We are delighted to present Michael McVeigh’s A Sense of Place and here we take a closer look at the locations that feature within the exhibition. Michael has an intimate knowledge of the streets, gardens and landmarks of Edinburgh. Looking at his paintings of Edinburgh we see the city through his original eye.
Above all, McVeigh’s work depicts Scotland, focusing particularly on city life, with all its subcultures and traditions. Edinburgh streets, Scottish pipes and drums, harbour scenes and pubs, fisherfolk and folk musicians come together in a romantic vision of Scotland which is both real and imagined.
John Morrison…the mood of the paintings shifts between a visionary tone with evocations of both folk-art and sophisticated Surrealism, and a late Realist language, evoking memories of Glasgow painters such as Tom MacDonald and Josef Herman, in subject and in social engagement, if not in handling.
Michael McVeigh has followed an unconventional journey as an artist, and whilst his work can be considered outsider art, it is art that we can all identify with, whether it is a familiar place, event or the changing seasons. He paints unpretentiously and honestly, unaffected by the foibles and fashions of the art world, his gift of the fantastical, macabre or hum drum unmoderated by any desire to please, conform or transgress.
