AN INTERNATIONAL group of printmakers who created work inspired by Cowal during lockdown are set to see their pieces shown together for the first time.
Local print artist Deb Wing launched an online programme during the pandemic to bring together printmakers isolated in their studios.
Using social media and Zoom sessions, she worked with more than 100 artists across the UK, North America, Europe and Australasia, with many creating images inspired by Cowal landscapes and scenes from across the west of Scotland.
One of the stories behind the project includes a printmaker in New Zealand creating a print of Inveraray Bridge during Covid, despite being thousands of miles away.
Now, from May 19 to 29, Benmore Botanic Garden will host an exhibition of Debs work alongside 27 pieces by artists involved in the online project.
The exhibition will mark the only chance to see the works displayed together.
In a further development, 10 of the artists are travelling to Cowal to spend a week printmaking together at Uig Hall from May 25 to 29.
Visitors will be able to see the exhibition at Benmore before meeting some of the printmakers at Uig Hall, where they can watch them work and learn more about the processes they use.
The visiting artists include printmakers from New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland and across the UK.
Maggie Dawson, from New Zealand, said: This is an amazing opportunity for us to meet with other artists who feel like our friends, but who we have never met in person before.
Jude Brown, from York, added: We have learned so much from Deb and each other during our online programmes.
We never dreamed in the dark days of lockdowns that we would ever be travelling to Cowal and working together.
Deb said the project had grown out of a difficult period, but had created something meaningful and lasting.
She said: It was hard to think of anything positive emerging from the pandemic, but I am so proud of what this group has achieved and even more proud that it all began with a focus on our local landscape in Cowal that inspires so much of my own work.
Being an artist can be an isolating experience anyway, but it felt really important to bring people together when we were not allowed out to enjoy being outdoors.
Some of the artists involved have said how great it was to focus on our beautiful landscape when they couldnt leave their homes.
Debs own work on display at Benmore includes original prints selected for the finals of the Scottish Landscape Awards, the Royal Scottish Academy, the West of England Royal Academy and three prize-winning prints from PrintFest in England.
The printmakers will be working at Uig Hall from Monday, May 25, to Friday, May 29, from 10am to 4pm.
Visitors are welcome, although there will be limited opportunities to speak to artists on the Tuesday as most will be involved in a workshop.
