Oil on canvas, 31cm x 41cm
Nasturtiums are the best. The bees love them, they grow like crazy, they’re beautiful and edible with a lovely peppery taste.
This summer I bought myself a macro lens to explore my garden in miniature. As I have not been very well- suffering from ME/CFS which limits my energy- I spend a lot of time just sitting in my garden. My garden is tiny, and urban, mostly paved, with lots of things in pots.
Mixed media (cyanotype, acrylic, acrylic transfer, oil pastel, and oil) on linen, 31cm x 41cm
This one started out as a cyanotype but was overexposed, so I started working into it and on top of it. I really like the strangeness of it. It almost seems like an alien creature or landscape.
Cyanotype on canvas, 31cm x 41cm
I love borage, so easy to grow – it practically grows itself, re-seeding year after year. The bees love it as well. It’s beautiful and edible, and makes a great photograph.
Cyanotype and acrylic on linen, 31cm x 41cm
I sat for ages to get a photo of the sparrows perched on the wild rose. The seagulls soared overhead, in their own world.
The wild rose grows over from my neighbour’s garden. He used to think he had to cut it back for us, but I asked him not to. I love the way it grows wildly, and the sparrows love it too.
The cyanotype was exposed in sunlight in the garden. I sat beside it with my cat on her lead, soaking up the Scottish sun.
I’m very pleased to announce that my artwork Kaleidoscope Eyes is featured in the Royal Scottish Academy’s 198th Annual Exhibition, online: https://www.rsaannualexhibition.org/
3 – 24 February, Monday – Sunday 8:30-5, open till 7 on Thursdays
5 St. Peter’s Buildings, Edinburgh
Edinburgh, EH3 9PG
The exhibition is a series of portraits of people in the queer community, portrayed on the pride flag of their choice. These pride flag portraits grew out of conversations between friends about identity and connection. At the time, she was exploring large-scale cyanotypes, having received a VACMA award to allow her to purchase the materials to construct a large contact frame.
With the use of portraiture, she puts human faces on what could otherwise be regarded or dismissed (by some) as merely a symbol. These Pride Flag Portraits invite the viewer to engage on a human level with the queer community. In every portrait you see the vibrancy and diversity of the community.
Kafe Kweer is an award winning sober queer space full of affordable food, local art, groceries, and monthly exhibitions.
Cyanoype and acrylic on linen, 31cm x 41cm
The idea for the Kaleidoscope Eyes came from a dream I had in which I constructed glasses based on a dragonfly’s eyes that allowed me to see the multiple facets of peoples’ personalities all at the same time. I could see layers of possibilities, future and past influences, and really understand the full spectrum of who someone was. I constructed the glasses out of mirror card in many different colours, so that looking through them you see shimmering kaleidoscopes everywhere you look. My band, Kippi’s Ghost, recorded a song based on the dream of these glasses, called Lentes Evalo, which can be heard here: https://kippisghost.bandcamp.com/album/lentes-evalo
My friend and fellow artist Megan posed for this picture wearing the glasses. The artwork is a contact printed cyanotype on linen, exposed in sunlight in my garden in Leith, and then the colours were painted on in acrylic. There is a glittery fabric behind the linen, which catches the light in a subtle way when the eye moves across it.
This theme of kaleidoscopes is one that I have returned to again and again over the years. I have painted several paintings based on kaleidoscope images, and have made videos shot through kaleidoscopes. The kaleidoscope, for me, has come to represent multiple possibilities, alternate universes, other perspectives, diversities, and opportunities.
Posted in cyanotypes
Mixed media on canvas board, 10cm x 15cm
It was really fun to paint the textures of the stones, as well as the grass, on this tiny painting.
Posted in Paintings
2-10 Causeyside St, Paisley, PA1 1UQ
31 August – 18 November
The Big Art Show, Paisley is an enormous public exhibition, housed at The Art Department, in the middle of Paisley (near Glasgow). The exhibition is a joint project of Outspoken Arts Scotland & Art Paisley Ltd.
This ambitious exhibition will display over 1,000 diverse works of art representing artists across Scotland at all stages of their careers.
I have four paintings in this exhibition (including this one that’s on the poster!)
Mixed media on canvas board, 10cm x 15cm
A view from my garden to this interesting building which has a sort of widow’s walk on it. The docks used to be directly behind that building, it has now been filled in and is a bit further away, though not far!
This is made with acrylic transfer, acrylic, and oil on a postcard sized canvas board.
Basement Gallery, SUMMERHALL, EH9 1PL, Edinburgh
Summerhall Visual Arts Festival 2023
28 July – 24 September
Preview 27 July from 6pm
Edyta Majewska, Gail McLintock, Lar McGregor, Eleanor Buffam, Simona Ciocarlan and Lubna Kerr.
The artworks in this exhibition range from innovative photography on textiles, to carbonised sculpture and installation. The often-biographical themes of power, poverty, gender violence, role intersections, and endurance of the subject matter give a voice to the struggles articulated in the research underpinning this project. A gallery of art by female creatives and a narrated slideshow give a hint of the scale and range of artistic activity in Scotland.
‘We have direct experience of the struggles of women creatives, often multi-skilled women who are dealing with intersectional barriers and little support. A whole layer of contemporary art and women’s history is being suppressed’. -Majewska-McLintock
The artists say the surveys of 100 women have been courageous, affirming and important.
The exhibition will have Pecha Kucha style artist talks on:
July 30th, August 14th and September 10th between 3 and 5pm.
A research report event will be launched at Summerhall on August 14th between 12 – 1.30pm.
Funded by Creative Scotland.
My Reflections on the Water of Leith paintings will be exhibited at the Sly Fox Cafe, 16 Henderson Street, Edinburgh, EH6 6BS.
Posted in Upcoming and Recent Exhibitions
Tagged edinburgh, exhibition, leith, leithlate, waterofleith
Cyanotype and acrylic on linen. 78cm x 65cm approx.
Cyanotype and acrylic on linen. 78cm x 65cm approx.
Cyanotype and acrylic on linen. 78cm x 65cm approx.
Cyanotype and acrylic on linen. 78cm x 65cm approx.
Cyanotype and acrylic on linen. 78cm x 65cm approx.
Cyanotype and acrylic on linen. 78cm x 65cm approx.
14 October 2022 – 28 February 2023, open daily 11-4
Portrait of Alice, Classic Pride Flag. Cyanotype and acrylic on linen.
The Living Memory Association is delighted to host ‘Queer Edinburgh’ – an exhibition exploring the people and places that have shaped Edinburgh’s LGBTQ+ community and their identities throughout the years.
To celebrate Scotland’s Year of Stories, the exhibition will present a collection of personal stories and memories from Edinburgh’s queer community that have been captured through oral history interviews.
Accompanying the exhibition will be a podcast (Queer Edinburgh: The Tapes), and a digitally accessible map and walking trail (A Walk through Queer Edinburgh). These will be free and will launch digitally on 14 November (podcast) and 1 December (digital map).
I am thrilled to have my Pride Flag Portraits displayed prominently as part of this comprehensive and groundbreaking exhibition. The exhibition is on until the end of February in the Wee Hub in Ocean Terminal (inside the former Debenhams). It’s a really beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition so do go and see it if you’re anywhere near Leith in the next few months!
L to R: Eli, Queer Pride flag; Elliott, Classic Pride Flag; and Rosie, Non-Binary Flag. All Cyanotype and acrylic on linen.
6-9 October 2022
Reflections on the Water of Leith III: The Weir
This is a lovely annual art exhibition in East Linton, East Lothian, just outside of Edinburgh. The exciting news is that I was awarded first prize for the above painting!
Cyanotype and acrylic on cotton with found fabric, 31 x 41 cm
Posted in cyanotypes
I am showing a piece in the annual Embassy Gallery Members Show- the exhibition is back this year after being on hiatus for several years due to Covid.
Embassy Gallery, 10b Broughton Street Lane, Edinburgh, EH1 3LY
23 April – 1 May, 12-6 Thursday-Sunday
Private View 23 April, 6-9 (no need to book, just turn up!)
Posted in Upcoming and Recent Exhibitions
Tagged edinburgh art, edinburgh exhibition, exhibition
Two of my cyanotypes are featured in the Spring Exhibition at Zenwalls Gallery in Peebles, along with a diverse selection by many other talented artists. The exhibition runs from 19 April – 13 June.
Zenwalls Gallery, 68 High Street, Pebbles, Scottish Borders
Zenwalls is open 11-4, Tuesdays – Sundays.
There is an opening event on Friday 22 April from 6-8- everyone welcome! Hope to see you there.
Posted in cyanotypes
Posted in cyanotypes
Eleanor Buffam 