Jim Wylie

JIM WYLIE was born and raised in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art, where he graduated in Drawing and Painting before qualifying as a teacher, going on to serve as Principal Teacher of Art at Kilmarnock Academy and also working for SQA as Principal Assessor of Advanced Higher Art and Design.

He resigned from teaching in 2001 to concentrate on painting, and his workmanlike approach to his craft has led to an increasing demand for his superbly designed landscapes, characterised by the use of strong, clean colour and carefully organised compositions. He now lives in Ayrshire.

“Art education changed out of all recognition during my time as a teacher, introducing a high level of understanding of the visual arts while continuing to improve and develop a wide range of skills. The Scottish art scene is vibrant as a result, and I am as surprised as I am delighted at my good fortune in being part of it.

I am drawn to farms, to water and to the sea. I love to paint shorelines, rocks, hidden cottages, distant islands, broad skies, and the untidy bits of nature. I seek to explore the colours, textures and patterns in old boats, harbours, fishing and farming industrial junk. I also find it hard to resist sunsets!

I sometimes work from pastel drawings produced on site, often backed up by photographs, and, more recently, from iPad drawings. The source medium unintentionally influences my approach and technique. This accounts for the stylistic differences from one painting to another”.

Wylie exhibits continually in a variety of independent galleries across Scotland. He is a member of Paisley Art Institute and contributes regularly to the annual exhibition, where he has been awarded prizes on three occasions.

AWARDS1998 Judge’s prize, Paisley Art Institute
1999 Visitors’ prize, Eglinton Open Art Exhibition, Irvine2002 Miller’s Creativity Prize, Paisley Art Institute 2009 Willa Reivie Award, Save the Children, Maclaurin Gallery, Ayr 2014 Art Forum Award, Paisley Art Institute