Preview: WASPS studio opens doors with an eclectic show

This year’s event, entitled ‘The Selkirk Boys’, features a smaller group of male artists – John Berry, Alan Richmond, Colin Philip and Rob and Alex Hain – giving visitors the chance to see a rich and eclectic variety of work.

John Berry’s distinctive and idiosyncratic imagery has a magical quality, evoking a world of the fantastical imagination that is quirky and imbued with gentle wit. Recently John has been devoting his attention to collage, making his work unique in an exhibition otherwise given over to painting.

Alan Richmond is also a well-known local artist whose work is widely admired. He uses a bold gestural technique to produce images which elicit a sense of space and landscape from colourful abstract images, whilst also referring to other pictorial influences such as the weathering of paintwork on the hulls of boats.

Rob Hain’s whimsical and instantly recognisably style has made him one of Scotland’s most popular painters. His uniquely colourful images of the architecture of Edinburgh, quirky and idiosyncratic city maps and the landscape of the Borders have a playful quality which is uniquely his own.

Alex Hain’s intensely personal paintings reflect his interest in the importance of family and memory. He works in a rich, highly textured and expressive style which has made him a talent to be noted for the future, and his work is becoming much sought-after.

Colin Philip’s work draws on connections between myth and landscape, which he reflects in a style that develops his interest in the contrast between light and shadow. Deriving influences from various sources, he aims to produce images which can have a dream-like (or nightmarish) quality.

The Selkirk Boys show takes place on Saturday and Sunday, June 3-4 in the WASPS Studios, St Mary’s Mill, Selkirk.