Spurtle enjoyed this generous colourful painting which we found on its last day of exhibition at the White Space gallery on Howe Street yesterday.
Margaret Anderson's piece is untitled, but its starting point is certainly botanical – possibly the thistles which have been a recurrent them in much of her work to date.
Anderson grew up in Scotland and Australia, is an occupational therapist for NHS Lothian, and graduated this year from Edinburgh College of Art. We'll keep an eye out for her work in future.
‘I have set out to explore, experiment and physically engage with paint,’ she writes. ‘My paintings have became personal journeys of discovery. It has been rewarding to experience each painting taking on its own character, as shapes and lines developed into hybrid impressionistic and abstract representations. I took aspects of my exploration into my colourist routes, combining this “comfort zone” with fresh and unfamiliar approaches.'
She is, she says, interested in 'poignancy of memory traces and how we, as people, travel through life leaving marks, line and a narrative upon the landscape both psychologically and physically. My research and photography have focussed on familiar landscapes, particularly forests, that evoke memories and an emotional response within myself.'
Anderson breaks down her images to their fundamental unique characteristics, and applies thin layers of paint over a period of time to understand how the pigment reflects and creates optical tension, and how the opaque ground colour affects luminosity and richness of colour.
This reviewer wouldn't claim to understand all the technicalities of that last paragraph, but very much appreciates the end results. You can see more examples of her recent work here. AM