Two artists drawn to the same landscape and coastline of East Lothian but who respond to it in two completely different ways.
Fidra Fine Art has worked with Matthew and Andy since 2016 both have appeared in numerous small group exhibitions so both are very well known to visitors to the gallery. This is the first time we have focussed on both their work together in an exhibition to contemplate the similarities and differences to their approach and completed work.
Both artists employ a very expressive, physical technique in the application of their chosen medium, but they attempt to describe very different personal experiences with the landscape.
Andy Heald very much places himself in the landscape and tries to channel how he feels and what he is thinking at the time. Working often plein air, Andy works quickly and frenetically to try to capture his thoughts and mood in response to the rolling hills, the abundance and variety of colour, the constant and ever-changing sound and motion of the waves and the biting East coast gales in the winter. All these natural experiences are channelled and then abstracted into artworks that reflect Andy’s experience of the East Lothian landscapes.
Matthew Draper works from sketches and note taking, directly from the landscape. Watching, creating and collecting images of the weather, light and atmosphere… fleeting moments in time captured from the ever-changing Scottish landscape. Bass Rock features often in his work but it is not really the subject… the light and drama of the Scottish weather is the principal player.
Like Andy, Matthew’s approach to his work is physical and expressive but the end results are visually representational rather than subjectively abstracted. His chosen medium is pastel which he uses to sketch-in the basic composition and then uses his hands and forearms to blend the subtle pastel colour fields together ultimately resulting in the remarkable depth and drama of his light filled land and seascapes.
“A Moment in Time” compares the work of two artists approaching a favourite subject but who gain inspiration and achieve final results in very different ways. Both remarkable in their own way and, something I feel, is the wonder of the art world… the infinite creative possibilities.
We have been very fortunate to work with the incredibly talented people at Urbancroft Films in producing two short films to support the exhibition. Both are included in this introduction, one above and the other below…
They were shot on a glorious summer day at Traprain Law in East Lothian and as well as showcasing the lovely landscape of East Lothian, give some insight into the working processes of both artists. If you would like to learn more about their work please feel free to come along to the exhibition opening on Saturday 6 September at 11am with a chance to meet the artists between 2 & 5pm.
