This exhibition is the first in a series of three. An Uncompromising Vision chiefly examines Pat Douthwaite’s pastel drawings, by far her most prolific medium.

Throughout her life she drew, prolifically and honestly and her febrile, nervous line exemplified in her distinctive signature is instantly recognisable. She was a great traveller absorbing imagery and devouring cultures as far afield as Poland, Romania, Peru, Mexico and India. Her work is not easily defined, at once naive and intellectually loaded, personal but resonating with cultural references. It was not made for others but came from that deep-seated need of the creative to make; to express.

Next year we shall explore her early painting and then mount a retrospective to coincide with the publication of a book.

Pat Douthwaite was born in Glasgow in 1934. She began to study mime and modern dance with Margaret Morris, whose husband, J. D. Fergusson, encouraged her to paint. This important influence apart, she was self-taught. In 1958 Pat lived in Suffolk with a group of painters, including the Scots Colquhoun and MacBryde, and William Crozier. From 1959-1988 she travelled widely, to N. Africa, India, Peru, Venezuela, Europe, U.S.A., Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan, Ecuador and from 1969 lived part of the time in Majorca, more recently in various properties across the Scottish Borders. She died in July 2002 at Broughty Ferry.