This is a stunning little 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 is a fabulous painting by her which has been painted in thick water-based gouache paint on board. It is an amazing abstracted view of a Scottish harbour, possibly Arbroath.
The composition shows a misty moonlight scene with a harbour wall to the right-hand side - to the centre of the image are hulls of fishing boats and their masts. The whole scene is embellished with Halliday's use of bold colours to represent flags and pennants (I can see one Swedish one). The round shapes are multi-coloured fishing floats and their reflections on the sea in the distance. The highest items show the moon and stars - the large moon shape to the top left - is reflected in the sea below.
Just an amazing and special work by his fine artist - I will certainly be most sad to part with this unusual artwork.
The muted tones and pale colours built up using watercolour and thick opaque gouache paints are quite typical of her work.
Image size: 45 x 20 cm. Frame size: 63 x 40 cm. It is signed: Halliday, bottom right.
Her work regularly goes through prestigious Scottish auction houses such as Lyon and Turnbull and Bonhams. This work has obviously been on show at an exhibition - as there seems to be a catalogue number on the label on the reverse.
It is nicely presented the board is unmounted - but set against a cream coloured backing board and a vintage silver-tone frame. It is ready to hang on your wall.