Neil Macdonald PAI RGI RSW: Of Time and Place

Neil Macdonald is drawn to locations abundant with historic and mythic presence and is particularly engaged with Scottish history and the evidence of its previous peoples.

Macdonald’s works explore the lyrical narrative of natural sites and strong bold shapes offered by castles, churches, old townships and harbours. Through the distortion of perspective, invention and editing, Macdonald reimagines the subjects he paints, aiming to capture an essence of the structure or place in its previous glory. In some pieces topographic accuracy is replaced by an imaginative response to the subject, the atmosphere and mood of a place enforced by Macdonald's dramatic use of light, revealing the subject’s unique sense and poetry of place. ‘Of Time and Place’ continues this theme, concentrating on Macdonald’s enjoyment of the landscape and human interaction with the land in the Northern Isles, Orkney in particular.