John Gardiner Crawford
There is no shortage of subjects within a few miles of Crawford’s home in Arbroath. He is attracted to the marchlands where sea meets land, where low buildings are scoured by wind and sand, where a lighthouse gives succour to a seafarer’s eye, where the chance order of a row of seagulls or reflection on a cottage window makes us pause, think and wonder. He paints the wilderness of the North Sea, lent significance by the fisherman’s blood that runs in his veins.
Born near Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, John Gardiner Crawford attended Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen (1959-64). Winner of many awards. Shows with us in Scotland, in London and also highly successfully in Canada. Work characterised by an almost supra-realist clarity of detail and light. Subject matter concentrates on the working landscape and paraphenalia of Scotland’s east coast fishing (and farming) communites often inspired by arresting and witty juxtapositions of things seen.