Alex sheds light on Artmap
Light on the landscape fascinates and inspires Oban artist Alex Summers.
Visitors following this year’s Artmap Argyll starting this weekend will get the chance to reflect on his work by calling at his home studio in Glenshellach Road.
They can expect a whistle stop tour of Scottish landscapes, the bulk of which were captured on the road while out in his campervan, armed with oil paints - and pastry brushes, he likes the quality of the hairs on them.
From turbulent skies on Skye to blissful beaches on Barra, brooding Glen Coe and golden evenings on Uist - his work is a celebration of light in its purest form.
Alex is just one of 39 artists and venues featured on this year’s artmap, now in its 11th year, running from tomorrow, Friday August 24, to Monday August 27, with a second weekend from Saturday September 1 to Sunday September 2.
This is Alex’s first time on the artmap. He said: ‘I’ve done it to widen my own horizons. I hope people will seek me out. It’s a great opportunity to have visitors come and connect with me and my work. I sell well enough so there’s no pressure to buy. Just come and look.’
A time lapse video of Alex painting Oban’s North Pier on a freezing Sunday morning has attracted 3,000 views so far. Search Artist Alex Summers on Facebook to see it.
Artmap Argyll’s route of interest is marked by red dots from Glencoe in the north to Campbeltown at the foot of Kintyre Peninsular in the south.
Karen Beauchamp from the Argyll Artmap project says ‘a surprise waits around every corner’ on the tour signposting each studio on the map and taking visitors off the main road to visit artists’ own homes to bothies, galleries, four-star hotels, cafes, restaurants and a museum shop.
Oban’s Rockfield Centre is another creative space appearing on the artmap for the first time showing Exposure, an exhibition by Under The Skin Camera Club on the first
open weekend and then work by a group of other young artists during the September weekend.
Wildlife artist and watercolourist Colin Woolf is also taking part in this year’s event, opening up his studio at Kennels Cottage, Lunga.
Watching wildlife in its natural environment is both a pleasure and a privilege, and Colin has a talent for capturing the essence of these encounters, the beauty and majesty of the animals and the transient light of the landscape in his paintings.
He has been a professional wildlife artist for more than 20 years, and his work is sought by collectors in the UK and worldwide. He is known for beautifully lifelike paintings and drawings of birds and other wildlife, and he has always had a passion for the mountains and coastline of Scotland.
For more information, visit his website at wildlifewatercolourpaintings.co.uk
Artists exhibiting at Tayvallich Inn, Lochgilphead are Caroline Plummer, Susan Berry, Lottie Goodlet, Kirsty Brady, Kate MacDonald, Catherine Bloy, Jill Stewart.
To find out more about opening times and plan your route go to artmapargyll.com
Anyone who collects eight red dots while touring the map will get entered into a £200 prize draw to buy work of any Artmap Argyll artist of their choice.