Elspeth Collier
Artist Details
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Artist Name: Elspeth CollierTuition
Since 2006, I have been running my own art workshops at various local venues. As a practicing visual artist, I know how much pleasure I personally get from making my own artworks and I aim to use my skills and experience to pass this sense of joy on to others.
The artworks that result created by everyone attending my workshops are always a delight to see – the same initial starting point and materials will result in a variety of different interpretations and end results. It is always a pleasure for me to watch my participants become more confident and able to create their own personal responses to the subject matter in creative and individual ways.
I normally run one day workshops at the weekend, but half day, weekday and evening workshops and courses are also available, as well as individual tuition.
The workshops are suitable for all abilities – from the complete beginner to the more experienced artist who just wants to try out some different techniques and materials.
I provide a wide range of materials – for example, acrylic and watercolour paints, soft pastels, watersoluble crayons, inks, charcoal – along with plenty of paper and brushes.
The emphasis of the workshops is on enjoyment – playing with the art materials; experimenting with texture and colour and mark making.
After initial guidance and sharing of my ideas, participants are free to develop their chosen theme in any way they choose – with as much advice from me as they require.
I am also involved as a lead artist with Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust ST/ART project, which provides creative workshops for people who have had strokes.
Biography
Elspeth J Collier studied at Portsmouth College of Art and Design and has also attended various courses at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Unit. She received a first class honours degree in Humanities with Art History in 2007 awarded by the Open University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Humanities (Art History) in 2010.
In 2001, she was a contestant on Channel 4's ‘Watercolour Challenge'. She was awarded the Harry Vaughan prize by Dundee Art Society in 2005 and won a bursary from the Society for All Artists for “inspiring and encouraging people to paint” in 2006.
Elspeth runs her own mixed media art workshops, for all ages and abilities, and is also a lead artist with the Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust ST/ART project – devising and implementing creative rehabilitation programmes for stroke patients in hospital and a community project for people with chronic lung disease. She also demonstrates her mixed media techniques, and runs workshops, for various art societies and art groups in Scotland.
In 2008, Elspeth was a founder member of Perthshire Open Studios – an initiative set up to enable artists and makers in Perthshire to promote their practices to a wider audience.
Elspeth combines a bold and lively approach in her artwork, utilizing a wide range of media in order to capture the essence of her subject matter. Her inspiration comes from a variety of sources, but she is particularly interested in colour and texture and her vibrant and colourful work reflects this.
I believe that art has a very important role to play in today's ever changing and fast-paced society. Involvement with the visual arts – whether as a viewer or practitioner – can provide a welcome respite from the everyday and has the capacity to enhance wellbeing. In my opinion, any artwork that has been created with integrity and passion is valid and worthwhile. Embarking on a creative journey is a powerful and fulfilling process – beginning with the initial inspiration, progressing through the imagination and resulting in the production of a piece of visual art. Opportunities for making art should be available to everyone. We all have the capacity to enrich our lives through creativity, but this gift is often not nurtured or encouraged.
I identify with Matisse's description of the act of painting – he felt “transported into a kind of paradise... I felt gloriously free, quiet and alone.”
Exhibitions
As well as participating in various group exhibitions, Elspeth has held the following exhibitions of her work:
• Solo Exhibition – Saddleworth, Lancashire – 1991
• Solo Exhibition - Strathdon Hotel, Dundee – 1992-94
• Solo Exhibition - University of Dundee Library – 2004
• Two Person Exhibition - University of Dundee Library – 2005
• Two Person Exhibition – Parrot Cafe, Dundee – 2005
• Two Person Exhibition – Newport Hotel, Fife – 2006
• Two Person Exhibition – Roseangle Gallery, Dundee – 2007
• Two Person Exhibition – University of Dundee Botanic Garden – 2006 - 2011
• Solo Exhibition – University of Dundee Botanic Garden – 2008
• Perthshire Open Studios - 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Pitlochry Festival Theatre - Summer 2011
Awards
Harry Vaughan Award - Dundee Art Society - Autumn 2005
Best in Show - Dundee Art Society - September 2005
Highly Commended Runner Up for James Morrison Award - Dundee Art Society - Spring 2006
SAA Painting Bursary - July 2006
Media
Acrylic Inks, Acrylics, Collage, Drawing, Gouache, Mixed Media, Monoprint, Pastels, Pen & Ink, Pen And Wash, Pencil/Charcoal, Water soluble pastels, Watercolour, Watercolour Pencil
Subjects
Abstract, Buildings, Figure, Flowers And Gardens, Impressionism, Landscape, Life Drawing, Portrait, Seascapes and Water, Still Life, Townscapes
