Review / 06

David Lorimer from Garvald Edinburgh visits John McNaught’s first solo exhibition at
Project Ability in Glasgow, and shares his thoughts with us.

"It is a good exhibition to come and see” – David

David Lorimer is an artist that attends Garvald Edinburgh. He travelled to Glasgow with Morven Macrae to catch John McNaught’s first ever solo exhibition, that runs until 18 February 2023. John is a versatile and prolific artist who took part in Art et al.’s Curatorial Mentoring programme in 2022, so we were excited to hear more from David about what was on show. John’s style and subject matter reaches far and wide and this solo exhibition covers every angle in his extensive and diverse painting practice.

David and Morven told us about their day and the exhibition. The text in bold is Morven and David is the normal text.

Can you introduce yourself please? My name is David and I work in the Art Studio at Garvald Orwell Arts in Edinburgh, and I like to draw, paint, and use other things in the studio like pastels and pens and pencils.

And what do you like to do artwork about or of? I do the seasons, the seasons of the year, flowers, trees, and animals.

And can you tell us about what we are doing today? We have come to Project Ability today to look at other people’s artwork – John McNaught.

Can you tell us how we got here? We got a train. A taxi from Garvald Orwell Arts Edinburgh and a train into Glasgow to Project Ability. From East to West.

And how long did the train take? About 1 hour.

And did you see anything? Trees, houses, cars, and buses. And people playing tennis, and the palace.

What are your first thoughts when we walk into the exhibition? I am amazed about how many pictures are out on display.

How is it set up? It is set up, so all the pictures are all in 2s or 3s in rows.

So, you feel amazed, can you say anymore? And they are all around the room. So, on all sides of the walls, on the left and right and straight on as you come in. They are all different pictures of different things. I wonder around the room to have a look at all the pictures on the shelves against the walls in this room.

Which ones catch your eye or are you drawn to straight away? I am drawn to the sea, the ones about the sea.

So, let’s have a look at those. Can you tell us about them? They are very colourful. Got lots of colour in them.

How do they make you feel? Good. Some of them have got red and purple and yellow and orange and blue and green. I like this one. It’s got purple and pink and green and blue and white, and it looks like it is beside the seaside and there are rocks in the sea.

What kind of atmosphere do the colours create? It creates a good atmosphere.

What time of day do you think it is with those colours? Evening. Some of them have got the sun and the sky and the moon in them. And the sea and the houses, and gardens by the sea, and boats.

Do they remind you of anything? Yes, it reminds me when I go to the seaside for a walk.

How does it make you feel when you look at them? It makes me feel good.

And would you like to say anything about the shape? They are all rectangular, oblong rectangular, and all the same shape.

So, the paintings on the boards, are they similar? They are a similar size. They are all square with birds on them. They look like they are on branches on trees.

And what is it that draws you to these? They are very colourful and very interesting. Here’s done groups of landscapes, birds, and people. There is a series of shapes and sizes.

You started to see things in the shapes, can you say something about that? It is good to see all the shapes and sizes. And the colours. I can see people in the shapes. I like the colours. Red and yellow and blue and green. They make me feel good. They remind me of some of the stuff I have done in the art studio in Garvald at Orwell Arts.

David admiring the landscapes series that he liked the most

Do you have a favourite series in here? I like the landscapes. They make me think of the sea, seaside, and holidays abroad and nice sunny weather. When we get all sorts of weather. We do get sun and clouds, but we also get rain and snow and ice.

Do some of these pictures have those in them? This one is a landscape of all seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter. The sky looks very yellow as if it is a sunrise and the sun has come up in the morning and set as it has gone down in the evening.

Can you tell us about the paint marks and what they remind you of? They are making me think of the waves in the sea and the tide going in or out.

There are about 5 or 6 groups or series of 1 individual thing as you walk around the exhibition. The seaside that is 1, the landscape, the faces that’s 2, birds 3, shapes like a jigsaw that’s like 4, people’s faces that’s 5, and people 6. And it is split all into 6 groups of one individual thing.

What do you think about that? I think it’s a good thing. I enjoy it like that.

What would you tell your studio friends about this exhibition? They should go and see it. It is a very interesting exhibition. I remember there are about 6 different series of one individual picture. There are about 20 or 30 different pictures in each of the 6 series. There are different colours like red, and yellow and orange and blue and brown. It is quite bright.

And how do the colours make you feel? Makes me feel good. They are painted on wooden boards.

What is the last thing you would like to say about it? It is giving me ideas on how to do my artwork in the studio at Edinburgh Orwell Arts studio.

It is a good exhibition to come and see.

A little about John and the exhibition: In 2006, John suffered a massive stroke which has inhibited his speech and movement. It was his wife Patricia who encouraged John to use art in his rehabilitation. John found Project Ability in 2010, igniting his passion for painting and building his confidence with his practice. John has a wonderful intuitive response to colour, shape and composition that breathes life and emotion into his work. His eclectic paintings of landscape and portraiture have been exhibited nationally and internationally.

John takes inspiration from a wide variety of artists including, John Lowrie Morrison, Ryan Mutter, Francis Bacon, the cubists, Pablo Picasso, David Cambria and more. He uses the skills he learns from studying these painters to create completely original works of art, including the vast array of birds that make up part of this solo exhibition. He is a master at learning through observation, and we have seen his practice develop and blossom over the past 12 years. Finding ways to navigate the disabilities that remain from his stroke, it has taken John time to perfect his way of working, and his patience has been rewarded. With a portfolio of work as brilliant as it is vast, we felt now was the time to give him a solo exhibition, and share his wonderful work with our audiences. With over 200 paintings on show, we are sure this exhibition will be much admired by all.

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Thank you to Morven Macrae from Garvald Edinburgh for supporting David on this trip.

Garvald Edinburgh provides creative and craft workshops for adults with learning disabilities and autism across five sites in Edinburgh. The organisation wants to ensure that learning-disabled artists become an integral part of the creative landscape.

Project Ability supports people with learning disabilities and people with lived experience of mental ill health, to develop their creativity, engage with contemporary visual art and pursue artistic excellence. They have an onsite Gallery in Glasgow, with an international reputation.

© All images of individual artworks copyright Project Ability. All images featuring David were taken by Morven Macrae from Garvald Edinburgh.