Donald Murray

DONALD MURRAY studied at Edinburgh College of Art where his main subject was Calligraphy. He has carried out a number of important commissions which include the Piper Alpha Book of Condolence for Aberdeen City Council and a calligraphic decorative frieze in Aberdeen's Roxburghe House chapel. He was one of a small band of calligraphers involved in a major collaborative work, 'An Leabhar Mor' (The Great Book of Gaelic) featuring Gaelic poetry from Scotland and Ireland.

A well known and sought after watercolourist, he has exhibited regularly at Tolquhon Gallery since its opening and has held three one man shows here. Nationally, he is represented in permanent and private collections, including that of HRH the Princess Royal.  Until 2000, he was head of Art and Design at Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen.  

Donald's family is from Skye and he is a native Gaelic speaker with a great interest in Gaelic culture. He has been a regular participant at the Mod where he won the Gold Medal for solo singing.

In his watercolours, he skilfully establishes a sense of time and place to capture that elusive atmosphere which is so much a part of the Scottish landscape. Many of his paintings are of North East landscapes and the North East coast and coastal villages; others are of the West coast and Western Isles.