The artist: I have been a full-time professional artist for almost 20 years, working as both a landscape painter and printmaker from my base in Aberdeen.
My work is driven by a desire to capture the mood and atmosphere of Scotland’s wilder places. I enjoy the creative interplay between different media, and how techniques from one discipline can enrich another. Disintegration (Dunnottar Castle) is a perfect example of this cross-fertilisation. Using traditional copper plate etching tools—a needle and hard ground—I carefully etched the detailed outlines of the rocks and castle. I then applied layers of atmospheric tone using a spit bite aquatint with strong nitric acid, allowing me to ‘paint’ more expressively over the composition. Finally, I experimented with various ink tones to achieve the specific atmosphere I envisioned, settling on this version for editioning.
This etching is one of three prints I was commissioned to create for Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums in 2023. The first print from this edition of 40 now forms part of the city's permanent collection, alongside the two companion pieces from that project.
Disintegration (Dunnottar Castle) was also selected for the inaugural Scottish Landscape Awards exhibition in 2023.