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ROGER BILLCLIFFE GALLERY
Award-winning Scottish artist Glen Scouller’s dedication to his work has, on occasion, forced him to strap his canvas to a lamppost so he could carry on painting during a strong wind.
That was when the mistral suddenly gathered strength in France where he has often painted. “I broke two easels and nearly tied myself to the lamppost as well!” said Glen.
He is well known for capturing the light and colour of France and Italy, Portugal, India and South Africa but his latest exhibition is drawn from much closer climes, comprising landscapes and still lifes painted in and around his Ayrshire home and garden.
It will show at the Roger Billcliffe Gallery in Glasgow from May 19 until June 10 and features 36 paintings in oil and pastel, many of them painted outside, despite the vagaries of the Scottish weather.
“One of my heroes is Joan Eardley who painted in all weathers and I paint in all weathers too,” said Glen. “If you find a bit of shelter somewhere you can paint in rain although strong winds can be more challenging.”
He often prefers working outside to being in a studio as he finds it more interesting.
“Things happen outside that you don’t expect and you can take advantage of that,” said Glen. “Somebody might walk past and you can just place them within the composition.”
'Studio Windowsill' was inspired by the view from Glen's studio
However, working outside can produce some unexpected situations that take a bit of getting used to - such as setting up at seemingly quiet locations in India only to find that, within minutes, a crowd of around 50 people have appeared as if from nowhere to watch the artist at work.
“I just had to keep going – it was quite funny,” said Glen.
While Ayrshire might not seem to some as exotic as India or Italy, Glen’s passion for colour and light and his customary bold approach are still apparent in the new work.
Since he graduated from Glasgow School of Art (GSA), he has held over 50 solo exhibitions in the UK and abroad, winning many awards for his work in both oil and watercolour.
His paintings are included in numerous corporate and public collections worldwide including the South African Government, the Scottish Government, De Beers and The Royal Bank of Scotland.
Glen was elected a member of The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) in 1997 and The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) in 1989 and also recently became an author, penning a book in 2016 about his watercolour paintings.
Fishermen, East Neuk
While he loves the limpid quality of watercolour he enjoys working with all mediums, especially oil which was the medium for his first foray into painting when he was just eight-years-old.
“My uncle, who attended art school before WW2, bought me a small set of oil paints and I always remember the smell of the linseed oil and the oil paint,” said Glen. “After the war he didn’t paint again, which was a shame, but he showed me how to do a portrait and used to buy me the odd art book.”
Glen grew up in the East End of Glasgow and after leaving school he went to GSA where he met his wife Carol, a painter and graphic designer. The couple have two daughters,
Lara and Kim who are also both artists. Initially Glen worked as an art teacher in the East End of Glasgow before tutoring night school students at GSA but he continued exhibiting, going full time as an artist after a very successful show in London in 1988.
“It was a big step but I have never looked back,” he said.
The new show will be his 11th with the Roger Billcliffe Gallery but his first there for five years. “I am really looking forward to seeing my work hanging in Roger’s new gallery space” said Glen.
www.billcliffegallery.com/events/event/glen-scouller
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