Mairearad Green Statement
Having grown up in the West Coast Coigach peninsula of the Scottish Highlands – an area steeped in culture and local traditions – I am a musician and landscape painter now based in the Highland village of Ullapool. My impressionistic painting style is very much a visceral response to the land that I grew up in and my music combined expresses a deeply rooted sense of place. I perform regularly on stage alongside multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie, composer Mike Vass, as Buoy Gull with Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) and piping supergroup, Tryst. I have also previously toured with Eddi Reader, Karine Polwart, The Poozies, The Unusual Suspects, and Box Club. Responding instinctively to the ever-changing environment, I mostly paint en plein air using acrylic on board or canvas. The elemental power of the sky, the land and the sea, as the weather disperses and scatters in an instant, gives a fascinating array of colour, density, turbulence, excitement, and surprise. I aim to capture this energy through tone, texture and mark making in my work. For this exhibition, I have recorded five improvised weather pieces to accompany the visual art, each crashing wave, gust of wind or splash of rain as it awakens my senses. Each composition combined with my painting, a temporal window on the vast weather patterns of the north west of Scotland. In addition to the improvised pieces recorded for the exhibition, also playing is music from my latest release, Hearth. Hearth comprises five limited edition 12” vinyl singles, inspired by the Coigach area and each single includes a bespoke cover design from my original paintings. The title ‘Hearth’, (traditionally an integral part of any home) symbolises the warmth, light and nourishment of the art and music combined. It reflects the resilient, and spirited generations of women from the area and each vinyl print can be displayed as a piece of art on your walls while your vinyl spins : ) Passing Places, Summer Isles, Maggie West’s and Hearth are for sale here at the gallery for the duration of this exhibition. Thank you for visiting and I hope you have enjoyed the show! For more information please vis it www.mairearadgreen.co.uk
