Olivia MacDonald currently lives and works on the Isle of Iona. Her practice is focused across a number of themes; still life, the human form and most recently landscapes – Olivia tends to work most days on the beaches of Iona, spontaneously capturing a response to the environment.
“The daily process of drawing and painting from life is central to my practice. My work develops through observational study and intuitive ways of working. The process of painting creates a space for enquiry and connection to the visual world: the exploration of colour and form, the play of light. There is a sense of touch and emotion which can be communicated through the material. I am interested in the intuitive nature of colour, how it creates form, is subjective, an experience, without boundary; it can embody aspects of the imagination, memory and sensory perception. The temporal nature of visual perception reflects the journey of the eye as it discovers, is drawn to certain points. The observation of spatial and colour relationships breaks into single moments of focus, creating a sense of slowing time, a quietened mind”.
Olivia graduated with a BA (Hons) Painting & Printmaking from GSA in 2016. In 2020 she was awarded The Mackendrick Postgraduate Scholarship from the Glasgow School of Art and returned to the school to complete her MLitt Fine Art Practice in 2022.
