Gallery's Festival Exhibition
The Ruthven Gallery's Spring Exhibition opens its doors this weekend and features a number of leading contemporary artists from around Scotland. The show, which runs for the duration of the Perth Festival of the Arts, presents new work by Perthshire artists Caroline Best, Margaret Evans and Iona Leishman, alongside other Scottish artists Gillian Allan, Cara Mckinnon Crawford and Hugh Kirkwood. Iona, who was born in Perth, is a strong believer in using her art to help the very environment which so often inspires her work, and recently supported the conservation efforts of the National Trust for Scotland and the John Muir Trust. She said, "A recent commission to paint Schiehallion enabled the John Muir Trust, which owns the mountain's east flank, to use the image on cards and posters to raise funds for their conservation activities. I'm very supportive of their work as I believe they are how an environmental charity should be." The Ruthven exhibition comes at a time when Iona's reputation is certainly growing. "I feel stronger about my work than I ever have," she said, "in terms of my style it's satisfying that no one has ever approached me to say 'you remind me of...'" The work of Caroline Best is rarely seen in galleries in Scotland. Caroline said, "I'm curious to explore different techniques and materials, including clay, cement, wax, wood, stone and mixed media." Caroline is set to exhibit a series of bronze sculpted angels, and commented, "It is essential that the sculptures convey energy and spirit." Glasgow School of Art trained Margaret Evans is one of the UK's leading pastel artists and art tutors. Margaret has written many books on painting in pastels, the latest of which was published by Harper Collins last month. Margaret said, "30-minute Pastels' is all about learning to use pastels outdoors quickly and boldly to capture a moment, and indoors for portraits and still life. This helps to build up confidence for then moving on to longer, more intricate paintings." It's testament to her work ethic that Margaret finds time away from teaching to focus on her own art. "I find inspiration in the many places we travel to," she said. "The Scottish landscape gives a wonderful range of subject matter that helps show the pastel medium in all its versatility, from dry to wet techniques and mixed with gouache." The forthcoming exhibition features a selection of her Scottish works ranging from East Coast fishing villages and boats to the powerful Scottish Highland scenes. The Spring Exhibition at the Ruthven Gallery runs until the 3rd June.