About Janet

Janet was originally an arts and crafts teacher before studying with the Open College of the Arts and at Leith School of Art. 

She has now been a full time artist for 2 decades, working from a studio in her home in East Lothian.

She has a keen interest in depicting movement which is expressed in her paintings of Scottish dancers. Mixed media allows the variety of textures to capture the exuberance of the dancing and the unique look of the tartan. 

Her aim is to bring images of Scottish dancing to life and to invoke a sense of pride and nostalgia while putting a modern twist on these traditional dances.

The Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society and St Columba's Hospice have used Janet's work for cards and illustration and her paintings are in many galleries throughout Scotland and have been sold internationally.

Sally was born on Bute and attended Rothesay Academy before moving away to work and study.

Now living just across the water in Fairlie she returns to the island often to visit family and friends.

Formerly working in the NHS her passion now is designing and making mosaic art in her garden studio.

Sally's inspiration comes from the natural environment which surrounds her. She has travelled extensively around the world and has been influenced by many different cultures, landscapes and artforms, but she always feels happiest beside the sea and on the shore beachcombing.

Reusing and recycling is something close to Sally's heart and she often uses reclaimed roof slate, found objects, seaglass, broken beads and ceramics in her colourful designs.

Sally exhibits and sells mosaic art at various art shows, makers fairs and galleries. 

I was born and brought up in Largs, a small seaside town on the West Coast of Scotland. 

I found my passion to draw at an early age and have worked on many different styles of artwork over the years.

After graduating in Technical Illustration & Design for Print from Glasgow College of Building & Printing, I started work 22 years ago as an illustrator, 4 years later became a 2D Graphic Artist for computer based training, then worked for 14 years as a 3D Modeller, I now work from home as a full-time Artist.  

I paint using oils and after trying various subjects I have now settled on two main themes, my Highland Cow series and my Auldmen in the Pub series, both I find are very popular. Where I can, I like to try and inject humour into my work, as it gives me a challenge to try and make the viewer smile and also it helps tell the story that I am trying to compose. 

My ideas can come from many sources, like sitting in a cafe or pub just people watching, or a scene from a film but the majority of ideas can develop when I’m working on another painting when I am in the creative zone.

I paint immediately, covering the canvas with a colour that will dominate the painting and then use a rag to finely wipe away paint creating the sketch to work from, this is why I generally don’t bother with preparatory sketches, if I have the idea in my head I like to start painting at once and resolve everything on the canvas, this can change as the composition evolves which makes it more exciting about how the painting is going to turn out.

At present I exhibit my work at 

Lemond Gallery in Bearsden (www.lemondgallery.com) 

MacGregor Fine Art in Glasgow (http://www.macgregorfineart.co.uk) 

The Castle Gallery in Rothesay (http://www.thecastlegallery.com/) 

The Stirling Gallery in Stirling (http://www.stirlingart.com/) 

Also I exhibit at the Macmillan Cancer Support Art Show and the Lord Provost of Glasgow's Fundraising Burns Supper with 50% of the sales going to their charity.

Ian was born in Rothesay, Isle of Bute and attended Rothesay Academy. He trained at Glasgow School of Art, where he won two design competitions. This was followed by teacher training at Jordanhill College of Education.

Ian chose to explore the world of commercial art and graphic design. 

Roles on this journey included Art Director and Creative Director; among his peers were some of the UK's top commercial artists and illustrators. 

An illustration course with the London College of Art enhanced his drawing skills and further honed his professional creative ability.

During a distinguished career spanning twenty plus years, Ian was awarded Fellowship of the Chartered Society of Designers. His packaging design work has received several UK and international awards.

As a fine artist, Ian aims to evoke an emotional attachment with the subject matter, be it a memory of a place, an object, time of day or experience. His hallmark is to work in a broad brush style, with a belying simplicity, exploring the interplay of rich bold colour and texture. 

Influences include Impressionism and Fauvism. 

Ian believes people should aim to sense a painting in addition to appreciating it from a purely visual standpoint.

Before returning home Ian was teaching art and design full time in Secondary Education. 

He now lives on the Isle of Bute with his wife Helen (who's still waiting to be done in oils) and continues to enjoy painting. 

lan was born in Dunoon Argyll and brought up in the village of Clachaig in the hills of Cowal.

He trained in Drawing and Painting at Glasgow School of Art in the nineteen sixties under William Armour and David Donaldson and was awarded the Newbery Medal a Post Diploma Scholarship and Landscape Scholarship from the Royal Academy. 

A career in education followed - Teacher of Art Rothesay Academy - Principal Teacher of Art Dunoon Grammar - moving from the Isle of Bute to Perth in 1978 to become Adviser in Art and Design Education for Tayside Regional Council a post he held till 1996. He has been paint-ing full time since.

A plein air painter lan is best known for his seascapes and shore studies from the Isle of Bute nd landscapes of the area around Colenden in Perthshire where he lives.

Plein air painting in this day and age is undoubtably an old fashioned activity. Set against the fast moving instantly interconnected world that is contemporary life and circumstances it seems out of its time. 

The tradition stretches all the way back to the early nineteenth century. I am however happy to be considered part of that inheritance. Growing up in the hills of Cowal and living ten years on Bute as a young teacher established a lifetime's practice of painting out of doors.

Experiencing the experience is for me the essential thing - however overstated this may sound. I enjoy the communion with nature. 

The paint-ings are a response - they single out particular aspects of place weather or times of day. Some have a degree of topographical detail others veer towards abstraction dictated by what is felt and observed. The works are mainly in acrylic on board and watercolours (occasionally watercolour and Indian ink). I do not use any acrylic extenders or varnish only water as my medium preferring the quiet layering and matt finish this allows. 

Bio coming soon.