Tag Archives: rose strang art

Iona Sea and new exhibitions in 2025

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Above: North Beach Iona, May. Oil on 30×20 inch linen canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Lots of exciting new projects coming up!

The painting above is one of a series I’m creating for the Graystone Gallery, Edinburgh for their Edinburgh Festival exhibition, which launches on Saturday July 19th from 1 to 3pm

The painting below is for the Limetree Gallery‘s upcoming Summer Exhibition which launches 3rd July. You can preview or reserve paintings now by contacting them on their website.

(If you’re interested in buying or reserving one of the paintings please contact the galleries direct on the links in the above paragraph, thank you).

I have another three at larger sizes for the Graystone coming up. Readers of the blog will know how much Iona means to me, and to thousands of other people who visit the island every year. It’s a special place I’ve been visiting now for about thirty four years and I’d say it’s one of my biggest inspirations as an artist.

The next larger paintings will be a bit more abstract, but I know that people find these paintings of turquoise sparkling water joyful, and so do I!

This series is doubly special since my partner Adam and I prepared the canvases ourselves with sretcher bars and raw linen.

I’ve kept the lovely texture and colour of the linen by using clear gesso. If you look at the close ups of ‘Sea Light, Iona’ and ‘Iona North Beach, May’ below, you can see the unpainted canvas …

More soon …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 24

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Above: Forest of Luffness 17. Oil on 30×30 inch canvas. Rose Strang 2025

This is changed quite a bit from the last post, I wasn’t getting the sense of light in the forest – it was afternoon and the tones were warm.

Here’s the last version and posted and today’s side-by-side …

A detail and a close up of my palette – there’s always a nice build up of the coour scheme by the end of a series, then it’s all scrubbed back (this is a glass palette so it’s easier to scrub back) before the next series. …

One more painting and the series will be complete! I’d love to get on with that that tomorrow but we’re off to the beautiful Isle of Iona for our anniversary!

While there I’ll be sketching, painting and photographing for my next series, which will be some large, textured semi-abstract seascape paintings on unbleached linen for the Graystone Gallery, Edinburgh

I’m very excited about the Graystone Exhibition – it launches 18th July and will be part of the Edinburgh Festival. If you click on the link above you can see they show some exciting work and it’s great to be a part of that.

I’ll also be contributing some work as part of the Limetree Gallery‘s Summer Exhibition this year and if you read this blog you’ll know how happy I am to be included as part of their excellent year-round exhibition programme!

Much more about all of that soon, but, one thing at a time. I’ll complete the Luffness series first!

The Luffness series is very much a ‘slow-burn’ as it were, since I want to show the series privately at first, alongside the accompanying documentary. It has been the most absorbing and challenging series of my life so far. The documentary describes the collaborative aspect of a long-term art project like this – all the much loved people involved, the ideas, themes, research and experience.

The Luffness series and documentary probably won’t show publically until early next year. So in a couple of weeks I’ll be posting more here about the Graystone Gallery and Limetree Gallery series very soon!

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 23

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Above: Forest of Luffness 17. Oil on 30×30 inch canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Clickable details below …

I’ve been lost in a sea of John Singer Sargent paintings these last few days, particularly this one …

What a beauty. Those dashes of lemon yellow, his incredible understanding of light. I can see this is also a bit of an erotic theme as he was never a very monogamous character, but that’s not what captivates me about this painting. I wish I’d seen it sooner in this series! Then again, we don’t want to be derivative I suppose.

This is the penultimate painting of the series. I might have said that before but I’m creating an extra one just in case. I want the series to be sevent paintings only.

More next week …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 22

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Above: Forest of Luffness 16. Oil on 30×30 inch canvas. Rose Strang 2025

(Clickable images below.)

I’m now nearing the end of the Forest of Luffness series. I have two more at this size which will be far more simple, compositionally, than the painting below. Then I’ll decide which seven paintings to choose for exhibition.

As you can see I’ve included the effigy, of which I’m no longer nervous! There will be one more depicting the effigy.

More tomorrow …

Spring and Summer Exhibitions coming up!

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Above: Iona to Staffa 1. Oil on 12 x 12 inch wood Rose Strang

On exhibition as part of Limetree’s Spring Show until May 31st are two works inspired by my favourite places in Scotland – the Isle of Iona and Coigach on the west coast.

Happily, I’ll be painting many more works inspired by Iona this year – for the Graystone Gallery in Edinburgh and the Limetree Gallery in Bristol. More on that in a week or so …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 21

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Above: Forest of Luffness 15. Oil on 30×30″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Today’s painting, continuing the Luffness series. These are looking coherent now, so that’s encouraging!

Here’s a detail of the figures –

I’ve decided to paint more detailed portraits onto the smaller canvases as I’ve never liked huge face portraits. I have three more at this large size then I’ll create about three smaller portraits and that will be this series complete for now, I think. I have to get on with some landscape paintings for summer exhibitions.

Here are all the large paintings grouped together –

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 20

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Above: Forest of Luffness 14. Oil on 30×30″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Today’s painting, which happily coincides with the palette of my favourite painting so far from the larger series. Details –

The other painting –

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 19

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Above: Forest of Luffness 13. Oil on 30×30″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Getting into the flow of this series at last, with three large paintings that make sense together. It was a relief to get back to painting today after a nasty virus. More painting on Monday.

Here are a few more details …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 18

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Above: Forest of Luffness 12. Oil on 30×30″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025

Today’s painting returns to the mysterious forest. I’m quite happy with the looseness of the paint. It made me reprise yesterday’s painting as I wasn’t too happy with the figure of Richard. Here it is …

Also some close ups of today’s painting …

Forest of Luffness. Painting progress 17

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Above: Forest of Luffness 11. Oil on 30×30″ canvas. Rose Strang 2025

More work today on the latest painting, I wanted more of a sense of mystery in the forest background so I simplfied it considerably and darkened it, with very little light. I also blured the edges of the male figure somewhat to bring the female figure and baby into focus.

I want to emphasise the cycle of life – birth to aging and death, not to make us all feel depressed but to express the what we bring to each of these experiences. Emma’s focus is entirely on her new born baby, there’s the strength of motherhood. With Richard Demarco there’s a complete presence – he’s attending to every aspect of the place and what it has to say to him, also how it speaks to his spirituality.

I like the way the bright leaves of spring highlight Emma’s arrival into the painting. In short, I’m glad I woke up, took a look at my painting, had a bit of a hissy fit and changed it up a bit!