at Gallimaufry Gallery, Blairmore May 20 - June 7, 2006
Raymond is originally from Greenock but now bases himself on the beautiful island of Bute where he works from home in his small studio. It’s a true artist’s home where the fridge isn’t used for keeping food but for storing paint! Raymond paints alternately in different styles switching easily between broad brush strokes to his unique stippling style which he adopted 20 years ago and which is the focus of his new exhibition here at the Gallimaufry Gallery. Although Raymond started work on his stippling style 20 years ago this will be the first time for many years that the public will be able to experience it. After producing approximately a dozen of these paintings, Raymond’s eyesight became very bad. The blindness was diagnosed as common cataracts and was quickly cured but although it was a setback it was also a blessing in disguise as Raymond explains: ''I held an exhibition in Inverclyde Royal Hospital where I was treated, to help raise funds. The assistant curator from the McLean Museum and Art Gallery saw the exhibition and asked if I’d like to put some of my paintings in the 1986 Inverclyde Biannual. All the top artists in Scotland exhibit their work there and it’s very difficult to get your paintings included, so it was a big achievement for me.'' This art is vibrant and controlled, yet free. Raymond’s broad, sweeping style is a complete contrast to his intricate stippling technique. '' I paint in oils in a broad style with a 2 inch brush and in the art world they class this as a classical style of painting. I wanted to develop this style and do something that has never been done before – develop my own technique. The stippling effect looks like pointalism but it isn’t. It’s achieved by stippling the paint very thickly onto the canvas. When the light hits the stippled specks the overall painting looks as though it’s made up of a thousand little dots. It’s very time consuming and takes a tremendous amount of paint and it’s going far away from the broad brush effect of my other paintings.'' Raymond’s paintings are detailed but abstract, bright but dark, in your face but subtle too. Raymond adds: ''I think abstract when I’m painting, but I don’t actually paint abstract. I always paint from memory too. It means you miss out things and add things but that’s the benefit of doing it from memory – your interpretation. It means you can compose the painting better and your perspective is perfect – you have tunnel vision.'' Here's a small showcase of Raymond's work to give you a taste of what you'll find at Gallimaufry May 20 - June 7, 2006. Back to Exhibitions | Top # rm000-z |
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