IAN SCOTT MASSIE
Ian Scott Massie was born in London in 1952 and grew up in Buckinghamshire close to the childhood home of Paul Nash – an abiding influence in his work. He was further inspired by the vibrant work of his school art teacher, Romeo di Girolamo (former President of the Royal Society of British Artists) and began painting professionally while a student in Durham.
Working first in oils and screen printing, his work progressed through acrylic ink and paint before he settled comfortably into the medium of watercolour. He has specialised for some years in single themed exhibitions that have included The Buildings of York, From William’s Words, Tales of the Dales, and Places of Pilgrimage.
Northern Soul grew out of a long fascination with the personality of places he had come to know across the North and the stories connected with them. The paintings and prints in this exhibition represent a personal journey of 45 years living in the North. As he says in the exhibition’s accompanying book they are “the log of a long, as yet unfinished, journey, and a love letter to the North of England. It’s about the places I’ve known and painted, and what part they play in this complex, careworn, mountainous, multifaceted, wave-tossed, warm-welcoming, windblown, freezing, friendly, tough spirited, tender hearted, rusty, rebellious, green, golden, chilled-out, challenging, deep-rooted, dale-scattered, subtle, smoky, special land.“
Northern Soul grew out of a long fascination with the personality of places I had come to know across the North and the stories connected with them.
More information
Ian Scott Massie exhibits at galleries throughout Britain and has work in print with major art publishers. His books of painting and poetry include Under a Northern Sky and Moor Stories, and he has written for The Artist, Craftsman Magazine, Art Business Today and Artists and Illustrators Magazine.
Ian Scott Massie trained as a music teacher and holds a B.Ed. and an M.A. He continues to pursue a parallel career as a musician. He was a founder and events coordinator of the Masham Arts Festival and a founder of Artison arts and crafts teaching studios near Masham where he lives.