Following on from my exhibition in Christo’s Gallery on Great Western Road I am pleased to announce my first solo exhibition in Finnieston’s newest gallery space called Veneer. The show is entitled ‘Roots’ and previews on Friday the 26th of April from 6/9 pm and runs until 24th May.

The show is entitled ‘Roots’ after the title I gave a large leaded window I made in 2006/7. This panel served as a display piece for shows I did over the next few years but it is only at this exhibition I shall be displaying it as it was originally intended suspended from the roof by chains in a window. Alongside the set of oak framed smaller pieces which have also never been displayed.
Roots is also about where I have come from and where I am today. This being my debut solo show I felt it was fitting.

When I was a kid I spent the journey to school on the bus traveling down Loch Ness looking out the window at the scenery and listening to tapes on my prized possession cassette player. Before high school, I only had two tapes, Thriller by Michael Jackson. Side one, side two, side one, side two, side one, side two pretty much until the battery ran out. And my mum’s exercise compilation cassette taped off the radio circa ’85. It was a quality compilation with the exception of ‘Frankie’ on side two. I still hate that song.

Later in High school, I had other tapes, mostly variations of the same songs made up from my limited Cd collection and  Stephen Gordon’s copy of Led Zeppelin Remasters collection, cassette two which I ‘borrowed’ for a long time.

It was looking out the window on the bus that I think most of the ideas I would come to have later were formed.  Walking the dog in the evening with my David Bowie Singles Collection tape also featured a lot.

I got into painting properly at age 25 and since then have been trying to find a way to make the production of my art a way to live. Forwarding to 2013 age 32 I have currently produced more work in the first 4 months of this year than I have in many many years. The pace has been raised, the ideas are moving in a positive direction. And later this week I shall be opening this show in which I will showcase all my current new work.

If you are familiar with my Facebook page you will of seen in the last few weeks some of the new ideas and my recent Blossom paintings which I am enjoying very much.  Of course, computer screens in no way compare to reality so I encourage you to visit the exhibition in the four-week duration or see my studio which always has an open door to visitors.

I have a fair bit of promotion to do in the next few days as this show was arranged only 2 days ago, I would have preferred a couple of weeks to notify the press and prepare my posters, flyers, and such. But it is what it is and I shall just work with the time I have.  After so many years working on my art, this show is quite important to me, it’s great to have a whole place to myself to exhibit, and it’s a fabulous space.

Some kid, with a tape player and headphones glued to his head, sold someone a drawing of a wolf in the Inverfarigaig Forest car park for five pounds sometime around 1989.

Some kid with a tape player and headphones glued to his head has been practicing.

Still listening to Thriller, he no longer makes money in forestry commission car parks or draws wolf heads but he has taken the visual input of that time and forged a creative path of his own making which leads us to today.

See you Friday.