This is a pretty little watercolour / gouache painting by the Scottish artist, Irene Halliday.
Irene Halliday was born in 1931 in Kingsmuir, Scotland.
She attended Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee between 1948 and 1953, studying under Alberto Morrocco. From 1956-1979 she worked at Didsbury College of Education becoming Head of Art and Design. She spent an academic year as a visiting professor at State University College, Buffalo, New York State from 1972 to 1973. She left full-time teaching at Manchester Polytechnic in 1979 but continued to teach summer schools in Alston, Hull, Lancashire and Harrogate.
Irene Halliday was elected to the Royal Society of Watercolourists in 1955. She has exhibited at the Royal Academy in London, the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and elsewhere in England, Scotland and the United States.
In 2002, Halliday returned to live in Arbroath where she was inspired by the sea coast and land around her home.
This little watercolour is very minimalistic and is a simple depiction of the North Sea from the shores near Arbroath. To the right hand side of the composition there are grey headlands which sweep around the pale sandy bay in the mid-distance. The horizon is defined by the darker blue of the sky and it is almost twilight with the grey sky closing over with dark clouds. It is a certainly a simple but effective seascape with its concentration of all the soft twilight shades gives the study a very peaceful feeling. Although the work is not titled the location reminds me of a popular view looking over to Lunan Bay, not far from Arbroath.
The muted tones and pale colours built up using watercolour and thicker opaque gouache paints are quite typical of her work. She has signed the painting in pencil on the rocky area to the lower right hand of the composition. All the details of work are on labels on the back of a frame written in the artist's hand. It seems to have been painted to be submitted by the artist into a selling exhibition.
Image size: 28 x 32.5 cm. Frame size: 49 x 53.5 cm.
A very charming study and Halliday must have thought a lot of it - as it has a rather ambition ticket price of £750 on it. Her work regularly goes through prestigious Scottish auction houses such as Lyon and Turnbull and Bonhams.
It is well presented with a heavy wooden frame with black and silver highlights, as photographed. It is ready to hang on your wall. It was very tricky to photograph all the subtle colours - and I hope that my photographs do it justice.
It will be sent to you with Parcelforce24 and fully insured in transit. FREE DELIVERY IN THE EDINBURGH AREA.