An A-Z of painters and sculptors on the Isle of Lewis. If you would like to be added to this list, contact andrew@anlanntair.com.
Open Studios Hebrides, a membership organisation for visual artists on the Isle of Lewis, also has its own artist directory.
Anthony J Barber-Harbour View Gallery
I have lived on Lewis since 1994 and paint full time in my small studio gallery, just above the harbour and beach in Port of Ness.
My works are acrylic and mixed media paintings featuring the land and seascapes of the west coast and Hebrides. Paintings have been selected and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) and Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) exhibitions at the National Gallery for Scotland, Edinburgh and the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) and Discerning Eye exhibitions at the Mall Galleries, London.
Anthony J Barber
Harbour View Gallery
Port of Ness
Isle of Lewis
HS2 0XA
Anthony J Barber's website
Simant Bostock
Sculpture & painting inspired
by Celtic mythology & Hebridean
folklore. Limited edition
sculpture in bronze, cold cast
& crystacast. Also photo library
& cards of Irish & British
megalithic sites.
Open: Visit by arrangement.
Please tel. for an appointment.
Retailed: Morven Gallery, An
Lanntair, Calanais Visitor Centre
1B Tobson, Great Bernera
Isle of Lewis HS2 9NA
01851 612249
Simant Bostock's website
Carol Burgis
I make hand built stoneware and earthenware ceramics which includes bowls, plates, jugs and vases of varying sizes and hanging pieces. All are decorated with glaze, some with lustres and are available for sale from my workshop in Fivepenny.
I have a Ba. Hons. in Ceramics from Bath Academy of Art and later, after working in various therapeutic situations, I took an Ma.in Art and Psychotherapy from Sheffield University. I taught art and ceramics in the community and in a high school in Lancashire before moving to Ness, Lewis in 2006.
My work is inspired by my faith and time spent on a local beach looking at rock formations, seashore shapes and the colours within the landscape. It is all hand built stoneware with applied glazes, drawn on oxides and sometimes an extra firing of lustres. I make vessels of various shapes and sizes as well as flat decorated hangings to hold my drawn images on the clay.
Work for sale is available from my home in Ness.
Anne Campbell
My work is concerned with place, specifically with my native island of Lewis and the village of Bragar where my family have lived for many generations. I have always been interested in the interaction between the land and the living things which spend their lives here or pass through: the traces left behind, whether on the earth and stones or in the memory and imagination. I have studied this interaction through the disciplines of art, ecology and archaeology.
Anne Campbell website
Seonaid Clarke
Award-winning self-taught artist, Seonaid Clarke, returned to her beloved island in 2013 and now lives and works in Stornoway, the capital township of the Outer Hebrides.
After a successful career in the aviation industry, Seonaid was finally able to follow her dreams of pursuing art in 2006. Since then she has steadily gained increasing recognition for her realistic and sensitive portraiture as well as forging a name for herself as an up-and-coming contemporary artist.
Art by Seonaid
Heather Duffy
Heather Duffy is a young multimedia artist from Stornoway with a focus on ceramics. Her inspiration is deeply rooted in the landscape she was raised in and as such her work often features themes of the sea, the barren lands of the Isles, and the people encountered during her youth. Island culture is one rife with tradition and storytelling, and Heather looks to delve into these stories to reveal their hidden depths and put across their narratives using visuals from the beautiful but deceptively harsh landscape she grew up in.
Heather is currently researching ways in which found materials from local environments can be used in the ceramic process. This includes creating and adapting glaze recipes for her work, and also new ways to use local resources such as peat to build single firing kilns.
<a href="
https://www.thetealhenhouse.com/">Tjhe Teal Hen House
Margaret Ferguson
Award winning portrait artist Margaret Ferguson works in oils and soft pastels to produce memorable and distinctive artworks. In 2019 she completed one of the most ambitious painting projects to be made in the Outer Hebrides, 100 portraits of souls lost on HMY Iolaire in 1919.
<a href="
https://www.margaretfergusonart.com/">Artist website
<a href="
http://www.iolaire100.com/">Iolaire 100 project
Gallery 5 – Margaret Stevenson
A unique light-filled artist’s studio and gallery on the west side of Lewis just a few miles along the road from the Callanish Stones. Converted from the remains of an old island blackhouse, the studio overlooks Loch Roag to Bernera and the Uig hills. Paintings in oils and watercolour by Margaret Stevenson, Glasgow School of Art Graduate.
Gallery5,
Tolsta Chaolais
Isle of Lewis
HS2 9DW
01851621770
mairead@gallery5hebrides.com
Gallery 5's website
Joanna George
Joanna George studied at Glasgow School of Art. In 2010 she moved to the Isle of Lewis, leaving behind
a career in commercial art to follow her spiritual calling. Based on Bernera, Joanna creates visual art that speaks about topics close to her heart, and the beauty of the landscape round about her. She works in a variety of mediums including paint, wood, poetry and wool. "I love the medium of wool which I wet felt with other fibres to create artworks that that are soft, gentle and have a link to this island."
Her artworks can be found in outlets across the island and from time to time she offers felt-making
workshops. For more details visit
Outer Hebs Art
You can call
Joanna on 07771 534048.
David Greenall
Born on Merseyside in 1947, David Greenall left school at the age of 15 and worked in the fishing and building industries before taking up painting in his late twenties. In 1982, Greenall began a year-long foundation course at Norwich School of Art, followed by a fine art printmaking course at Winchester School of Art, receiving a BA Honours Degree at the end of three years in 1986. In 1991 Greenall, with his wife the painter Ruth O'Dell, moved to their present home in the village of South Dell on the Isle of Lewis.
Greenall's painting and drawings are infused with a knowledge and understanding of light and its happy accidents. Mixing his own colours from raw pigments and blending mediums such as wax, resin, oil and egg tempera, he produces works of great vigour presented with an unerring draughtsmanship.
http://www.greenallodellstudio.com/
Tom Hickman
Coastal landscapes & traditional
island living in both oil &
watercolour figure large in my
work although my creative drive
is very diverse as I make objects
in found natural material
particularly using shell.
Open: Summer - relaxed drop in
basis. An email may be advisable.
17 New Tolsta,
Isle of Lewis HS2 0NN
atomhickman@hotmail.co.uk
Tom Hickman's Facebook page
Hebridean Dreaming blog
Island Arts
Island Arts is a Gallery and Coffee Shop in Balallan on the Isle of
Lewis, centrally located between Tarbert and Stornoway. It caters for the needs of the tourists and a re-fuel break for cyclists. We sell original contemporary paintings by Debbie Cullis and Paul Smith, artists' prints, published and hand-made cards and a vast array of interesting hand-made crafts from found objects by Debbie.
The artwork is sold in a small coffee shop with a warm friendly welcome
in an artistic environment conveying an experience, where you can enjoy
teas, home-baking and light snacks.
Debbie is available for personal art tuition on a one-to-one basis with
accommodation in our B&B or for small groups on the Islands.
Opening Times:
Summer: Mon - Sat 10.00am - 6.00pm
Winter: Wed - Sat 10.00am - 5.00pm
Please contact:
Debbie Cullis & Paul Smith
Island Arts Gallery and Coffee Shop
8 Balallan
Isle of Lewis
HS2 9PN
Tel: 01851 830742
Email: islandarts2003@gmail.com
Website:
Island Arts
Sandra Kennedy
Home studio/gallery. Painting,
drawing & mixed media
sculpture.
Visitors very welcome
any time Mon-Sat. Please phone
to arrange a visit.
13 Marvig
South Lochs
Isle of Lewis
HS2 9QP
sandrakennedy@mac.com
01851 880279
Sandra Kennedy's website
Andy Laffan
Sculptural work utilising natural stone from the Outer Hebrides. Andy Laffan takes Lewisian Gneiss and makes beautifully polished and arresting art objects.
Andy Laffan: Hammer on Chisel
Ed Lewis
My work as an archaeologist, producing archaeological site plans, sections and artefact drawings and historic landscape characterisation helped to give me the background to fulfil my early ambitions to become a wildlife artist.
It is only in the past few years that I have had the time to pick up a pencil/paintbrush again since giving up professional archaeology and moving to the Outer Hebrides. One of the reasons my wife and I moved here is its rich and diverse wildlife and landscape, something I wanted to capture - both graphically and digitally.
I've always been interested in nature, science and history, and as a child I used to draw a lot, trying to capture as realistically as possible the natural world around me. As a result, I try to produce realistic, almost photographic, paintings and drawings. I suppose this is the scientist in me - I have an almost forensic eye for detail.
In my photographs and artwork, I try to capture the detail or 'essence' of the subject (whether it be animal, plant or landscape), but using an artist's eye for composition, placing and light.
edlewis@yahoo.co.uk
Ed Lewis Art and Photography on Facebook
James Lumsden
Internationally exhibited abstract painter, creating complex and intriguing works examining the nature of light.
James Lumsden's website
Donald MacDonald
Donald was born on the Isle of Lewis in 1976 and after a short time in the Scottish Infantry he moved to Aberdeen and gained a BA Hons degree in Fine Art. After living and painting in Denmark and Glasgow for several years he returned home to the Isle of Lewis where he is now based.
His work is held in various private collections in Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel and the USA and in 2009 he was one of only three Scottish artists to feature in the BP Portrait Prize Award Exhibition and gave a revealing three page feature/interview to Artists and Illustrator Magazine which can be read below. He was also the Scottish representative for the Mead Johnson International Exhibition in Evansville, USA.
http://donaldmacdonaldspaintings.co.uk/
Ivor Mackay
My name is Ivor Mackay. I was born in Glasgow in 1969 of Lewis parents, returned to the island aged one, and have spent most of my life on Lewis. Following education on the island I attended Edinburgh College of Art where I graduated with Honours in Drawing and Painting in 1991.
As a painter I am inspired by the changing moods and seasons of the Hebrides, the amazing light and ruggedness of the landscape. Beaches, fishing boats, old dilapidated crofthouses, villages, and wild open spaces all encourage me to put brush to canvas.
I work from home at 8 Gearraidh Ghuirm at Upper Coll on Lewis and most of my paintings can be viewed at my studio here by appointment or online at www.im-hebrideanart.co.uk. You are welcome to visit my studio home which is open all year round by appointment. Tel 01851-820 -201 to arrange a visit.
Ivor Mackay's website
Margaret Maclean
Painter specialising in commissions, local subjects and the sea. Her debut exhibition at An Lanntair in 2017 was very well received by visitors and the public alike.
Margaret Maclean's website
Moira Maclean
Moira Maclean is from Lewis and is an MFA graduate from Grays School of Art, Aberdeen. She has made a practice of ‘raiding’ the abandoned croft houses of the Islands, usually to collect old wallpaper, which she uses to explore issues of dereliction, decay, transience and diaspora from a female, domestic perspective. The accretions of recovered wallpaper from the Sail Loft in Stornoway, prior to its redevelopment, comprised a key piece in An Lanntair’s inaugural show.
Moira Maclean's website
Calum Macleod
My name is Calum Macleod I am a painter working in a variety of mediums, primarily in oils. I have been creating artworks for my own pleasure for many years and have in recent years started to share my work with the world through various galleries and on the internet. The main influences on my work are the people and wildlife of the Western Isles.
Calum Macleod Original Artworks
Laura Maynard
Painter and print-maker focusing on portraiture. Her work explores the stories around surf culture, combining painting with distinctive screen-printing methods.
Laura Maynard's website
Elsie Mitchell
Elsie Mitchell is a Scottish artist, who has lived on the Isle of Lewis since 1998. Mitchell studied Fine Art Photography at Glasgow School of Art (1984-88), followed by two years of postgraduate study at the Slade School of Fine Art in London (1988-90). Her work is included in the public collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and has been exhibited extensively in the UK and Germany in exhibitions, film festivals and as site-specific public art. Venues have included the National Review of Live Art at the Institute for Contemporary Art, the London Film Festival and the Crafts Council Gallery in London; the Tramway and Street Level Photo-works in Glasgow; a touring show in The Travelling Gallery and at An Lanntair.
Mitchell works across a range of media, often creating film/video/photography and light installations and artist’s books from handmade plant fibre paper. Her current work explores the fragile ecology of the land surrounding her croft on the west coast of Lewis and the human interactions which have contributed to the biodiversity of the Hebridean landscape of today. A changing exhibition of Elsie Mitchell’s work can be viewed at her own artist-run Mangurstadh Gallery, in Uig, Isle of Lewis.
5 Mangurstadh, Uig
Isle of Lewis HS2 9EY
01851 672384
Mangurstadh Gallery website
Elaine Murray
My work explores the intersection between fragility and power within the shifting weather patterns upon remote environments that are continuously shaped, dominated and often isolated by the elements. I endeavour to unravel these connections and experiences that are an integral part of our relationship with the surrounding environment both on land and at sea.
The Outer Hebrides has always been my home and an energising source of discovery that has fuelled my curiosity for extraordinary places.
Elaine Murray's website
Ishbel Murray
I’m from Lewis but have lived away from the island for most of my life. However the environment, language and culture of my home has had a major influence on my work over the years. My subject matter varies between landscape, still-life and portraiture but as a painter the process is always the same - drawings that record first impressions that will inevitably display evidence in line and tone of the struggle to recreate the observed form. Resolving that fleeting impresssion into solid, simplified forms is the next stage in the process. The final image may look quite different from the original sketched impression but if successful it will reveal its own identity.
Ishbel Murray's website
Ruth O'Dell
Ruth O’Dell graduated from Winchester School of Art with an Honours degree in 1986 and worked with her partner David Greenall, also a painter at their studio in Sandgate, Kent until the birth of their first daughter in 1989. Moving in 1991 to the Isle of Lewis where a second daughter was born in 1992. Working from sketchbook studies in pencil the work is then carried forward in the studio using a variety of mediums including oil, pastel, charcoal and printmaking media. The resulting pieces can be seen as a personal diary of daily life on Lewis. The winter feeding of the sheep, the first spring lambs, turfing and cutting of peat in the early summer and the garden bird table is also used to record the visits of resident and migratory birds. Colour and line predominate in these intimate works full of charm, humour and vitality….stirring echoes of the small intimist works of Bonnard and Vuillard.
http://www.greenallodellstudio.com/
Ros Paterson
Ros has a large collection of artwork ranging from mini wearable art to travel sized paintings and larger work, so you can have your artwork on your clothes, on your travels or in your home! Ros' artwork is influenced by the bands of colour she sees around her at home in the Western Isles. Beaches, seabirds and the northern lights are just some of the wonderful features of the island included in her work.
You can buy her one-of-a-kind paintings from the gift shop in @anlanntair in Stornoway, or at the upcoming @hebcelt! You can also request and order from her Facebook page
Ros Paterson - Artist
Peerie Wee Otter (Ed Lewis)
There are two sides to me (as far as art and photography are concerned). I'm a photographer who paints and draws and an illustrator
who takes photographs.
I've always been interested in nature, science and history and as a child I used to draw a lot, trying to capture as realistically as possible the natural world around me. As a result, I produce realistic, almost photographic, paintings and drawings. I suppose this is the scientist in me - and eye for detail, almost to the point of being perfectionist. I'm never really happy with any finished paintings or drawings of my own, as I can always find a fault or an area that needs tweaking.
I bought my first camera in my early 20s. At first used simply as an aid to my artwork, I now use the camera as a medium in its own right. In my photographs, I try to capture the detail or 'essence' of the subject (whether it be animal, plant or landscape), but using an artist's eye for composition, placing and light.
Peerie Wee Otter
Rupachitta Robertson
I live beside the sea in Gisla in Uig. The landscape, its form and changing colours, its textures and materials along with the Gaelic language and culture are what inspire and inform my work. I studied sculpture at Glasgow School of Art. I’d be happy to be contacted on rupachitta@googlemail.com, on Facebook or on 07920427806
Fiona Simes
Fiona Simes studied Fine art and Print making in Hastings and Plymouth before moving to the Hebrides in 1992.
Her deep abiding love of the Highlands and Islands is a constant source of inspiration. She puts her heart and soul into her work, trying to catch emotional responses and the mood of a particular moment. The landscape, the history of a place, the environment, wildlife and the stories of peoples lives are important to her and colour her larger landscapes in subtle ways. Her small lino prints depict elements of a busy life in the western isles.
She looks forward to welcoming you to her studio in Laxay.
Fiona Sime's website
fiona.simes.art@gmail.com
07521702455
@Fiona_simes_art
Derek Scanlan
Artist Derek Scanlan has lived in the Outer Hebrides since 1998. His expressive oils and pastels are influenced by his experiences as an active crofter and former lobster fisherman, with a love of the outdoor life. His work captures the immediacy of the changing light and weather systems sweeping across the Hebridean landscape. Derek has a BA Honours Degree in Fine Art from Falmouth School of Art. He has been exhibited in the UK, The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium and purchased by many visitors to the islands. His primary focus is the crofting landscape and North Atlantic coastline surrounding his home. He has also completed a series of paintings of the remote archipelago of St Kilda. Derek Scanlan’s art work can be viewed and purchased from Mangurstadh Gallery, his own artist run space in Mangersta, a crofting township in the Uig area of the Isle of Lewis.
5 Mangurstadh, Uig
Isle of Lewis HS2 9EY
01851 672384
derek@derekscanlan.co.uk
Mangurstadh Gallery website
Jenny Smith
Jenny Smith is an artist and writer who recently moved to the Isle of Lewis from Edinburgh. Her work explores the relationship between place and process and is an investigation into what the definition of drawing can be, in its broadest sense.
Jenny gained a B.A.(hons) in Drawing and Painting from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and an MA in Multi–Disciplinary Print from UWE in Bristol.
She has won a number awards, including the Royal Scottish Academy award for Painting and Friends of RSA Travel Bursary. A Professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists, Jenny regularly exhibits nationally and internationally and has works held in private and public collections in the UK and abroad.
www.jennysmith.org.uk
https://www.instagram.com/jennysmithartist/
Rebecca Styles
Breath. Blood. Heat, what it takes to be human?
The Outer Hebrides has shown me very quickly that we are not so different from the landscape in which we exist.
Wind. Water. Sunshine, the land too is shaped and evolving and in its own constant battle with the elements on which its survival depends. I find myself emotionally invested at the sight of the naked ground cowering with the onslaught of a gale, the surprise of the unexpected stream that carves its path through sodden ground after heavy rainfall, the almost audible sigh when the howling wind retreats and a light heat bathes the battered ground once again because in this wild and glorious place I feel all this too.
I want to paint to understand, to mimic the process and to express the feeling of magnificent vulnerability that comes with standing defiant in the face of a force 10 gale, so this is where I find my creative energy now , in the wilderness, in the storm, splattered with paint and feeling very alive.
Rebecca Styles
Njordr,
Tobson
Great Bernera
Rebecca Styles website
Lesley Wiseman
Lesley Wiseman feels a strong connection with the sea. So, it’s not surprising that seascapes form the basis of most of her paintings, created from a mix of observation, memory and imagination. She loves to bring out the abstract qualities using bold colours and strong light. Silk is a great medium because of the way in which the colours move around and interact with each other, creating vibrant and evocative images. Harris, Lewis and St Kilda always inspire.
www.thebeachhousegallery.co.uk
Alisdair Wiseman
Alisdair Wiseman has been painting and drawing for most of his life. Early inspiration came from the classic age of children’s book illustration, in particular Arthur Rackham. He soon found himself creating images of the West Highland landscape from countless childhood holiday memories. He works in watercolour and pen & ink, with everything in focus. Nowadays, the untamed land and seascapes of the Outer Hebrides provide limitless subjects for his work.
Your chosen art form: landscapes & illustrations in watercolour and pen & ink.
www.thebeachhousegallery.co.uk
Alisdair Wiseman
