Mixed Exhibitions Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums McLean Museum Greenock The Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Visual Arts Scotland The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour Collections Adam & Company, Edinburgh Haines Watts Chartered Accountants, Glasgow Drummond Miller Solicitors, Edinburgh First National Bank, USA Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Gleneagles Hotel Halifax I and H Brown Ltd Misys PLC Capital Property Group Royal Bank of Scotland Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd Stena Line and private collections worldwide

Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition Frances Macdonald: Passing Islands 4 February – 2 March 2013 Exhibition can be viewed online at www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/francesmacdonald ISBN: 978-1-905146-73-4 Designed by www.kennethgray.co.uk Photography by Matt Pia Printed by J Thomson Colour Printers Inside covers: The artist’s sketches from the Galapagos Islands, November 2012.

All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.

16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ Tel 0131 558 1200 Email mail@scottish-gallery.co.uk Web www.scottish-gallery.co.uk