Scots exhibition of paintings in watercolour – Daily Business Magazine

Anthea Gage: a colourful celebration

A new exhibition of art features almost 350 works by top Scottish artists, writes JULENA DRUMI

The 145th Open Annual Exhibition of The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) is showing the work of some of Scotland’s top artists and includes the first public showing of a painting recently acquired by the RSA.

There are 230 works by RSW members, including Joyce W Cairns, Neil MacPherson, Angus McEwan and Ruth Thomas, and more than 100 works by non-members selected from open submission.

RSW president Anthea Gage said: “It demonstrates the variety of work being done in water-based media and reflects both the strength of traditional skills and the continuing freshness and energy of the artists.

“At this time of year, when there’s almost no colour around, it’s great to be in a gallery which is a joyous, colourful celebration of painting.

“We can’t wait to welcome people in to spend time with the paintings, reflect, enjoy and make new discoveries.”

This year’s Annual Exhibition features a loan of 13 paintings from the RSA collection as part of RSA200: Celebrating Together, which marks the organisation’s bicentenary.

This included paintings by William Gillies, Robin Philipson, John Houston and Barbara Balmer and a painting by Arthur Melville (1855-1904), recently acquired by the RSA, which is being put on public display for the first time.

Sandy Wood, head of collection at the RSA, said: “The RSA and RSW share much in common around the promotion of fine art and artists in Scotland.

“The RSA is delighted to be partnering with the RSW for our bicentenary project RSA200: Celebrating Together, for which we are loaning a group of watercolours from the RSA collections by past shared Academicians.”

To increase opportunities for emerging artists, the RSW has invited three recent graduates from Scottish art schools, Alyssa Atkinson, Sean Obrzud and Tally Tunnell, to show work in the exhibition.

The RSW has been at the forefront of promoting watercolour and water-based media in Scotland since it was founded nearly 150 years ago, and the annual exhibition is a testament to the enduring appeal and relevance of these art forms.

A programme of events running throughout the exhibition includes a painting demonstration by Ann Oram, a hands-on workshop exploring painting with handmade brushes and found objects, and an event in which artist Aine Divine will paint a portrait of Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen live.

The exhibition is at the RSA in Edinburgh until 11 March

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