Artist’s Statement
I have lived in Cornwall for twenty years, originally coming down from Chester to do a fine art degree at Falmouth College of Art. Many of my Cornish paintings study the areas where sea meets land. I am drawn to the water – surfing, sea swimming and sailing all giving new perspectives, and for me an important part of enjoying life in Cornwall. Another perspective is viewing the landscape from above; inspired when I was young by seeing Peter Lanyon’s paintings . The grid like forms of aerial landscape and long, narrative shadows have also struck a chord with my way of working. Over the last few years I have been painting the Thames from above, along with subjects closer to home.”
Alasdair is a leading light of the Cornish art scene with solo exhibitions and work featured regularly in galleries across the county, London and further afield.
Although born in Cheshire, Alasdair has come to regard Cornwall as his home. He came to study at Falmouth College of Art and Design in 1996 and has remained ever since, now living with his family at Hayle.
'Lindsay has an over riding fascination with colour and space is ever present in his depiction of landscape, a characteristic associated with his heroes of the Californian 'Bay Area Figurative Movement' in the 1950's and 1960's. Of this art movement, Richard Diebenkorn in particular has had an enduring influence; Lindsay's work is resonant with a 'Californian' style - strong, clean palette and light, bridging abstraction and figurative painting.
'Architectural structure is a powerful compositional element. However, modernist buildings that fit Lindsay's aesthetic aren't altogether abundant in Cornwall. Characterised by simplified form, minimal lines, flat rooftops and white walls, Porthminster café and Penzance Lido are common haunts. Tankers parked in dock, jutting pontoons and beach huts are other frequent subjects, the contrast of angular, geometric structure bordering water an ongoing theme in the work.
We also see some of Lindsay's recent aerial paintings, made over London of the Thames. These paintings lean more to abstraction, grid like compositions with shapes translated only by their shadows. Injecting a modernist vision into his landscapes, Lindsay has developed a language exciting in colour, form and content. Bold, confident paintings that strip away the superfluous to leave a dynamic interpretation of place.' Chloe Wild, Beside The Wave
In 2002 Alasdair was commissioned to produce 12 paintings and 312 prints of those paintings for permanent display on the luxury Cunard Line Queen Mary II. In 2004 he won second prize in the prestigious Hunting Art Prize and was also a finalist in the Hunting Art Prize in 2000, 2004 and 2005. In 2007 his work was exhibited in the Singer Freidlander Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, at Mall Galleries, London. He was also a finalist in the 2017 Lynn Painter-Stainers prize , again at the Mall Galleries in London.