Acclaimed Scottish artist Alison McWhirter has a new exhibition showing just down the road from her home in the West End.
A graduate of the prestigious Bath Spa Academy, Alison, whose paintings have also shown in New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore, describes her new show, ’Summer Palette’, as “a reminder of the beauty, and the fragility, that is life.”
It is the artist's second major solo exhibition with the Annan Gallery on Woodlands Road owned by Scott and Susan Bennett, who also own the Strathearn Gallery in Crieff.
Alison said: “It’s also a way of honouring all those who have paved the way for Art today.”
'Emotional'
“When people come to see this show, I want them to know how in love I am with the process of painting.
“I want them to feel as mystified, emotional and overwhelmed by my paintings as I am when I paint.
“People know me for the dialogue I have with colour. This show has been percolating for years, since I was inspired by seeing the artist Whistler’s palette in the Hunterian when I first moved to Glasgow.
“Later that year I visited Francis Bacon’s Museum in Dublin and was moved in the same way by his palettes which were on display.
“I’ve always found an artist’s palette to be so fascinating; it shows their very essence.
Inspired
“For this show, I've looked at palettes of artists I admire like Wassily Kandinsky and Frida Kahlo and created work inspired by the colours on their palettes and in their painting. You will see colour choices in these paintings which are inspired, intuitive and risky.
“The other aspect of this show is that the still life paintings for which I am best known have become more abstracted. It’s about how far I can push them into abstraction.”
Alison paintings have achieved global recognition, attracting a devoted following of private collectors while gaining admiration of artists and art critics alike.
She was inspired to pursue a career as a painter by her terminally-ill father and credits her success to her move to Glasgow ten years ago.
“When I left Art school, I was ill equipped to become a full-time artist. I didn’t have the mental agility, resources, confidence, or the skills required, to make it as an artist.
“My dad started the seeds germinating. I remember sitting with him in the hospice and showing some images from the first gallery I was working with, and I saw him gently smiling.
“He would be very proud if he could see me today. I am certain my dad has come back as a sunflower as they appear in so many of my paintings.”
As an artist well-known at home and abroad, Alison believes this exhibition comes as she enters the next phase of her career.
People know me for the dialogue I have with colour. This show has been percolating for years, since I was inspired by seeing the artist Whistler’s palette in the Hunterian when I first moved to Glasgow.
Alison McWhirter
Alison, who lives in Dowanhill, just a stone’s throw away from the Annan gallery, said: “I feel like I’m just at the beginning again.
“It’s emboldening to have become the confident artist I knew I could be. When I started out, I was anxious, I was naive, and it was a struggle.
“I’m in a much stronger position now better able to eliminate self-doubt, ignore negativity and embrace the solitude of the craft.
“I spent so many years asking myself ‘should I just get a job’? but now I have enough self- belief to know that my art is my job, and it will sustain me.”
The Annan Gallery, established over 150 years ago, has been a major proponent of Scottish Art and today regularly showcases a who’s who of Scottish contemporary artists in the heart of Glasgow’s West End.
