The Joy of Yellow
Yellow is the colour of Spring and with daffodils at their peak, let’s look at how modern Scottish artists have introduced the joy of yellow into their work. Dorothy Johnstone (1892-1980) In Black and Yellow…
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Four of the First: Women Pioneers at the Royal Scottish Academy
Joyce W. Cairns (b.1947) was elected the first female President of the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture on 28 November 2018. To mark the second anniversary of this historic occasion, I look at…
View PostThe First Women of the Royal Scottish Academy
I am delighted that my essay, ‘The First Women of the Royal Scottish Academy’ has been published on the Academy’s website today. It looks at the eight ‘first women’ of the Academy, from Christina Robertson…
View PostJoyce W. Cairns: First Female RSA President
There’s a great feature in today’s Sunday National newspaper marking the second anniversary of the artist Joyce W. Cairns becoming the first female president of the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture. My essay…
View PostThe Beautiful Tulip
Tulips have provided inspiration to many artists, despite the fact that they continue to grow after being cut. This means that as models they do not ‘sit still’ and need to be observed, sketched and…
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