Sandra Vick | PAINTINGS

  • My inspiration has always been rooted in the outdoors, and particularly the natural environment. From my very first exhibition of paintings inspired by the streets of Edinburgh, through to a celebration of the overlooked beauty of weeds around the city, to the birds and hillsides that became central after moving out of the city - nature has remained my constant subject. Long before relocating, I spent years walking and running in the Scottish hills and mountains. I trained as a mountain leader - though starting a family changed that path - but my eye has always been drawn to the forms, textures, and details that make up a landscape and sharing this with others. I am equally fascinated by the flora and fauna within it and by the ancient geology that underpins it.

    My most recent work explores hilly and mountainous landscapes ranging from immersive triptychs to multi panel miniature paintings in the form of artists books. These paintings often contrast the multi-layered and textured foreground, with the brooding, looming silhouettes of nearer hills and with the gentler outlines of distant ridges, inviting the viewer to look further and explore. Within this exploration of place, I also enjoy embracing the fluidity and unpredictability of paint. I work with washes, building up layers that settle like sediment, echoing the slow geological processes that form valleys and peaks.

    Larger works are inspired by the Pentlands, and the Border hills close to home, while smaller wash paintings respond to the dramatic northern ranges of Scotland. These works carry Gaelic names that describe the shape of each mountain—sometimes poetic, sometimes surprisingly plain, such as “the big red hill” or “the craggy hill.” My paintings are rooted in shared environments and collective memory. I'm interested in how the landscape is named and known by those that inhabit and access it. The landscapes I depict are familiar, offering a common ground that connects people across ages and backgrounds.

    Please do get in touch if you would like to know more or would like to visit my studio.

  • Where can you see my paintings on display?

    November/December 2025

    Below is a selection of my current work. If you would like a list of what is available from my studio - please get in touch.

  • Pen Llan, 300x100cm tritych, oil on canvas

  • Gowk, 70x10cm multipanel artist book, oil on board and pen on paper.

  • reverse of book

  • Pentlands triptych, 3 x 210x297mm, linen on board

  • from trimontium, 120x30cm, oil on canvas

  • The eildon hills, 80x20cm, oil on linen

  • Black hill from trimontium, 80x20cm, oil on linen

  • The Pentlands from the moor road, 80x20cm, oil on linen SOLD

  • Arthur's Seat, 80x20cm, oil on linen SOLD

  • The Pentlands from Kirkhill, 80x20cm, oil on linen SOLD

  • Pentlands from the road, 80x20cm, oil on linen SOLD

  • leathad3, 20x20cm, oil on linen

  • leathad5, 20x20cm, oil on linen SOLD

  • leathad1, 20x20cm, oil on linen SOLD

  • druim1 , 20x20cm, oil on linen

  • stob1, 20x20cm, oil on linen

  • stob2, 20x20cm, oil on linen, SOLD

  • meall1, 76x76cm, oil on linen

  • aonach1 , 20x20cm, oil on linen SOLD

  • leathad2, 20x20cm, oil on linen SOLD

YOU CAN VIEW A SELECTION OF PAINTINGS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS BELOW

Exhibitions

SOLO SHOWS 2025 ‘The Pentlands’ solo exhibition with Community Arts Penicuik, Midlothian

COLLECTIVE SHOWS 2025 Featured Artist, Torrance Art Gallery, Edinburgh | 2025 ‘High Five’ Smithy Gallery, Blanefield | 2024 ‘Now and Then’ Visual Arts Scotland (VAS) centenary part two exhibition, Dalkeith Palace, Midlothian. | 2024 ‘Hope is a thing with feathers’ VAS and Scottish Ornithologists Club, Aberlady | 2024 ‘Then & Now’ VAS centenary exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh | 2024 The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour annual exhibition, RSA, Edinburgh | 2023 shortlisted for Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023 exhibition, London | 2017 shortlisted for Wildlife Artist of the Year 2017 exhibition, London | 2015 Wildlife Artist of the Year 2015, London | 2015 Delamore Arts Devon | 2014 awarded “highly commended” for Wildlife Artist of the Year 2014, London | 2013  ‘The Natural Eye” SWLA Annual Exhibition, London | 2009 11th International Contemporary Artists' Book Fair - University of Leeds | 2008 Sheffield Artist's Book Prize - Bank Street Arts, Sheffield | 2008 Aberfeldy Artist's Book Festival - Temple Gallery, Aberfeldy | 2008 Artists Book Show - Owl and Lion Gallery, Edinburgh | 2008 VAS - RSA, Edinburgh| | 2008 'REVEAL 2008" -  Edinburgh Printmakers Workshop | 2005 '//07' - Attic Salt Gallery, Edinburgh |

GALLERIES 2025 Marchmont Gallery, Edinburgh | 2025 Colinton Art Gallery, Edinburgh | 2023 Allium Gallery, South Queensferry | 2022 Artisan Gallery, Aberfeldy | 2022-23 Moy Mackay Gallery, Peebles | 2020-24 The Gallery Melrose, Melrose | 2018 Velvet Easel, Edinburgh | 2016 Iona House Gallery, Oxford | 2016-17 Green Gallery, Dollar, Stirling | 2015-22 ScotlandArt Gallery, Glasgow | 2015 McGill Duncan Gallery, Castle Douglas | 2015-17 Artpistol Gallery, Glasgow | 2015-16 Tig Gallery, Tighnabruiach | 2014 Gallery Heinzel Contemporary, Aberdeen |

COMMISSIONS, RESIDENCIES, GRANTS 2025 Creative Scotland Funding for research, St Ives | 2023 Artist Residency, Cove Park, Argyle | 2012 Artist Residency at The Beach Hut, Dunbar supported by North Light, Dunbar | 2009 “Morus Bassinus” installation commissioned by The Scottish Seabird Centre for the “Creative Visions of Nature” exhibition as part of a John Muir Odyssey Homecoming Festival.

AWARDS AND PRIZES 2006 Daler Rowney Prize, Open Drawing & Painting Exhibition, Edinburgh College of Art | 2005 Andrew Grant Bequest Prize, Edinburgh College of Art | 2002 Andrew Grant Bequest Award Travel Scholarship, Edinburgh College of Art | 2001 Andrew Grant Bequest Prize, Open Drawing and Painting Exhibition, Edinburgh College of Art | 1998 Cairncross Prize in Economics

EDUCATION 2005-08 MFA Drawing & Painting, Edinburgh College of Art | 2001-05 BA (Hons) Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh College of Art | 2000-01 Foundation in Art and Design awarded with Distinction, Leith School of Art, Edinburgh | 1994-05 Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics, University of Tromsø | 1990-92 MPhil Health Economics, University of Wales, Bangor | 1987-92 BA(Hons)Banking, Insurance & Finance, University of Wales, Bangor

 

CONTACT

Please contact me directly via email sandravickartist@gmail.com to arrange a visit to view work or if you would be interested in showing my new work.