Gallery, Arts & Crafts
Art and Artists
Bill King
Bill King was taken on by a carpet manufacturer when he left school. His artistic talent was swiftly recognized and he became involved in design. As the carpet industry in the UK declined he decided to take up an offer of a job with a manufacturer in the USA.
While there he wondered if he could make a living as an artist and, with the support of his family, he gave up his job and began cold calling at mid west farms offering to do paintings. This proved a success and he soon had enough commissions to earn a satisfactory living.
Eventually he decided to retire to Scotland. He continues to paint, exhibiting in local galleries and exhibitions, and selling enough work to fund his supply of art materials. Bill is currently resident in Pitlochry.
Yvonne N Stewart nee Vernon D.A.Edin.
Yvonne was born and brought up in Fife. She graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with a Design and Crafts degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing and later, after raising her family in Pitlochry, took a teaching qualification and embarked on a career teaching in Tayside at Secondary and Primary schools and has also tutored Adult Education classes locally.
Yvonne cites the local countryside in Fife and Perthshire as a major influence, drawing her inspiration from the observation of natural forms. She has a particular interest in botanical composition and detail.
Some of her most striking work is mixed media. A collage of Japanese paper is built up, and watercolour, acrylic, pastel and graphite are applied to create a three dimensional effect. These pieces are born out of her interest in the carvings on Pictish stones which have led to her to speculate about the meaning and manner of their decoration.
Previous exhibitions:
Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Dunkeld Cathedral Art Exhibition
Village Gallery Meigle
Various local Art and Craft fairs
Olga Todorovici
Olga was born and brought up in Romania. She graduated with a degree from the School of Popular Art.
She likes to work mainly in oils, but often adds her own signature to the work by painting on wood and adding 3D effects carved from pulverized stone. Her subjects are very varied as she is a competent portrait artist, produces fascinatingly detailed land and townscapes and beautifully observed wildlife paintings. Her work is also characterized by its bold use of colour.
She moved to the UK to pursue her studies and was enchanted by the local Perthshire scenery so reminiscent of her grandparents’s home. She loves living here although she misses her animals: german shepherd dogs and a collection of peacocks. Perhaps this explains why birds are often her subject.
Previous exhibitions:
The Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Dunkeld Cathedral Art Exhibition
Gallery at the Atholl Centre
She also undertakes private commissions.
Alison Leeper
Alison started her career working on book design and illustration, animation and TV graphics for companies including IPC and COI in London. On moving to Edinburgh, she became a partner in a design consultancy and lectured at Napier University then moved to the Isle of Arran to run a summer painting school. After returning to mainland Scotland she lectured in art and design for many years, retiring from full time lectureship in 2003.
Until recently, the main focus of her work has been on printmaking. She does not aim to produce editions or multiples but rather to use a particular method of printmaking as an expressive medium that she could manipulate in a different manner to paint. Increasingly she has made use of digital imagery, using the technology to explore form and structure in ways that are not feasible with other media.
She is a member of Dundee Print Studio at DCA and also of Fife Dunfermline Printmakers’ Workshop, an artist-run co-operative that provides workshop facilities for artist-printmakers.
Having taught watercolour painting as a guest lecturer aboard P&O cruise ships for many years, she has recently rediscovered the medium for herself and is enjoying working with it again. She also works collaboratively on the design of jewellery pieces with her husband.
She is particularly interested in the practice of artists living in rural and remote areas and the opportunities and challenges that their environments present to them professionally.
Selected Recent Exhibitions
Festival Exhibition, Edinburgh
Birnam Arts Centre, Perthshire
Scottish Printmakers, Glasgow Print Studio Gallery, Glasgow
Print Silver, Kirkcaldy Art Gallery, Fife
6th International Trienniall of Small Graphic Forms, Vilnius, Lithuania
Remix China, Baishi Festival, Xiantan University
Artroom 59, Dunfermline
Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
In the Deep Midwinter, Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
Christmas Prints, DCA, Dundee
Scion House, University of Stirling
Christrmas Tingles, Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
Christmas Exhibition, Aberdona Gallery, Clackmannanshire
ESSA Small Works and Postcard Exhibition, Edinburgh
News
Throughout December and January we are pleased to be exhibiting a number of framed limited edition prints produced by the Moulin Art Class. They are a small group of enthusiastic artists who meet in Moulin Hall on Wednesday mornings between 10.30 and 12.30. If you are interested in joining them please contact Elizabeth Pirnie on 01796 473452.