A Walk on the Wild Side | David Cook

11 March 2021

Welcome to David Cook’s garden in the north east of Scotland – the inspiration behind his current exhibition Earth Shaker. The exhibition is the product of three years of hard work and focuses on the subject of David’s wild seaside garden just north of Montrose. His large scale canvases capture the energy and colour of the costal wild flowers in thick impasto and are complemented with small, colourful floral panels. Gallery Director Tommy Zyw visited the artist last summer, and you can watch our short film below where David discusses the special location of Seagreens and the garden and landscape around his studio.

For this exhibition... Cook has chosen to focus his energies on the wild, seaside garden in front of his cottage. The fertile grassy acre between the house and the rocky coast is a wilderness garden, enlivened with flotsam sculpture, thrumming with life and brilliant in colour in the summer.

Tommy Zyw visited David Cook at his home and studio in Seagreens last September and filmed David at his studio, providing a glimpse into David’s particular art practice. You can watch our short film below.

Flowers and long grasses grow untamed, threatening to engulf his studio. His paintings are made in rich impasto of oil paint, with a joyous freedom.

I chose the garden. When spring arrives, the garden bursts into life, as do I, a relief from long dark winters. Spring to late summer is always a productive time for me. I wanted to show the garden bursting into life. The colour, the energy.

David Cook
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