Meet Our Artists
We have 19 active members in LAS as well as a number of Honorary Members all of whom are happy to be contacted about their work. Our artists work in a variety of media; watercolour and acrylics are perhaps the most popular but many also work in oils and pastels.
If you have any enquiries, please use the Feedback Form. Your enquiry will be passed on to the individual artist concerned.
Many of our members have a presence on Facebook and Instagram. Links to social media are on the Links page of our website.
Lesley Adamson
Lesley joined LAS recently but has already shown herself to be an enthusiastic and very active member.When Lesley retired from teaching she joined a Community Art Group primarily to develop watercolour painting which she finds absorbing and challenging. She values the advice and friendship of both groups.
Sybil Dickson
Sybil has only recently joined our group having lived abroad for some time. Working mainly in watercolour and pastels, Sybil now enjoys drawing and painting a variety of subjects.
John Forrester
John describes himself as ‘vainly trying to balance’ a very busy professional life with his interest in art. He paints mainly in oils but is also exploring different media, including acrylics and watercolour.
Nancy Galashan
Nancy started painting in the 70s but work and family left no time to develop her interest till she retired to Laurencekirk where she joined a Community Art Group and then Laurencekirk Artists Society. She works in a variety of media including watercolour and acrylics. Nancy has recently moved back to Aberdeen to live but continues to be member of the Society.
Hazel Irvine B.Des.
Hazel was brought up in Laurencekirk and regards herself very much a ‘local’. Following graduation from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, she returned to painting. Inspired by ‘nature and the outdoors’ Hazel enjoys creating landscapes which evoke a very direct response in the viewer. She works mainly in acrylics but also enjoys using mixed media to achieve the desired effect.
David E Johnston RSW
David paints Mearns landscapes and seascapes and works almost exclusively in watercolour. He describes his paintings as the result of ‘a process of observation & reflection’ with the aim of getting as close as possible to the original experience of being in the landscape or shoreline. David was elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 2018. The winner of the Sir William Gillies award in the 2021 Annual RSW Exhibtition and the RSW Alison Prosser Award in 2022, he is a Past Vice President and currently Honorary Treasurer of the RSW.
You can find out more by visiting www.mearnsartist.com
Margaret-Anne Mackie
Margaret-Anne was born and brought up in Laurencekirk and has what she describes as a ‘real attachment to the local area’. She writes: ‘I have a passion for Nature and, in particular, enjoy painting flowers both wild and otherwise’.
Fiona Mill
Fiona joined the Society earlier in 2023. Initially specialising in print-making, Fiona studied in Italy and England. Her move to Edzell brought her into contact with our local art group. She is an accomplished artist in a number of media including watercolour and oils. She has already proved herself an asset and, along with anothrer new member Ian Withall, is responsible for developing our social media presence in the run up to the 2024 show. In her work, Fiona investigates place through the exploration of shared landscape around us, and, in contrast the more personal and individual in interiors and personal objects.She exhibits with the Society for the first time this year.
Ann Morphy
Ann moved to Montrose 13 years ago and her work is now based on the landscape and sea near her home. She describes the ‘instant inspiration’ she feels for ‘the vast skies over this coastline, the clouds and the unspoiled countryside’. She generally works in acrylics but also enjoys drawing and pastel painting.
Margaret Muiry
On retiring, Margaret sought out a new challenge. She joined a local Community Art Class and later became a member of Laurencekirk Artists Society. Margaret works in a variety of different media and enjoys experimenting with different styles and approaches to painting.
Kathleen Murray
Kathleen returned to painting after she retired from teaching and joined the Society in 2019. She works in both watercolour and acrylics and takes her inspiration from the local landscape, flowers and wildlife.
Cathy Reid M Des RCA
Cathy has lived and worked in Laurencekirk since 1982. She is originally from West Yorkshire but came to settle in this area from Canada. Cathy has always drawn and 'doodled' but took up painting seriously when she started teaching art classes at the local community centre back in 2001 when she was able to put her Art College training to use. Cathy paints mainly in acrylics; she ejoys the vibrancy of colour she can achieve in this medium but she also uses watercolour and pen & ink. Her subjects vary from local landscapes to still life and figure compositions. We hope you enjoy viewing her work.
Susie Smith
Susie describes how ‘the beauty of the natural world’; inspires her artwork which depicts mainly the Scottish landscape: flora, fauna and, occasionally, the human form. She works in watercolour and pastels and also enjoys drawing.
Morag Smith
Morag Smith joined Laurencekirk Artists Society in the Summer of 2024. Morag - who hails from Arbroath - works in a variety of media including oil, watercolou and acrylic. Her work shows her engagement with the sea and shorelien around her home and her interest in geology.
Judith Scurfield Wells
Judith traces her enjoyment of painting in watercolour and various other media to the excellent teachers in her school art department. Encouraged to return to painting by her late husband David, also an enthusiastic artist, Judith continues to find inspiration and support for her watercolour painting from friends and family, at painting courses, and through her membership of LAS: “Working in the company of fellow artists is both a way to build memories and an attempt to express them on paper.”
Gaye Thornton-Kemsley
Gaye took up painting some years ago following the death of her husband. Attendance at the local Community Art Class followed along with taking part in various art courses around the country. Gaye writes: ‘I enjoy my painting and find it a great way of meeting people’. Gaye works in a variety of media and has a preference for painting landscapes.
David Turner OBE
Drawing and painting have always been a part of David’s life and he describes his biggest frustration as ‘the lack of time to do more’. Following a distinguished military career, David was appointed Director of The Burn Edzell in 2011 and has been a member of LAS for 6 years. As a child he once had a painting of an elephant exhibited in the studio of BBC’s Animal Magic programme hosted by Johnny Morris and he continues to enjoy painting animals and wildlife today.
Joan Wightman
Still life, landscapes, nature and animals are all topics I enjoy painting or drawing. My preferred medium is acrylic but I am learning about oil painting and pastel drawing at excellent local classes.
Ian Withall
Ian recently moved to The Mearns from Gosport in the South of England where he was active in the Solent Art Society and jointly formed The Art Pack collective. He joined us earlier this year and is already making a contribution to the group. Along with our other 'new' member, Fional Mill, Ian has agreed to help develop the Society's presence on social media.
Ian describes himself as a "self-taught artist who started creating art again in 2017 after a break of almost 30 years. Although I love nature and the scenes around me, I prefer the challenge of portraiture and also find myself seeking out alternative ideas rather than commonly chosen themes. I also enjoy having some fun and mischief along the way!" An example being his ‘Vegan Minced Beef’ painting that appeared on Channel 4’s Grayson’s Art Club and the exhibition that followed at the prestigious Bristol Museum and Gallery.
Chair of the Society: David E Johnston RSW
Secretary: Susie Smith
Treasurer: Judith Scurfield Wells
Charity: Nancy Galashan, Margaret-Anne Mackie, Cathy Reid M Des RCA
Website Administrators: Fiona Mill & Ian Withall
Membership
If you are a practising artist and would like to join LAS, please contact us in the first instance via the Feedback page on this website. Membership is by invitation only.