Charles MacQueen RSW RGI

Charles MacQueen RSW RGI was born in Glasgow in 1940 and was educated at St Aloysius College in the city, before attending Glasgow School of Art from 1958 to 1962. After graduation MacQueen pursued a career in teaching art, until in 1990 when he left art education to become a full time professional artist. He currently lives and works in Fife.

A highly acclaimed artist with many prestigious accolades, he won the Glasgow Civic Art Prize in 1971 and the Torrance Award and Teacher's Whisky Travel Award, both at the Royal Glasgow Institute. He was elected a member of the Royal Glasgow Institute in 1983 and the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1984, serving the latter as Vice President for the East of Scotland. His works can be found in public, private and corporate collections worldwide.
Much of Charles's inspiration is drawn from his travels to Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, the Greek Islands and France. By using mixed media, colour and texture, Charles depicts the sensation or experience of a place creating an evocation rather than representation. The impact of colour and light experienced in these places are visible in his highly textured and atmospheric works.

"The forms I use are forms remembered or dreamt about. The stark visual contrasts of moving between strong blinding sunlight and dark bazaars full of rich reds, golds and turquoise inhabit my paintings. This is like being put down to sleep in a darkened room with strong sunlight streaming through the shutters. This is not representation but an evocation".