Profiles of Artists exhibiting at The Beauly Gallery

Profile of Alison Strachan

Alison lives and works in Fife, but is originally from Kintail, in the North West Highlands. She makes paintings which are very much influenced by the colours and structure of the landscape of the North of Scotland or which examine subject matter such as individual flower heads in large scale close up. Sometimes her inspiration comes from memories of a particular place, from a fascination with the way changing weather or light affects mood and atmosphere, and at other times it comes from a need to experiment with particular colours and textures for pure pleasure.

A fascination with colour and texture lead her to experimenting with collage. Designs in multi-aperture mounts made with hand-made papers, wire, metallic mesh and dried plant material illustrate the richness that is possible with layering different shades of the same colour, highlighted with symmetrical arrangements of leaves in strong shapes. Alison started to exhibit mirrors after she was asked if she would sell those she had made for her home! A diverse range of unique designs now includes those with frames made from high density fibreboard, solid softwood or differing hardwoods.