Hebrides offers endless inspiration says top artist
Artist Ron Lawson’s love of the Hebrides has won him a global fan base, with his paintings selling to as far afield as the US, Australia and Singapore, writes Kathie Griffiths.
Reputed as one of Scotland’s leading contemporary artists, he is helping kickstart springtime with a new exhibition at the Annan Gallery in Glasgow.
Into Spring opened on Saturday April 1, full of brighter and lighter tones to help see off the winter blues. Ron spends weeks at a time travelling around the Outer Hebrides to capture the look of the islands he has loved all his life – and for his most recent visit last November, he found himself changing his palette due to the time of year.
He said: “What we try to do for each exhibition is to have a slightly different flavour. It was coming into the wintertime when it was dark, cold and miserable, and I found myself painting with lighter and softer tones.
“To cheer myself up more than anything, I started mixing up the paint and came up with these soft muted tones and then you have to bring everything down to match, and that’s what inspired me to make the whole collection softer. It’s a subtle change but I think it worked a treat. When I was painting for the show, I realised it was all very spring-like.
“I definitely focused on bringing that lighter feel to my work and it cheered me up during the winter months.”
Ron has been painting for over 40 years but went full time in 2010 by leaving his former job in the art and design team at a publishers, and he has since sold out nearly every exhibition he has ever staged.
“It’s actually quite thrilling to think there are so many people around the world buying them and you wouldn’t necessarily think something so Scottish would appeal but my paintings are collected worldwide, in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and America.
“When I paint a location on South Uist for example, I try to get the vibe and the feel of the place in the painting. It’s remote and in parts splendidly isolated and I’m always trying to capture that.
“I never think: ‘What can I do differently for people in Hong Kong or America?’, I’m painting the experience of being in a place and I am absolutely thrilled when I hear about sales to somewhere unusual abroad and I am delighted that so many people around the world like them,” he told The Oban Times.
And he added: “The most important thing is to put that little slice of Scotland on paper for all to enjoy, and that’s exactly what is behind it.
“It’s strange to think that after all these years of painting the Hebrides you can still find something new to inspire you - but the reality is it’s endless, it really is.”
Annan Gallery owners Scott and Susan Bennett are delighted to maintain their close relationship with Ron and are looking forward to welcoming his fans for the new exhibition.
Scott said: “In terms of Scottish contemporary art, Ron Lawson has been one of the most sought-after artists of the last decade. He has a huge following that extends beyond Scotland and it’s driven by his instantly recognisable style. People know his work. It’s clean, it’s contemporary, it’s sharp and precise and Ron is painting in a style and working with watercolour in such a unique way, which is why he has built up such a large and deserved following.”
The Ron Lawson “Into Spring” solo exhibition runs until Sunday April 23. You can contact the gallery by emailing gallery@annanart.com.