Julia Tryon - Artist
I have been happily settled in Golspie surrounded by the beautiful countryside of Sutherland, since 2013. Prior to this I lived in various places around England, spent a few years in Canada and studied Fine Art at Newcastle University. I teach art classes at Brora Learning Zone where I love to watch many beautiful paintings come into being.
My current subject matter ranges from castles & cathedrals to people in street scenes. I am inspired by images of people hurrying through the streets or waiting lost in thought, surrounded the geometric patterns of Inverness architecture. I am fascinated by the feel of different spaces and I love the way that strong lighting transforms a scene. Light is often a metaphor for the experience of God’s presence. It indicates one who walks beside us as a companion wherever we go and reveals the array of brilliant colours in ordinary everyday scenes.
The paintings are all oil paint with white gloss for the bright white light. I use stencils to create colourful geometric shapes that contrast with the figures. My influences include painters Pierre Bonnard and John Singer Sargent; the film, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari; the book The Poetics of Space; and the beautiful Highlands.
Some of my artwork are ‘photo-paintings’. I start by creating a distorted card model with painted detail. Then I photograph it under lighting. I aim for an image where there is a blend of reality and illusion. I then print the image with an inkjet printer and special paper. I use a brush and water to make the ink of the photograph run so that I can add painted effects. The result is a unique blend of sculpture, photography and painting. Sometimes I make photo-paintings based on my oil paintings too.
Selected Gallery Exhibitions
July 2019 to present Riverside Gallery, Inverness
Dec 2017 to present Barn Owl Bothy, Dornoch
Mar 2016 to present Gallery 48, Cromarty
Dec 2016 to April 2019 Golspie Gallery, Golspie
Aug 2014 to April 2018 Gordon House Gallery, Dornoch
Jul – Nov 2014 Beauly Gallery, Beauly
Spring 2014 Inchmore Gallery, Inchmore
Feb 2013 Cities: In All Their Dimensions , Tokarska Gallery, London
Sep - Nov 2012 ‘10 x 10’, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle upon Tyne
Selected Temporary Exhibitions
July 2014 - 2020 East Sutherland Art Society Annual Exhibition, Golspie
Nov 2014- 2019 Strathpeffer Annual Exhibition, Strathpeffer
Jul 2013 From Carpet to Heaven (Solo), The Holy Biscuit, Newcastle upon Tyne
Concluding a five month artist residency inspired by the Lindisfarne Gospels
Jan – Mar 2012 Scale - The Hebredian House, (Solo), Empty Shop, Durham
A site specific installation in their Stairwell Gallery.
Education
July 2008 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Newcastle University