After sacrifices, artist Patricia to build on Aspect Prize

Glasgow lawyer-turned-painter Patricia Cain has won Scotland’s premier arts prize for her radical depictions of the city’s new Riverside Museum.
Patricia, 46, won the £15,000 Aspect Prize after beating three other talented artists with her images of the city’s rapidly changing waterfront. The competition attracted nearly 160 entries.
After turning her back on the legal professional, Patricia studied for a doctorate, which was awarded by the School of Art in 2008.
Westender Patricia said: ‘I am stunned. It’s been a very hard process. I gave up a lot to be able to make art. In the last five years, money has been my biggest worry.
‘We really have been living on the breadline, as most artists do. I went from having a stable job to being a struggling artist. Winning the Aspect Prize makes all the difference in the world.’
Her success was announced at the Fleming Gallery in London by art lover and Taggart actor Alex Norton. Three runners-up, Alec Galloway from Inverclyde, Renfrewshire-born Scot Sinclair who lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Glasgow’s Paul Kennedy, each received £5,000.
Chairman of the panel of judges, Charles Jamieson, commented: ‘The confidence and complexity of her paintings made Patricia a clear winner and although judging was difficult, in the end it was the strength and impact of the work itself which swung it in her favour.’

Dennistoun shop becomes artist Emily’s canvas

Artist Emily Chappell is putting her talents to work at one of her favourite charity shops after she decided it needed a facelift.

Emily, 26, an illustrator and Glasgow School of Art graduate, will paint a mural in the Mary’s Meals shop in Duke Street, Dennistoun, using her own colourful designs.

The Mary’s Meals shop raises money to provide school meals for children in some of the world’s poorest countries. Emily thought that it would benefit from a brighter, more up-to-date look – and offered to provide it.

The redesign will cost the charity nothing – Emily’s skills are voluntary, and Impact Arts, a neighbouring social enterprise company, is providing the paint.

Mary’s Meals retail co-ordinator, Sharon Campbell, said: ‘You often hear of artists showing their work in famous department stores or restaurants, but this is the first time, that we know of it, that it has happened in a Scottish charity shop.

‘We hope that Emily’s work will be an attraction and a talking point for customers for a long time to come.’

Mary’s Meals hope Emily’s mural will be completed in time for the Christmas rush.

Emily has an exhibition of her drawings set for March next year at The Tron, and had a solo exhibition at The Drawing Room Gallery in Glasgow.