CATHERINE ECKERSALL

ABOUT

I am a Scottish artist, brought up in rural Stirlingshire. I studied Painting at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, graduating with a BA(Hons) in 2020. During my time at university, I was a recipient of a Carnegie Trust Vacation Scholarship. This gave me the funding to undertake a research trip across Southern Iceland in 2019, where I explored the visual relationships between the folklore of the Icelandic people and their landscape.

Currently, I am based in Glasgow, developing my painting practice alongside my interest in the therapeutic benefits of art.

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My current practice takes heavy inspiration from folklore, particularly myths and stories from Scotland and Ireland. I am fascinated by how imagery and superstition continues to influence how people see their surroundings, even as the landscape changes and develops with the modern world.  Through painting, I seek to depict the unseen landscape: human interpretations of natural surroundings composed of folklore, superstition and history. I use folktales to find the intimate connections between people and their environments, seeing their thoughts, feelings and circumstances reflected in the natural surroundings. 

Within my practice, I mainly work with oil paints as a medium, as I find it can capture the subtlety and textures of the natural world. However, I also utilise drawing, photography and collage within the research and development processes of my work. I tend to follow a process of distillation, selecting imagery from my research and narrowing these down to a series of symbols which create a narrative. The landscapes I create are exaggerated in form and colour, but ultimately carry a sense of familiarity.

CV

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Education

2016 - 2020 Painting BA (Hons) Gray's School of Art Aberdeen

Grants & Awards 

2020 - Royal Scottish Academy New Contemporary 2021

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2019 - Carnegie Trust Vacation Scholarship.

Selected Exhibitions

2021 - Gray's Paintings: A Reunion. Six Foot Gallery, Glasgow. 

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2021 - A Tale of Tolbooth. Tolbooth Gallery, Stirling

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2021 - The Graduates: Four Pillars. Tatha Gallery, Newport-on Tay.

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2020 - Visual Arts Scotland Graduate Showcase. Online.

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2020 - Gray's School of Art Virtual Degree Show. Online.

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2020 – Gray's School of Art 4th Year Painting Exhibition. Edinburgh Palette, Edinburgh

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2019 - 2nd and 3rd Year Painting. Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen

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2019 – Sanctuary [within a sanctuary]. Dunnottar Castle, Stonehaven

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2018 - Smorg:ARTS:Bord. Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen

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2018 - SNAP. LivECO Cafe, Ruthrieston Community Centre, Aberdeen

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2018 - An Exhibition Yet to Be Titled. O.T. Bar & Projektraum,  Berlin

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Publications

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August 2020 - The Guardian.  https://www.theguardian.com/education/gallery/2020/aug/21/student-artists-exhibit-their-final-shows-online-in-pictures