New Photos

I've just added a lovely new set of gallery photos to our Facebook page. You can take a look here.

Spring Fling Weekend

Spring Fling weekend has arrived and we're open every day, including Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. It's a bit rainy but that doesn't seem to have put people off so far! We've been busy since we opened this morning.

Look forward to seeing you all as you tour about the region.

The Herald arts supplement Gallery Round-Up

Jan Patience reviewed our current exhibition in The Herald arts supplement Gallery Round-Up on 21st May 2011. Here's a copy of the article:

Far, far from the madding crowds of our capital city, degree shows and groovy city art shows, one small gallery in Castle Douglas is celebrating the work of eight Ayrshire artists.

JAMES COSGROVE Red Sky At Night

The McGill Douglas Gallery has assembled a fine mix of artists here in Glen Scouller, James Cosgrove, Sandy Murphy, Michael Durning, Clare Harrigan, Euan McGregor, James Orr and David Palmer.
There are some artists who are quietly brilliant and yet the wider public don’t know about their work. A goodly few are represented here. Sandy Murphy’s still lifes and landscapes are beautiful and understated, like little nuggets of poetry within four sides of a canvas. Glen Scouller too has a definite following, but why his work is not flying onto walls all over the land is a mystery. He paints light, space and colour like no other Scottish artist I know. His sense of composition is as clear as a bell. You can almost feel your senses reordering themselves when you look at his work.

James Cosgrove too is a well kent figure around the Glasgow art scene through a long teaching career at Glasgow School of Art. He ‘retired’ in 1999 but is still as busy as ever painting at his Ayrshire home and working as a director of House for an Art Lover in Glasgow. There is always a sense of anticipation in Cosgrove’s work, which has a strong narrative running through it. In this exhibition, he has a few gems such as Fisher’s Wife a la Mode and Red Sky at Night (both incredibly well-priced acrylic, ink and collage on board paintings).

JAMES COSGROVE Fisher's Wife a la Mode

Gallery owner Jill Blamire says: “McGill Duncan Gallery formed most of our connections with Ayrshire artists through exhibiting the work of Sandy Murphy RSW RGI. His paintings are hugely popular in our gallery and we wanted to introduce the work of some of his friends and contemporaries to our customers. Ayrshire shares a rich artistic history with Galloway and this show proves that we have some of the best artists in the country working very close to home.”

You can read Jan Patients Blog here.

Joanna McLeman Gisbey Necklaces

 

I wore one of these fabulous necklaces to the Opening of our new exhibition. They are intricately cut from giant balloons by artist Joanna McLeman Gisbey.

The vibrant colours of the necklaces are found in this painting by James Cosgrove which we have hung above them in gallery 4.

JAMES COSGROVE Like a Bird That Flew

Ayrshire Artists, Galloway Connections - Exhibition Review

GLEN SCOULLER RSW RGI Tulips and Puglian Cloth watercolour

Published yesterday in The Galloway News, here is a review of our current exhibition.

McGill Duncan Gallery in Castle Douglas is exhibiting the work of a prestigious group of artists from Ayrshire in its new exhibition. The Exhibitors are: James Cosgrove, Michael Durning, Claire Harrigan RSW, Euan McGregor, Sandy Murphy RSW RGI PAI, James Orr, David Palmer and Glen Scouller RSW RGI.

All the artists live and work in Ayrshire, but many have connections with Galloway and come to the region to paint. The exhibition in Castle Douglas shows their work in a place of artistic inspiration.

Ayrshire and Galloway share dramatic coastlines and scenic beauty. Landscapes from both regions are featured including the ‘10th Tee at Turnberry’ by James Orr, ‘Storm, Ailsa Craig’ by Sandy Murphy RSW RGI and, nearer to Castle Douglas, ‘Orchardton Tower’ by Michael Durning.

Each artist works with an assured confidence in his or her chosen medium. This expertise has been recognised by the fact that three of the artists in the show have been elected to the The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour: Claire Harrigan RSW, Sandy Murphy RSW RGI PAI and Glen Scouller RSW RGI.

Glen Scouller RSW RGI’s ‘Tulips and Puglian Cloth’ is a perfect example of his masterly use of watercolour. The colours simply sing and he has produced a painting that will bring great joy to whoever is lucky enough to hang it in their home. Glen Scouller is one of the most notable and collected representational painters working in Scotland today. He studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1968-73 under Donaldson, Robertson and Shanks. His first solo show was in 1977, and he has had over 40 solo exhibitions in his illustrious painting career.

There is only one printmaker in the exhibition – etcher David Palmer. He is exhibiting a collection of his etchings of Jugs. David finds inspiration in simple domestic objects. The Jug has been a recurring theme in his work for some time. He captures their expressions, personalities, moods and emotions as if drawing a portrait. His expert etching technique allows him to create rich textures and atmospheric tones through scraping, polishing and re-etching to create the desired effect. The result is almost three dimensional in appearance. David is exhibiting two etchings which have never been shown before ‘Old Spoon’ and ‘Recess II’

Michael Durning has painted a collection of ‘Galloway’ paintings specially for the exhibition, including local landmarks such as Sweetheart Abbey, Orchardton Tower and Caerlaverock Castle. He says ‘My work values a sense of place, history and cultural identity. I use blighted and broken images of monuments, buildings and landscapes to create powerful statements that question attitudes to Scottish cultural identity.’

Gallery owner Jill Blamire said ‘McGill Duncan Gallery formed most of our connections with Ayrshire artists through exhibiting the work of Sandy Murphy RSW RGI PAI. His paintings are hugely popular in our gallery and we wanted to introduce the work of some of his friends and contemporaries to our customers. Ayrshire shares a rich artistic history with Galloway and this show proves that we have some of the best artists in Scotland working very close to home’ All the work can be viewed at www.mcgillduncangallery.com

Ayrshire Artists

GLEN SCOULLER RSW RGI

Village Garden, Fox Amphoux, Provence

Our new exhibition 'Ayrshire Artists' opens on Saturday with the Private View from 11 am to 1 pm. Most of the artists are coming to the Private View so it will be a great chance to meet them and talk about their work.

The exhibition is now online for you to view here. 67 new works!

We are busy hanging all the paintings and the gallery is transforming once again. I love this time before every new exhibition when we get to know the paintings and find the perfect place for everything.

Eight fantastic artists from Ayrshire are exhibiting:

paintings by-
James Cosgrove
Michael Durning
Claire Harrigan RSW
Euan McGregor
Sandy Murphy RSW RGI PAI
James Orr
Glen Scouller RSW RGI

etchings by-
David Palmer

with Jewellery by Joanna McLeman Gisbey