Beth Robertson Fiddes

BETH ROBERTSON FIDDES studied at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 1995. She won the Benno Schotz Award in 1997 and in 2011, the Second Award in the Jolomo Bank of Scotland Awards.Creating a painting is a process of discovery for me. I work in acrylic, ink, oil and also use paper. I enjoy experimenting with mixed media, creating surface and texture in the paintings through the use of collage, and varying the thickness of the paint from impasto to glazes. It’s a balance between the inspiration and reference point of the landscape and allowing the painting to gain its own identity.My aim is to return to a different way of seeing my surroundings, to a time before I had any knowledge of science or history and the world seemed full of possibilities.  I look for unusual structure in landforms and in coastal areas and try to emphasise their ambiguous qualities.I try in my work to evoke a sense of character in the landscape, to capture the feeling and essence of the landscape on a more intuitive level. Returning to favourite childhood haunts and seeing them afresh has given my painting a new dimension allowing memories to combine with new sights and experiences. My work has always been based on observation and drawing outdoors is fundamental to my working methods. I find more and more now that I want to retain the spontaneity of the initial impressions and sketches in the final pieces.