KILMUN-BASED ARTISTS Willie Nelson and Denise Black have fully embraced life on the Cowal peninsula since they moved west from Glasgow 18 months ago.
The couple, married in 2011, will be opening up their home, a veritable art gallery in its own right, to members of the public for next month’s Cowal Open Studios weekend, from September 25-28.
“We both love life over here and are constantly gaining new inspiration and ideas from the environments around us,” explained Willie, who hails originally from the east end of Glasgow and has recently retired from a rewarding career supporting art education in Scotland.
Much of his time was spent in Cowal teaching art at Toward Castle and Ardentinny Outdoor Centre and he knows the area well.
Bold, vivid and vibrant is an apt description for Willie’s works that are influenced by the many expressive artists he’s studied over the past few decades as well as the land and seascapes of the Cowal peninsula.
“I do not have a particular style but try to use processes and techniques that are inspired by my experiences of people and places.
“Depending on the subject matter, my work can be representational or abstract. My main focus is to be expressive,” added Willie.
Expressive and impressive, Willie’s artworks appear to strike a chord with anyone that sees them.
Denise’s journey as an artist and maker fuses the artistic with the practical and she’s adopted a unique and novel approach to her craft, especially when it comes to the storage of the jewellery.
“My work explores the relationship between fine art and design and I use a variety of media, often recycled.
“I am interested in many types of mixed media with a particular interest in metals, textiles and objects found within my environment. Like Willie, I’m an educationalist that’s interested in the so-called divide between fine art and design disciplines and why it should be so.
“My jewellery pieces or ‘mini sculptures’ sit within artworks that can be removed for wear and placed back again. It’s a practical design solution within a sympathetic fine art aesthetic.
“I enjoy collaborating with people to produce artwork that is meaningful and totally personal to them. Everything I do is bespoke.
“The themes I tend to explore straddle Scottish culture, astronomical constellations and the signs of the Zodiac,” said Denise, who, alongside Willie, delivers arts courses in the northern Italy city of Perugia every spring.
“We both visited a number of COS artists last year and it will be wonderful to be part of this year’s event,” said Willie.
They say they believe their new life in Cowal is a work of art in its own right.
