Collection: Iain MacLaren

As an architect who graduated from the Mackintosh School of Architecture in the Glasgow School of Art, Iain is at the end of a successful career in private practice and is looking for freedom of creative expression through oil and watercolour painting.

His oil paintings are often inspired by the ever changing landscapes through time and season, and try to capture their colour and mood. With a tendency towards the abstract and an obvious interest in the built environment, his subject matter usually reflects his fascination with transitional spaces, objects and times. Architecturally these might be where inside and outside spaces meet. In the landscape it could be where land meets sea, or in time when day meets night. These thresholds exist only because of the transition – doorways, beaches, sunset…... these liminal or hybrid situations have their own existence between defined states.

His earlier work also explores colour and texture, within defined settings or locations. He has recently progressed into a more abstract and atmospheric phase.

Iain rarely exhibits outwith his studio in Helensburgh or the local Art Club shows, choosing to paint mainly for pleasure. Based on the west coast of Scotland, he is a regular visitor to the east coast. He also likes to travel to sunnier climes such as the Mediterranean for `al fresco` interludes, where he creates quick sketches in the more transportable medium of ink and watercolour.