Born in Glasgow but now based in Shetland, Gail Harvey takes inspiration from her surrounding Scottish Landscapes to create her bold abstract works. Her use of dramatic brush strokes and bright colour combinations has gained her global recognition for her work.
A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art in the 1970s, Gail has exhibited her work extensively throughout the UK over the last 20 years – Glasgow, Shetland, Bath, Edinburgh, the Royal Academy London, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts...to name a few. In 2013, the Arusha Gallery (now based on Dundas Street just a few doors up from the Cameron taylor* studio) presented and exclusive exhibition of her work which was extremely well attended, a real testament to her popularity.
The energy and vigorous movement displayed in her paintings highlights the rough and rugged nature of the coastlines she draws inspiration from. You can almost feel the wind splashing through the waves and onto the rocks. The light feels like it’s changing before your eyes as bright bursts poke through swathes of colour and sludgy dark patches. These brave and joyful splashes have greatly inspired our SS15 colour palette. There is something calming about these erratic brush strokes that is just so inviting, there’s an instinctive attraction to the wild new world they depict.
We have been lucky enough to have a couple of her pieces on loan to display in our shop, Epitome. These giant colourful works have attracted much attention from our customers and have cheerfully graced our walls - a perfect fit for the building’s grand Georgian proportions.
She has been awarded numerous scholarships and awards for her paintings, most recently the Visual Arts Bursary Award (Shetland Arts & Creative Scotland), and was the winner of Best Painting at the 2012 Shetland Open. Gail’s work is held in multiple private and public collections across the UK and Internationally. For more information on Gail Harvey and her work, please contact Arush Gallery.
Arusha Gallery, 13A Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6QG www.arushagallery.com 07814 189018
