James Lumsden: Solus bho Thuath | North Light

6 - 30 May 2026

For the past ten years James Lumsden has worked between studios in Edinburgh and An Rubha (Point) on the Isle of Lewis. The exhibition Solus bho Thuath | North Light presents a series of paintings and drawings developed over the past two years, mainly in his Hebrides studio.
- James Lumsden
  North Light (5/26)
  Acrylic on panel
  23 x 30.5 cm
  
  £ 950.00
Open Painting (North Light) (5/26), Acrylic on panel, 40 x 50 cm

Primarily interested in the creation of a sense of light, colour, depth and feeling – he builds multiple thin layers of translucent colour; layer upon layer, glaze upon mark upon glaze – concealing, revealing, action, reaction, until a sense of light and depth is achieved within the process. Each layer is dragged, pulled or manipulated with various implements – the process being repeated until the painting begins to emerge. The use of interference and opalescent pigments add a further dimension to the paintings, the surface of the painting changing when viewed from different angles and varying light conditions. The work alludes to landscape and a sense of place, yet is essentially abstract. Lumsden describes his paintings as ‘Open paintings’ – open in the process of their creation, interpretation and in spirit.
The exhibition includes a selection of recent drawings which the artist began to develop in 2025, funded by a Creative Scotland Open Fund Award. The award supported a six month period concentrating solely on experimentation and development within drawing. The coloured pencil drawings echo the painting process in being built upon multiple layers of mark making – rubbing, blending and erasing between layers, and repeating until the drawing is complete.

James would like to thank Creative Scotland for the support he received in developing his recent series of drawings.

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