DONALD MCKINLAY
MR Donald McKinlay died on Saturday, October 21 after a short illness, aged 88.
Don, as he was known, is one of the few artists in Britain who can be credited with a wide- ranging versatility in painting, sculpture and printmaking. Drawing is fundamental to all McKinlay’s work. His chosen media is ink, applied with pen and brush - frequently combined with collaged paper, and fabric.
He started teaching at Manchester School of Art in the 60s after working as a teacher, then scenic designer at the Liverpool Playhouse and as a part time lecturer. He was a highly respected and influential teacher on the Foundation Course in Art for many years at Manchester Polytechnic.
During a year’s sabbatical he was commissioned to design and build the Tagore Theatre Mural in Ahmedabad, India. Significant sculpture commissions have included the Christopher Gray Memorial Pieta at St Margaret’s, Anfield and a Madonna and Child for Lancaster Priory. He has also produced a Christ Child to accompany the Della Robbia Madonna in Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.
Political events around the world and the reporting of them in the popular press have provided McKinlay with source material for a number of years. Most of his work relates to the human figure, contemporary life and everyday situations.
He has exhibited widely both in Britain and abroad. His work is in private collections in Britain, the USA and Spain. Rawtenstall Market Cafe was the subject of two series of paintings produced for exhibition for Year of the Artist. He participated in Reveal Open Studio Events in Rossendale and exhibited at Whittaker Park.
Major series of drawings include a record of the Cammell Laird Shipyard at Birkenhead, the Berlin Reichstag and Freidrichstrasse, Ancoats in Manchester, and the landscapes of France and Greece.
Don was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He will be greatly missed but well remembered.
His funeral will take place on Tuesday, November 7 when Ms Moyra Summers will conduct a service and committal at Burnley Crematorium at 12noon.
The family has requested garden flowers/ living plants only please. Donations if desired in lieu of flowers in memory of Don to Medecins Sans Frontieres may be left at the service or via the funeral director Sharon Aspinall for Agápe funeral service, Forget-Me-Not Chapel, Schofield Street, Waterfoot.