I have just returned from a very interesting art retreat in Fes, Morocco. It was great fun and I’m filled with inspiration. I’ll send out an email with new art and information about my annual open studio event happening as part of the Henley Arts Trail next weekend, followed by an exhibition in London the week after. You can join my mailing list here if you are not already on it.
This is the last Monday of April, and the last #Coloroflori floral-inspired prompt for this month where I’ve been cohosting with Lori Siebert. Discovering lesser known and obscure artists is something I relish and today’s artists is one of them. Scottie Wilson (1888-1972) was a self taught 'outsider' artist whose life took a number of turns before he started to make art.
Born Louis Freeman in Glasgow, Scotland, his father was a furrier and Wilson, along with his eleven brothers and sisters, grew up in relative poverty. He finished his schooling at age eight to start working, selling newspapers on the street.
In 1906 he joined the army, serving with the Scottish Rifles in India and South Africa, re-enlisting to serve in France during the First World War. At the war's end, he emigrated to Canada and opened a second hand shop in Toronto.
His artistic career started by accident in the early 1930s when he started doodling on a tabletop with a fountain pen he had for sale.
"In a couple of days the whole of the tabletop was covered with little faces and designs. The pen seemed to make me draw, and them images, the faces and designs just flowed out. I couldn’t stop – I’ve never stopped since that day”.
Wilson decided that the world of art was preferable to shopkeeping, and after some minor success in Toronto moved back to London (England, not Ontario). A series of smaller shows culminated in an exhibition where his work was shown together with works by Picasso, Klee and Miró.
Wilson's distinctive style of intricate, densely packed compositions often featuring fantastical creatures, flora, and geometric patterns was recognisable for its raw creativity and unique visual language. He primarily used ink on paper, employing a technique of repetitive, rhythmic lines to build up elaborate scenes. His drawings often featured a central motif surrounded by intricate detail, reflecting his vivid imagination and inner world.
He continued to work from his studio in Kilburn where he remained deeply distrustful of art dealers, often selling his work on the street for a fraction of the gallery price. It’s now considered to be at the forefront of 20th-century outsider art.
Read more about Wilson here or have a look at work for sale here. There’s a short video about him work here.
“Fantastic Flowers”, ink and crayon on paper, Scottie Wilson, undated
Colour Combination
The colours for this weeks prompt are Pistachio, Sea Green, Burnt Sienna and Peach. Use the #coloricombo colours along with any neutral light and dark colour to create an artwork in any medium and style.
Coloricombo prompts are released once a week on a Monday, and this year I also link each month with a theme. April’s theme is "Coloriflori" - colourful flowers (see below). If you like you can use this as topic, or create in any way as you wish, using the colours in any medium and style.
I love to see what you do with the coloricombo colours. If you'd like to share your work, please tag #coloricombo and #estemacleod on social media. You're also welcome to post in the private Facebook group Creative Prompts