WHY THE SNOBBERY ABOUT HIS PAINTINGS?

YOU have to admire John Lowrie Morrison for his devotion to painting Scotland’s landscape. He is a true painter.

I have respect for him as a patron of art and artists in Scotland. The Jolomo Award, founded in 2007, has already benefited a number of aspiring artists.

The question arises, however, why his work hangs only in private collections and not in galleries next to artists possessed of careers linked to not just museums and publicity but also professional institutions.

The answer could be that his paintings are not identified with those of fellow Scottish landscape painters. It is simply that his work has not yet been tested against the standards which they have set themselves.

If Morrison wishes to see his work exhibited in public galleries, he needs to have his work considered by serious comment, either from his fellow artists or from those professionals who write about art in general.

If he were associated with the history of The Royal Scottish Academy, The Society of Scottish Artists, The Royal Society of Scottish Watercolourists, The Royal Glasgow Institute, The Glasgow Art Club, he would find himself placed firmly within a family of artists, sharing his delight in the uniquely beautiful world that he inhabits in his Argyllshire studio.

There has never been a Scottish artist, not even Joan Eardley, undoubtedly the outstanding painter in Scotland in modern times, whose career stands in isolation.

Renowned artist Professor Richard Demarco is an honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy