Scottish painter Sally Richardson is opening her Abbeyhill Colony home this weekend, something she has been doing since 2014. This year’s exhibition is “Stepping into the Canvas”
In the past year Ms Richardson has exhibited in many prestigious exhibitions including – The Hogarth’s Art Prize at Hogarth’s House, London, The Cat Show at The Bakery Gallery, London, The Discerning Art Prize in The Mall Galleries London, The Royal West Academy 173rd Annual Open Exhibition, Bristol, and The Weight of Waiting at The House of Smalls Gallery, Stockbridge, Edinburgh.
Her work follows in the tradition of renowned Scottish painters, Anne Redpath, and Elizabeth Blackadder, who painted their domestic surroundings and like Blackadder, Sally paints her cat too.
To walk into Sally’s home is to step into one of her oil paintings. Sally lives in a picturesque Edinburgh home, part of a set of colonies built for artisan workers in the 19th century. Her home is like her art. Hand-painted cupboards full of vintage, a small but gorgeous garden bursting forth in a chaos of colour each spring and summer, bright clothes swinging from the washing line above. Her cat – Scampi, flowers, slumbering figures, enamel bread bins…are just some of the subjects of her warm and life-affirming paintings.
Taking place from noon until 6pm on Saturday, 19 September and Sunday, 20 September 2026, the exhibition invites art lovers into the world that inspires her art. Visitors can enjoy her original oil paintings, watercolours and drawings displayed in her front parlour exhibition and greeting cards of her work in her postage stamp size cottage garden. They may well meet Scampi the family cat or one or two of the other colony cats who are another source of inspiration in her work.
This year Sally has created a delightful piece of the many cats she has known on the street from the past as well as the present.
“My home and garden are my infinite muses,” says Sally, “Come, step into my world, this weekend.
Exhibition Details
- Event: Sally Richardson “Stepping into the Canvas” Annual Open Home and Garden Exhibition
- Dates: Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 September 2026
- Times: 12.00 pm – 6.00 pm daily
- Location: 36 Lady Menzies Place The Abbeyhill Colonies, Edinburgh, Scotland EH7 5BA
- Admission: Free
For directions, newsletter sign-ups, or to view her latest portfolio online, visit the official Sally Richardson Artist Website or follow her daily life and previews on Instagram via @edinburghcolonylife
