Allison Young

Originally from Bannockburn near Stirling, Allison studied at Edinburgh College of Art, then spent a year in Poland on a British Council Scholarship. She now has a studio with WASPS in Dalry, Edinburgh.

Allison paints landscapes, predominantly of Tiree, Shetland and East Lothian; 'I enjoy the changing weather, the huge skies and the emptiness of the beaches. The fact that Tiree is an island, therefore finite, means that I can return again and again to the same places, with set boundaries, exploring the changes in each area as they happen throughout the seasons. The landscape can be pared back to sand, sea and sky. My work is quite conventional, in that it is quite representational, but I think it conveys more than just a straightforward image of the landscape. I want it to show solitude, tranquillity, hope, and the reassurance of the familiar juxtaposed against the changing force of nature.'

Childhood holidays to Tiree in the 1970s have left Allison with associations relating to family and friends, and their own relationship with the landscape; 'My work takes anchors from the past and brings them to the present, from a time when everything was simple, as in childhood memories, hopefully recreating an intimacy with the landscape.'