For his second and largest exhibition of 2023, Ron Lawson will be painting a collection of pieces which include something a little bit different…
Traditionally, Ron has always worked with a very restricted neutral palette which lends itself perfectly to conveying the starkness and isolation of the Scottish wilderness. And it wouldn’t be a Ron Lawson exhibition if it didn’t feature paintings incorporating his signature flat grey skies, setting off the single croft houses with hints of beach, sea (and sheep) that instantly transport you to each of these places.
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For each of these ‘traditional’ paintings in this exhibition, Ron will be introducing far more detail and intricacy than before, further enhancing the remarkable contrast between land and sky.
'My approach to capturing the essence of the Outer Hebrides has always been with a deliberately limited palette. I started with a standard paintbox of colour and stripped it down to only six colours, several of which make only a tiny appearance in any one of my Hebridean paintings. So in effect there are only three significant colours which creates 90% of the painting. This allows me to capture the beauty of the islands and stay as true to the experience of being there and to create my individual interpretation of the island’s natural beauty.'
As well as these classic paintings, Ron will be exhibiting a new collection of works, bringing in more colour in a variety of ways…
Like many artists, Ron has been working away in his studio, continually experimenting and evolving his painting techniques and style. Through this, he will be introducing a selection of Hebridean inspired pieces, moving from flat single tone skies to watercolour only and using a variety of new colour tones. This technique allows the paint to run freely and produce a more organic, contrasting and mesmerising 3D effect than before - further highlighting Ron’s clean and precise landscape foregrounds.
'I’m taking the opportunity with this show to further my use of full transparent watercolour to create the entire painting. It allows me to paint broad expansive skies in delicate granulated brush work, which adds a further dramatic effect to my paintings. More importantly, it allows me to introduce a mix of vibrant colours in the skies, which I would not be able to do with the flat gouache (an opaque watercolour) paint, while staying true to my desire to depict the Islands the way I want to. The process of painting in full watercolour is completely unlike the approach I take to working with gouache paint. As I’ve worked in watercolour all my career, I’m confident with the medium, however, it’s been a great experience to paint a collection of work for the exhibition using this style which, confidence or not, always has an element of unpredictability in the way paint works so it has pushed me outside my comfort zone and made me use all those years of practise. It’s been a fantastic challenge.'
And on the wildlife side, although Ron has only ever exhibited his (hugely popular) puffin paintings, a keen interest in all bird types since a youngster has meant he has always painted birds but never shown. This exhibition will showcase for the first time a wider selection of Ron’s native bird paintings - all incredibly striking, adding further pops of colour but all undeniably Ron Lawson.
'My puffin paintings have always been so well received by clients, but for this exhibition I wanted to expand my range of wildlife paintings. Most people don't realise that I actually have a keen interest in birds and have painted various species throughout my career - but this show will be the first time I have actually exhibited birds other than the puffins. Painting birds has also been a great opportunity to use a wider colour palette.
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I feel this show has developed into the most interesting and exciting body of work I've ever put together. I'm looking forward to the opening day and can't wait to let everyone see this new work.'
Ron Lawson