The Artist Jean Noble D.A.
Jean Noble is a painter and art tutor, living in Newtonmore.
She graduated from Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen where she won the Founder's prize and the Governor's prize.
Jean's art has always been a mixture of realism and imagination. Recently, trees have provided a theme which lets her combine a love of nature, with an imaginative insight into visual analogies and recurring patterns.
My work has always been a mixture of imagination and realism.
I prefer to paint with oil on a board which has a custom-made stippled surface, quite different from the grain of canvas. I exploit this surface by extending the oil colour painstakingly using small brushes. Every stroke is meaningful in order to describe the contours of the form. The result combines an intriguing texture with a translucence which is normally associated with water-colours.
Over the years it has become apparent to me that my imagination is more fertile than most. My art has always been a mixture of realism and fantasy. I like to draw accurately from nature: I also like to incorporate ideas from the mind. Mythology and religion underlie many of my ideas. Currently, I have two fascinations: one is the recurrence of the branching pattern in nature; the other is the beauty of early Celtic designs. These are combined in some of my paintings of trees and landscapes, which emerge as if through the dappled light of a Celtic pattern. This effect is achieved by the careful manipulation of colour, line, tone, and texture. The results reaffirm my deep-felt belief that within diversity there is unity: that there is a beauty and oneness within the universe.
— Jean Noble 2005
From 1974 - 1997 she interspersed raising a family, with commissions of work from museums and visitor centres. These involved Exhibition Displays; Graphics; and Historical Reconstructions in the form of topographical models.
| Year | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1997-2007 | Adult Education Tutor of SQA modules in: Colour; Drawing Skills: Design |
| 1995-2001 | Founder & President of the Society of Badenoch and Strathspey Artists |
| 1995 | Organised the first Badenoch and Strathspey Open Art Exhibition, |
Solo Exhibitions
| Year | Exhibition Name |
|---|---|
| 2006 | “Turning Seasons” - Tore Art Gallery, Ross-shire, Highland |
| 2004 | “Cycle of the Trees of Life” - CairnGorm Mountain Gallery, Aviemore (July - September). |
| 2003 | “Cycle of the Trees of Life” - Iona Gallery, Kingussie; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery |
| 2002 | “Branching out from Glenbanchor” - Eden Court Theatre Gallery, Inverness |
| 2001 | “Tree paintings” - Glenmore Forest Visitor Centre |
| 2000 | “Trees and roots in new-town-on-the-moor” - Iona Gallery, Kingussie |
| 1997 | “Images and Imagination” - Iona Gallery, Kingussie |
| 1995 | “Jean's World” - Torrance Gallery, Edinburgh |
| 1995 | “Winter Wonderland” - Corridor Gallery, Farraline Park, Inverness |
| 1994 | “Fantastic Drawings & Paintings” - Iona Gallery, Kingussie |
| 1975 | “Fact and Fancy” - Waterside Studio, Peebles |
| “Decorative & Imaginative Paintings” - Arts Centre, Dalkeith |
Selected Joint Exhibitions
| Year | Exhibition Name |
|---|---|
| 2007 | RSA Annual Exhibition, Edinburgh |
| Remix 100, Xiangtan Qi Baishi International Cultural Arts Festival, China | |
| 2006 | Remix 100, Kaire-Design Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Scottish Charity Art Show, Air Gallery, London | |
| Highlands and Islands Open (toured Inverness, Kingussie, Thurso, Wick) | |
| Aberdeen Artists Society | |
| 1996-2007 | Society of Badenoch & Strathspey Artists Annual Open Exhibition, Kingussie |
| 2005 | RSC Art Show, London |
| 2004 | Aberdeen Artists' Society |
| 2001-2002 | Highlands and Islands Open, (travelling throughout Highlands) |
| 2000 | art.tm Members' Open, Inverness |
| 1999 | art.tm Biennial Open, Inverness |
| 1997, 1999 | Aberdeen Artists |
| 1975 | Scottish Society of Woman Artists, Edinburgh Border Artists Exhibition, Peebles |