Gillian McDonald : Original work

Acclaimed artist Gillian MacDonald was born in London and attended West Surrey College of Arts. After some years living and painting in the Far East, she was commissioned by the UNHCR to produce a Refugee Series with exhibitions in Singapore and Jakarta.

After returning to the UK, Gillian settled in the Llanthony Valley in the Welsh Marches and set up a publishing company with her husband, turning her paintings into prints and selling them worldwide.

Her fascination with Dartmouth began nearly 10 years ago when she first exhibited at White Sails. As she says herself “living and painting in Pembrokeshire for so long, I have concentrated my work on the small harbours and fishing villages dotted along that dramatic coastline. Then discovering Dartmouth, I was captivated by this very special coastal town. The quality of light, the tightly packed unique period houses, and the bustling river, were and remain an artist’s dream”.

Specialising in mixed media and collage, Gillian concentrates on interpreting the features of the rugged landscape, its ancient monuments and its natural beauty, into semi-abstract compositions.

Sketching is a key process and Gillian is constantly searching for material to bring back into the studio and inspire her work. Collage is instrumental in portraying the landscape with its incredible light and textures. Her wonderful use of paper and material, blended beneath a strong mixture of bold colours give these mixed-media paintings a dazzling texture and detail, that rewards regular viewing.

She often works by taking what she finds in the landscape such as leaves and dried grasses, then adding them in to the paint. Finally, by blotting and scratching out, the hidden secrets below the surface are revealed.