Magi goes with the Flow for art show

Published: 06:11, 16 October 2019

A BIG turnout for the opening night of an art show in Thurso saw more than 150 people attend and 16 pieces being sold.

At her first solo exhibition in the town, professional artist Magi Sinclair pulled together more than 40 works for a show called From the Causewaymire. The paintings, drawings and etchings perfectly capture the spirit of Caithness's vast stretches of moorland.

A huge number showed up for the preview of Magi Sinclair's exhibition of paintings in Thurso.

"It's a very humbling experience to see all these people here," said Magi on the preview evening in the Thurso Gallery. "I really have to extend thanks to my sister Madeleine Fraser for her PR expertise, Debbie Wakeford for curating the show and Richard Doake for doing the framing."

Magi's attention to detail has each botanical specimen depicted in all its glory and how these individual constituents unite to create the bigger picture of this globally recognised ecosystem.

From the Causewaymire is much more than a statement about the ecological significance of the Flow Country, though. It shows Magi's true passion for and romantic attachment to these vast open areas with peat bogs, dubh lochs, spectacular weather systems and derelict crofts.

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Magi's use of colour and incredible detail shows a very deep appreciation of the barren Caithness landscape. Loch Rangag in the Causewaymire area is depicted here.

Magi Sinclair's study of the old farmhouse she remembers from her childhood in Latheron called the Corr.

This study is called Little Hummock, Curling Grasses. Magi was influenced by artists such as German Renaissance painter and engraver Albrecht Dürer who did similar studies of plant life.

This work is called Peatbog Garden Study 1 and was one of many that sold on the night. Magi used actual peat ash along with pastels to create the work.

This figurative work may have seemed out of place at first but the woman depicted is based on the reconstructed features of a 4000 year old skeleton found in the Causewaymire area dubbed Ava by archaeologists.

The Bogbean in Flower is a large work where the artist shows great attention to detail and even uses peat ash from the Caithness moors in its construction.

This mixed media piece called Stone Marker at Latheron depicts a neolithic monument in all its glory.

For Dark Rangag with Rainbow, Magi used peat ash from the Flow Country along with pastels to create a real feel of Caithness.

"I feel drawn to the barren parts of Caithness that are often overlooked," Magi said.

Though her works seem, at first glance, to be somewhat devoid of animal life there are glimpses of birds and other creatures within the details. "I'll draw a fleeting shadow of a bird and you'll see deer and rabbits tucked away too... but you have to look closely."

Like the great German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, Magi will bring peat-bog specimens back to her studio to draw them in detail. "Dürer's painting called A Piece of Turf [1503] was in fact one of the very first things to inspire me."

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Magi can be seen deep in conversation in the middle. Record numbers showed up for the opening of her solo show and she sold 16 paintings.

Over 150 people turned up for Magi's exhibition at the Thurso gallery. Picture: DGS

Thurso exile Johnny MacLeod peruses one of Magi's drawings of the Corr farmhouse near Latheron. Johnny had specially travelled up from Inverness to see the exhibition.

Being based in the Lybster area gives Magi instant access to the magic of the county's wild moorlands for providing further creative inspiration. It seems likely there will be many more Magi Sinclair exhibitions capturing the beauty of the Flow Country.

From the Causewaymire runs until Wednesday, November 6, at the Thurso Gallery in Thurso Library in Davidson's Lane.

During the exhibition the gallery can be telephoned directly on 01847 896357.

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Environment Latest News David G Scott