First solo show for Portknockie artist
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THE spectacular scenery around Portknockie has provided much of the inspiration for a local artist's first solo show.
Fiona Billing, who lives in the village, has 30 pieces of work on show as part of her exhibition entitled Hame at Cullen Galleries, situated in the town's square.
Speaking ahead of the exhibition opening, she said: "I was a bit nervous about it all when I was collecting all the work for the show.
"It's a bit of a leap of faith, to be honest; it's taken a long time to get here for my first solo show but I'm really excited to be at this point in my career as an artist.
"Hame is about who I am as an artist, it's really honest and comes from a very personal place and reflects a lot of who I am.
"I sometimes wonder how I managed to get all 30 works together considering I work full-time."
Ms Billing originally graduated in sculpture from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee in 1993 and did not come to painting until around 10 years ago. Dipping her toe in the water of the NEOS (North East Open Studios) programme, where artists invite the public to drop by their studios to view and discuss their work, was to provide her with the inspiration to take the plunge and hold a solo show.
"I took part in NEOS last year for the first time and was blown away by the amount of people interested in my work," she continued.
"Over 120 came to my studio here in Portknockie.
"That really got me, I was thinking to myself 'Wow! That's amazing!'. People were really interested in the work and recognised the settings, a lot of them being around Portknockie."
The 30 pieces on show are mainly acrylic paintings, with some lino cuts also on display as part of the Hame exhibition.
Ms Billing said: "A lot of my work is inspired by local views but it's not the chocolate box, sickly sweet sort of representation of these views I offer. My views are often rugged and can be quite dark and foreboding. They reflect what it's actually like to be in this area and give a real sense of energy and place.
"They depict all that Hame means to me. My Hame is angular, dark, colourful, defined by black line and set against vivid blue skies, shifting white cloud and ever changing seas.
"As I was originally a sculptor, my paintings still echo that 3D, solid approach."
She added that she was undertaking the exhibition using her maiden name in memory of her late mum and dad.
Ms Billing's exhibition runs until Saturday, June 17. For more information on opening times, visit Cullen Gallery's Facebook page.
