New at Skylark 2: Ken McClymont

Ken is delighted to be part of Skylark, saying: "It's fantastic to show my work and have the opportunity and exposure with committed, devoted fellow artists who take pride in the gallery. It’s a great set-up and unique by being run by the people who exhibit in such an attractive part of the city."

Ken was born in Glasgow and studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, where he first discovered abstraction. He has exhibited in shows in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Hull and Brussels. As well as being a painter, Ken is an award-winning theatre director and designer, mostly working on new writing. He has directed more than 40 professional plays, details of which can be seen on his website. He enjoys graphic design and typography, designs theatre sets, T-shirts and publicity posters, and makes props.

"In a sense," he says, "my dedication to acrylic abstraction on canvas or board has allowed me the freedom to express more intensely some of the ideas and emotions I convey in the theatre. It is as if I were directing the shapes and colours to enable them to stage an experience. In this context, every gesture finds its place in the creation of depth and movement, not just in relation to the whole piece, but also in the connection established with the viewer. My smaller works in box frames make these relationships more palpable. Members of the audience should be engaged, even if they don’t agree with each other. My hope is that the intensity of the encounter is not quickly forgotten."