Izzy Thomson
- Work
- Biography
I am a visual artist and my work born from remembered experiences from the landscapes I have visited, mostly around Scotland and the North. In the studio, I use painting, illustration, model-making and one-stop animation to reconstruct the topographies of those places and tell the story of our wilder world.
Like peering out to sea the from the edge of a cliff, my paintings are a meeting place of two worlds. Often painted with a crepuscular palette, they have the language of a dream one has just awoken from and feel like imagined yet inhabitable spaces. Like stage-sets, they act as a device: an invitation into a ‘tapsalteerie’ world, where one finds characters who are impervious to their environment, amidst leaning lumps of land and unsettled seas.
As well as their fairy-tale like allure, my works are rooted in reality. They are a way to bring two worlds together- the real and the imagined/ the human and the non-human- in the hope of rekindling what is, perhaps, a misplaced familiarity and sensitivity to our natural world.
Like peering out to sea the from the edge of a cliff, my paintings are a meeting place of two worlds. Often painted with a crepuscular palette, they have the language of a dream one has just awoken from and feel like imagined yet inhabitable spaces. Like stage-sets, they act as a device: an invitation into a ‘tapsalteerie’ world, where one finds characters who are impervious to their environment, amidst leaning lumps of land and unsettled seas.
As well as their fairy-tale like allure, my works are rooted in reality. They are a way to bring two worlds together- the real and the imagined/ the human and the non-human- in the hope of rekindling what is, perhaps, a misplaced familiarity and sensitivity to our natural world.
C.V.
Education:
2023/24 Turps Banana Correspondence Course
2021 Aardman Academy, Stop Motion 1, Funded place from Creative Access
2012-16 Gray's School of Art, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen: B.A. (Hons) Painting, First Class
Awards:
2024 The Michael Harding Painting Prize, SWLA Natural Eye, Mall Galleries, London
2024 W G Gordon Smith and Mrs Jay Gordon Smith Award, RSA, Edinburgh
2024 Bursary Winner, John Busby Seabird Drawing Week, SWLA, East Lothian
2023 Shortlist, Andrew Stewart Award, North Yorkshire
2023 Highland Visual Artist & Craft Maker Award Scheme
2022 Salt Tales, Open Fund for Individuals, Creative Scotland
2022 Weaving Beelines, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland, Cromarty
2021 Northword Bringing Stories To Life, Development Grant, Robert Gordon University
2021 Spirit:360 Award, Illustrations for children's book in collaboration with Rosie Newman, Inverness
2021 Highland Visual Artist & Craft Maker Award Scheme, Self Directed Home Residency
2019 Dewar Arts Award, Wasps Artist's Studio, Inverness
2018 Hope Scott Trust, Travel Award to British Columbia, Canada
2018 Highland Visual Artist & Craft Maker Award Scheme, Animation Tutorials, Glasgow
2018 Solo Exhibition at Moray Arts Centre
2018 The Prince's Trust, Materials Bursary
2016 Great Art Award, FLY, Visual Arts Scotland
2016 ACT Graduate Award, Arts Centre and Theatre
2015 Cross Trust Vacation Award, Travel Bursary to Iceland
Residencies:
2024 John Busby Seabird Drawing Week, Bursary Winner, SWLA, East Lothian
2024 Cove Park,
Education:
2023/24 Turps Banana Correspondence Course
2021 Aardman Academy, Stop Motion 1, Funded place from Creative Access
2012-16 Gray's School of Art, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen: B.A. (Hons) Painting, First Class
Awards:
2024 The Michael Harding Painting Prize, SWLA Natural Eye, Mall Galleries, London
2024 W G Gordon Smith and Mrs Jay Gordon Smith Award, RSA, Edinburgh
2024 Bursary Winner, John Busby Seabird Drawing Week, SWLA, East Lothian
2023 Shortlist, Andrew Stewart Award, North Yorkshire
2023 Highland Visual Artist & Craft Maker Award Scheme
2022 Salt Tales, Open Fund for Individuals, Creative Scotland
2022 Weaving Beelines, funded by Museums Galleries Scotland, Cromarty
2021 Northword Bringing Stories To Life, Development Grant, Robert Gordon University
2021 Spirit:360 Award, Illustrations for children's book in collaboration with Rosie Newman, Inverness
2021 Highland Visual Artist & Craft Maker Award Scheme, Self Directed Home Residency
2019 Dewar Arts Award, Wasps Artist's Studio, Inverness
2018 Hope Scott Trust, Travel Award to British Columbia, Canada
2018 Highland Visual Artist & Craft Maker Award Scheme, Animation Tutorials, Glasgow
2018 Solo Exhibition at Moray Arts Centre
2018 The Prince's Trust, Materials Bursary
2016 Great Art Award, FLY, Visual Arts Scotland
2016 ACT Graduate Award, Arts Centre and Theatre
2015 Cross Trust Vacation Award, Travel Bursary to Iceland
Residencies:
2024 John Busby Seabird Drawing Week, Bursary Winner, SWLA, East Lothian
2024 Cove Park,
- Izzy Thomson
- Wolf Dog
- Painting
- Izzy Thomson
- Rest
- Painting
- Izzy Thomson
- Little Darling
- Painting
- Izzy Thomson
- Badger
- Painting
- Izzy Thomson
- Upon Waking
- Painting
- Izzy Thomson
- Pink May Moon
- Painting
- Izzy Thomson
- An Unusual Time of Day
- Painting
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