First exhibition of 2022 at Art & Craft Collective opens on Saturday

A Celebration of Colour in the Landscape’  29 January 29 -26 March 2022

An exhibition of works made during lockdown by local artist Alistair McIntyre (aka Specky Al) opens the 2022 exhibition season at Art & Craft Collective in Causewayside.

Al started painting with watercolours and drawing in pencil but didn’t take art seriously until he moved to Musselburgh in 2018. He did a watercolour diploma with London Art College and his tutor repeatedly suggested that he tried other mediums. He decided to try acrylic paint and immediately fell in love with this way of painting. He progressed onto oil paint and studied at Edinburgh for a few terms. During this time some people took an interest in his work and he decided to enroll on a painting degree with the Open College of the Arts.

Al now likes to work with oils, acrylics, watercolours and a few drawing mediums. He works in an innocent style with freedom of colour and a touch of sophistication. He works en plein air and in the studio.

He can often be found outdoors in and around Edinburgh and the Lothians drawing and painting. He also works from photographs but adds memory, emotions and imagination into the equation when representing his subjects.

These works are from during lockdown and celebrate the colours in the East Lothian Landscape.

There are three levels in the degree. He is now on level two and a member of the society of Scottish Artists. His work is in private collections, offices and is exhibited in galleries as well as some unconventional places. 

Website | + posts

Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.