Coast
Dominique Cameron RSW, Marian Leven RSA RSW, Will Maclean MBE RSA, Jon Schueler (1916-1992) with ceramics by Jennifer Alford
5 September to 11 October 2026
The coastline of Scotland is the theme for our next exhibition “Coast”. It involves a stellar line up of 5 artists whose work I immediately associate with the Scottish coast albeit in very different ways…
I have long been an admirer of the work of Jon Schueler and in particular the sea and cloudscapes off the west coast of Scotland, Mallaig and the Sound of Sleat where he set up a studio.
During WWII, as a 26-year-old navigator flying terrifying daylight raids on Germany on board a B17 Flying Fortess, Schueler would have been immersed in the cloud scapes that would later feature so prominently in his artwork.
He came to painting relatively late in life at the age of 29 when he attended portrait classes. A few years later he signed up at the California School of the Fine Arts in San Francisco where he would study under Clyfford Still, Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Elmer Bischoff & Hassel Smith. Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt had also taught there in the summers of 1949 and 1950. It was his friendship with Clyfford Still that drew him to New York and the excitement of the modern art scene at the time. There, Still introduced him to Rothko, Reinhardt, Franz Kline and Barnett Newman.
Quite a baptism into the art world. Although influenced by the abstract movement going on around him, Schueler still felt grounded in the natural world. During visits to Europe in 1957-58 Schueler visited Scotland where he was seduced by the drama and changeability of the weather-laden skies around Mallaig and of the Sound of Sleat in particular.
The work exhibited in Coast is drawn from a productive period from 1970-75 spent at Romasaig, an old schoolhouse just outside Mallaig.
During this period Schueler worked with Richard Demarco in Edinburgh where his work was very well received… further cementing his bonds with Scotland.
Husband and wife artists, Will Maclean and Marian Leven were also exhibiting with Richard Demarco at this time and it was Demarco who introduced them to Jon Schueler when he visited them at their home in Fife.
Marian recalls: “We visited Jon in Mallaig a number of times on our way south from Skye. Visits to his wonderful studio were inspiring. When Will was working on the ring-net herring boats from Skye and the haul was being discharged in Mallaig, he also visited Jon’s studio at Romasaig.”
Marian Leven studied at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen under the guidance of another great Scottish landscape painter, Frances Walker. Marian’s landscapes in this exhibition are very gentle, delicate paintings, abstracted from her experience in the landscape.
“My painting is concerned with Scottish landscape and seascape, an expression of the harmony, balance and emotional interaction I experience through remembered, mythical and historic associations. The land, sea and weather absorb me. Images for my paintings are collected in the landscape and in the studio the recollection moves into interpretation and metaphor. My painting allows me to respond to this environment in the knowledge that I am part of a long history of people shaped by these conditions.”
Will Maclean also studied at Gray’s School of Art where he and Marian met. He grew up Inverness where his father was harbourmaster and spent summers either with his father’s family at Achiltibuie (where they still have the family home) or with his mother’s family on Skye. He went to sea when he was 15 and spent time working on the ring-net herring boats off Skye. This connection to the sea and the people who are inextricably linked to it and his Highland heritage has informed his work throughout his career.
His studio is a wonderful cornucopia of old tools, books, manuals and marine paraphernalia which will combine in the creative process resulting in a beautifully crafted and thoughtfully narrated construction.
We have a variety of Will’s drawing, painting, collage and constructions in this exhibition.
After 5 solo shows here at the gallery, Dominique Cameron is no stranger to the long-time visitors and again, the focus of her work is often not far from water. I never quite know what to expect from Dominique so when I approached her about this Coast exhibition, I had an open mind. Her work is always thoughtful; she works hard to push her boundaries and her huge “Gansey” piece in this show certainly does that. Visually, big and bold but it is the narrative that accompanies it that really completes the piece…informative and thoughtful.
Smaller, abstracted, observational pieces taken from her coastal walks complement the large Gansey. Like all of Dominique’s abstracted works, these pieces are thoughtfully composed with punchy, juicy, painterly marks.
Jennifer Alford’s porcelain pieces reminded me a little of Marian Leven’s, quiet and organic and the musical marks echoed some of the drawing in both Jon Schueler’s charcoal pieces and Dominiques paintings. I think it works well with the work on the walls.
I am delighted to be able to exhibit these artists in Gullane. Hope you can get along to see what is an exceptional collection of work. The exhibition kicks off on Saturday 5 September with refreshments between 2 & 5pm.
