April 27 to May 14 2019

Sky by Gordon McBrearty

 

"As I was walking down the stair
I met a man who was not there.
 He was not there again today.
I only wish he would go away.

 
I now look at brighter days. I always remember when I was younger, recently I could not see any bright days. My life had taken a downward spiral. My job, my career, had turned from a dream to a nightmare. Bullied and bullied and made to feel small. Wait, I was good at my job and I should prove it, if only to myself.
The next day I took my camera with me, hoping to catch a passing moment. A peace of mind captured. in a moment.

I hope my images share some peace with you and give you some hope to escape everything for just a passing moment, just one moment."

 

The Line takes great pleasure in welcoming Gordon's photographs back to Linlithgow, and to opening our doors to all of those who remember his images of local events, and to those who have a new experience to discover.

The show will open from 2pm to 4 pm on Saturday April 27th - everyone will be welcome

March 30 to April 23 2019

 

Hullscape 91 by Paul Boyle

Tidal Territories is an exhibition of recent work by Paul Boyle and Peter J Scott in which each artist presents his own approach to land and sea.

Paul is developing new images & ideas from his hullscapes theme for this exciting exhibition at The Line .

"Study of very small areas of hull surfaces reveal scenes the mind can readily interpret as sea, coastal vistas and water patterns, conveying moods and expressing a sense of the sea in forms normally associated with painting. A flake of paint on the hull becomes the turn of a wave or a rock on the sand.
These photographs go beyond being literal records and become expressive works that may suggest to the viewer many locations and moods."

Peter's approach is different:

The work I have focused on for this particular show is largely specific to memories relating to the coast and the architecture and natural surroundings I have found in these locations, not every location is based directly on the coast but has for one reason or another related directly to my experience of the coastlines of Scotland, Finland and Germany.

We look forward to welcoming you.

 I awoke by Peter J Scott

 

March 2 to 26 2019

 In the Liminal Lands - between land and water.
Recent work by Sarah Keast

Visitors to The Line will recognise the work of Sarah Keast,a visual artist based in Moniaive.  “In the Liminal Lands” is a body of work developed during visits to the Caerlaverock coast during summer 2018.  The hot dry summer created an atypical Caerlaverock experience filled with summer plants, rich in insect life but with the ponds drying up, cracked mud surfaces and drying grasses.
Sarah’s work has always been informed by her life-long interest in geology, landscape and the natural world. She has been researching archaeological sites and Pre-Christian cultures and their resonance in our rituals, values and beliefs today. Her current focus is on liminal places, exploring the ideas of uncertainty and the unknown, and transitions between phases of life or states of being.  In the terminology of coastal science the creeks and saltmarsh of the Solway merse are liminal places.  Sometimes flooded by sea water, sometimes dry land and creeks they hover between states with the rise and fall of the tides and pull of the moon.  Archaeologists have found mesolithic footprints and fishing posts on similar salt marshlands in the Severn estuary, the saltmarsh environment offering rich sources of food for hunter gatherer societies.  In making the work Sarah imagined a similar community here 6-8000 years ago. In Denmark a Mesolithic burial includes the remains of a baby cradled on a swan wing; a ritual burial.  This made Sarah reflect on the swans of the Solway and the importance their sudden arrival must have held in prehistoric society, marking the seasons.  Elsewhere along the Solway coast are many Neolithic cup and ring marked rocks. None are visible at Caerlaverock with its heavy blanket of silty sand and merse, but might there be archaeology under the mudflats?  These ideas of possible past inhabitants of the Solway lands, their hunter gatherer lifestyles, talismanic objects, signs from nature, magical thinking and rituals drifted alongside the experiences of the sense of place, present day land use, birds and wildlife.  From this a semi abstract series of artworks has emerged.  Sarah’s approach has moved away from traditional printmaking of multiples towards a series of paintings.   Each mark is made as an experiment and then followed by another and another. The art works combine printing techniques, painting and drawings using acrylic paint and inks, screen printing then directly painting and drawing into the image or wiping out areas before returning to print again.
 

February 2 to 26 2019

Morag Stevenson is an artist well known to many in Linlithgow. Teaching at Linlithgow Academy for a number of years, she encouraged and played a significant part in the development of many a young student, some of whom have gone on to develop full time artist careers of their own. More recently Morag has exhibited frequently both in Linlithgow and throughout Scotland.

For this solo exhibition Morag has painted a range of landscapes and more intimate street scenes, often from around the High Street. We are sure you will enjoy this new series of work as much as we do, and think it a fitting opening for The Line's 24th year of exhibiting in Linlithgow.