Glasgow artist Neil Macdonald trained in his hometown at the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1980 and has worked as both an artist and teacher since then. In 2012 he was elected a member of the Paisley Art Institute and in 2013 a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts.
Neil's subjects are often historic harbours, castles and villages in Scotland. These locations offer him strong, bold architectural shapes combined with lyrical histories and cultures. He distorts perspective and light allowing him to capture the uniqueness and essence of his subject. Much like the layering of history and time, he will apply layers upon layers of paint to intuitively resemble the texture, mood and atmosphere.
'I am drawn to locations which exert historic and mythic presence and am particularly engaged with Scottish history and the evidence of its past and present peoples.
My work explores the lyrical narrative of natural sites and strong bold shapes offered by castles, churches, old townships and harbours. This is done through the distortion of perspective, invention and editing, aiming to capture an essence of the structure or place.
In some pieces topographic accuracy is replaced by an imaginative response to the subject. I enjoy applying each layer of paint, striving for a coherent statement as the image emerges. This reveals the subject's unique sense and poetry of place.'
Also Being Exhibited