Ayr artist lands top national award

Mar 5 2010 by Stuart Wilson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

AN Ayr artist has won a national award for his latest work.

Michael Clark claimed the prestigious Winsor and Newton Materials award for a watercolour painting on display in Edinburgh.

The painting, called Paris St Germain, was on display at the Royal Scottish Academy building in Edinburgh.

And Michael, who holds regular solo exhibitions in the capital, bagged £500 for top prize.

The 50-year-old, whose studio overlooks the River Doon, said: “I started making an annual trip to Paris when I was at art school in Edinburgh.

“In the 80s it would take all day. Now, from my studio in Ayr, I can take an early morning flight from Prestwick and be drawing in the Tuileries gardens at 11am.

“The painting is inspired by the buildings of the Latin quarter.

“There is a hidden world behind those huge, formidable doors; often a private courtyardexists.

“These are rarely glimpsed but hint at the rich lives lived within.”

Michael graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 1983 and eventually became a full time painter in 1994.

He has won several awards and was a runner up in the Aspect painting prize in 2003.

His latest victory confirms his status as one of Scotland’s most established artists.

The exhibition in Edinburgh, which is open until March 18, features more than 120 new paintings by both established and emerging artists from across the country including Helga Chart, Douglas Davies, Jim Dunbar, John Inglis, Marian Leven, Charles MacQueen, Philip Reeves and HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, Patron of the Society.