Uplifting skyscapes in Angus countryside

James Morrison, the painter, who was born in Glasgow in 1932 and studied at the city’s school of art, later joined the teaching staff at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee while in his early thirties. He held a position there until 1987, influencing generations of students.

Richard Demarco was quick to spot his talent, mounting solo exhibitions of Morrison’s work in 1968 and 1969, and the painter’s relationship with The Scottish Gallery, which hosts this exhibition, extends back to 1959 and the earliest days of his career.

Over 60 years, Morrison’s art has evolved slowly, deliberately, eschewing fashion and trends. This aptly named show surveys his work, with examples from various points in Morrison’s career, beginning with Landscape, Angus, from 1963. This small oil-on-board study is thickly painted in bold brushstrokes, breaking down the landscape into a semi-abstract arrangement of form, tone and colour.

The countryside of Angus, around Montrose and Strathmore, has remained a constant in Morrison’s oeuvre. Some of the most recent work here, such as Dunes at Lunan, Strathmore, The Sheltering Sky and To the North, also dwell on the Angus landscape.

Although Morrison acknowledges the human impact on the land (there are the occasional steadings, telegraph poles, fences and arable land) this is never his focus. He has long specialised in what might be termed skyscape, because like John Constable, Morrison looks upward, wondering at the ever-constant play of wind, moisture and light. He will often shift his horizon, from mid-point in his composition to a much lower level, and, in some cases, it will almost disappear from the “frame” of the artist’s eye. For Morrison there is something abstract, ineffable, soulful and ultimately transcendent about such uplifted imagery.

Until January 23