Fiona Gillies

 

Born in Scotland

BA Honours Degree, Edinburgh College of Art. (Art/Design/Tapestry)

Founding Director Citizens Studios, Edinburgh

Prize for Enterprise, National Westminster Bank

Prize for Enterprise, Shepley Shepley Trust. Scottish Award Princes Trust

Pythia Gallery, Paxos, Greece. Personal Gallery

At Edinburgh College of Art, I specialised in the construction of Gobelin tapestry and papermaking, learning to use plants, fibres, leaves and other natural materials to produce dyes organically. This interest in the alchemic nature of painting has led me to create a mixed media technique using gesso, silk, jute, sand, gold, silver and copper leaf to create a multi-strata surface.

Artistic research has led me down many paths, and even the more minimalistic of my paintings are filled with references to my findings on these journeys. However, it is important to me that the images I create can be appreciated purely for their visual beauty. I agree with Sherrie Levine that "the viewer is the tablet on which all the quotations that make up a painting are inscribed. A painting's meaning lies not in its origin but in its destination."