A D D I T I O N A L WORKS

In her home on the south side of Edinburgh, Elizabeth Blackadder works quietly away, taking no heed of the awards and accolades with which she has been bestowed. For her the studio life, a life she shared with her husband and fellow painter John Houston, has been all consuming. The challenges of each artwork whether oil, watercolour or print are the sole focus of her attention. This modest collection of works on paper does not attempt to tell her story, or highlight any particular aspect of her oeuvre. Rather each work, from early still lifes to recent etchings, allows us to see a master in full command of her craft. Her favourite subjects are the things that surround her everyday life; souvenirs of foreign travels, flowers from the garden, thequirks of the boisterous Toby, Fred or Amalia or fresh fish from the market. Born in Falkirk in 1931, Blackadderstudied at The University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh College of Art. In 1954 she was awarded a Carnegie Travelling Scholarshipand travelled throughout southern Europewith fellow painter and her future husbandJohn Houston. She travelled widely withHouston throughout her career, includingseveral trips to Japan.

Blackadder first exhibited with The Scottish Gallery in 1961 and it is a relationship which continues to this day. She was elected a Member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1972, and was made a Royal Academician in 1976 (she was the first woman ever to be elected to both institutions). She has four honorary doctorates.In 2001 she became the first woman in the 300 year history of the office to be made Her Majesty’s painter and limner in Scotland, and was later awarded a Damehood in 2003.Public and private collections include Tate Britain, The Scottish National Gallery ofModern Art in Edinburgh, Glasgow Museums and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.She was the subject of a major retrospe tive at the National Galleries of Scotland in 2011 to celebrate her 80th birthday. She lives and works in Edinburgh.

Elizabeth Blackadder will be the subject of a major exhibition at The Scottish Gallery in August 2016.

Crabs and Lobsterswatercolour, 72 x 59 cmssigned lower right

Fish Market, Venice, 2012etching, 20 x 29 cms, edition of 50

Four Fish, 2013screenprint, 30 x 39.5 cms, edition of 80

Venice Dog, 2013etching, 37 x 34 cms, edition of 40

Venice Cats, 2003coloured etching, 30 x 36 cms, edition of 80

Amalia Sleeping, 2003etching, 30 x 36 cms, edition of 80

Fred, 2003coloured etching, 30 x 36 cms, edition of 80

Duomo, San Petronio, Bologna, 2000etching, 10 x 15 cms, edition of 50

Achiltibuie, 1970pastel, 40 x 49 cmssigned and dated lower right

Provenance: Private Collection, Channel Islands

Lilies and Poppies, 2003screenprint, 63.5 x 93 cms, edition of 45

Laeliocattleya Chinco ‘La Tuilerie,’ 2009etching, 60 x 52 cms, edition of 50

Irises, 2012etching, 48 x 69 cms, edition of 50

Wild Flowers, 2013screenprint, 72.5 x 89.5, edition 65

Irises, Lilies, Tulips, 2013etching, 37 x 41.5 cms, edition of 40

Vista is Alison’s sixth exhibition at The Scottish Gallery and is a dramatic return with a freshly invigorated palette and new inspiration. Her love of the landscape shines through in both new pastels and her encaustic painting, and she captures the rich colours of the earth and the contours of the land from both a conventional and an aerial perspective.

In 1995, whilst studying at the Edinburgh College of Art under the tuition of Victoria Crowe, Alison first experimented in mixing wax and paint to create heavily impastoed textures and painterly surfaces. The mastery of technique in allowing the wax to flow and evolve has been honed and developed in these recent works; excavating and melting the layers of the painting to reveal multiple layers of melded colours, to capture earth contours, rock strata and impressions of the land in its elemental state.

Inspiration for this new show comes from a variety of sources and viewpoints. East Lothian’s coastline, at John Muir Country Park and Tyninghame beach, are favourite haunts for Alison to sketch the shore; providing ever changing inspiration. A trip in a four seater plane over the Lothians with her camera in hand, provided her with the bird’s eye view she incorporates into her work. The rolling hills of the Pentlands, the Lammermuirs and the estuaries flowing into the Firth of Forth are given a dramatic new twist when viewed from above, have led to many sketches and are inspiration for future oil paintings. The picturesque landscape of the Scottish Borders and Highlands also appear in this collection of work, bringing a full range of seasons and elements.

She considers herself fortunate to live in Scotland with its beautiful scenic landscape and shores but is always keen to explore other subjects with a more diverse and contrasting terrain. She has travelled in Arizona and painted the Grand Canyon and the lush Hawaiian Islands after being awarded the Alexander Graham Munro Travel Award from the Royal Scottish Watercolour Society in 2004. A recent trip to the Canary Islands introduced her to a barren and hostile volcanic landscape which is recreated in her pastel drawings depicting the black volcanic rock contrasting against the stunning blue ocean and dramatic sunsets she experienced during her visit.

Alison prefers to leave the interpretation of her paintings up to the individual, saying ‘my subjects are only occasionally topographical as they are more about stimulating the eye through colours and textures and creating an impression of the landscape than they are about a particular location’.

Alison lives in Edinburgh and has been working in WASPS studios since graduating from Edinburgh College of Art after completing a Masters Degree in Painting in 1998. She has work in public collections including Anglo American, Bank of Scotland, the NHS Art Collection, Standard Life Insurance, Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Stirling. Works are in private collections throughout Britain, Europe and the USA.

First Light, 2015oil & wax on board, 61 x 61 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Early Spring, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Land at Dusk, 2015 oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Across the Land, Summer, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Change of Season, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Early Spring, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Land at Dusk, 2015 oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Across the Land, Summer, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Change of Season, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Early Spring, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Land at Dusk, 2015 oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Across the Land, Summer, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Change of Season, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Rocky Coast, 2015 charcoal pencil & pastel on paper, 15.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

Beyond the Trees, 2015 charcoal pencil on paper, 15.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

From Scott’s View, 2015 charcoal pencil on paper, 14.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

Tweedsmuir View, 2015charcoal pencil on paper, 14.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

Autumn Shadows, 2015oil & wax on board, 61 x 61 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Late November, 2015oil & wax on board, 20 x 25 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Silent Shore, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Nightfall, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cms signed verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Bird’s Eye View, 2015charcoal pencil on paper, 15.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

To the Sea, 2015charcoal pencil on paper, 15 x 23 cmssigned verso

Low Tide, 2015charcoal pencil on paper, 14.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

Shoreline, 2015charcoal pencil on paper, 15.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

Land Formation, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Hilltop View II, 2015pastel, 16 x 23 cmssigned verso

Bass Rock and Shore, 2015pastel, 13.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

A Winter’s Day, 2015oil & wax on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cmssigned verso and inscribed with initials lower right

Fading Light, 2015pastel, 17 x 23 cmssigned verso

Forth Winds, 2015pastel, 16 x 23 cmssigned verso

Aerial Vista, 2015pastel, 13.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

Evening Falls, 2015pastel, 13.5 x 23 cmssigned verso

Emily Sutton was born in North Yorkshireand studied at Edinburgh College of Art and Rhode Island School of Design. Since graduating in 2008, Emily’s art works, sculptures and designs have been much sought-after. She had a major solo exhibition, Town & Country, at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park earlier this year. “My work incorporates a love of patternand detail and is strongly influenced by the landscape and creatures of my surroundings in the Yorkshire countryside, as well as all kinds of weird and wonderful objects found in museums and antique shops. A visit to the American Folk Art Museum in New York inspired an ongoing interest in folk art of all kinds, and I am also influenced by 20th century illustrators such as Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious, and the American lithographed children’s books of a similar era.” Her love of observational drawing and eye for detail sees her transform the ordinary into the extraordinary and celebrate beauty in everyday objects and scenes. For this exhibition, the focus is on the domestic realm; carefully assembled still lifes from her home in York and a trip to Normandy, drawing inspiration from the local shop fronts and observed interiors.

Her own home in York is a treasure trove, no surface is clear from personal relics found in antique shops, salvage yards or local car boot sales – these accumulated objects provide Emily with a constant source of inspiration which is both intimate and universal. The four large monochrome drawings for example, provide us with a fascinating visual insight of her home and studio and they also highlight her skill as a master draftsman; Emily never fails to provide us with new twists in her seemingly endless artistic vocabulary. The magical spin Emily bestows on the world has seen her much in demand as an illustrator. Emily illustrated the children’s classic Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day, for the V&A, which is now in its second edition. She has also worked with Faber & Faber, Penguin Random House and Walker Books.

The Gallery is hosting a book signing with EmilySutton and a collection of her illustrated books,including the newly released ‘The ChristmasEve Tree’ on Saturday 21st November from11.30am – 1pm.

Rocking Horse, 2015watercolour, 76 x 56 cmssigned & dated lower right

Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, Venicewatercolour and pencil, 56 x 40 cmssigned & dated lower right

Squero di San Trovaso, Venicewatercolour and pencil, 31 x 91 csmsigned lover right

‘A’ is for Accordian, 2010screenprint, 52 x 71.5 cms, edition of 75

‘B’ is for Bear, 2010screenprint, 55 x 75 cms, artist proof

‘C’ is a Cat Catching a Mousescreenprint, 34 x 34 cms, edition of 95

‘D’ is a Dog, the Friend of the Housescreenprint, 34 x 34 cms, edition of 95

‘E’ is for Elephant, 2010screenprint, 55 x 78 cms, edition of 75

Toy Paradescreenprint, 17 x 80 cms, edition of 75

The Fishing Lodge, 2013screenprint, 50 x 67 cms, edition of 75

The Silver Swanscreenprint, 60 x 80 cms, edition of 75

‘I’ is for Ice Creamscreenprint, 56 x 76 cms, edition of 75

‘J’ is for Jugscreenprint, 56 x 76 cms, edition of 75

‘K’ is for Kittens and Knittingscreenprint, 56 x 76 cms, edition of 75

‘L’ is for Lemonscreenprint, 56 x 76 cms, edition of 75

September Dresserlithograph, 76 x 56 cms, edition of 150