Frances Walker- Coastlines Curated by Arthur Watson and Helen Glassford A solo show of paintings and works on paper by North East Scottish Artist, Frances Walker. The ebb and flow of the tides, the dancing of breaking waves on rocky shores and shifting sands not only help to sculpt our Scottish Coastline but have been the inspiration for Walker's work for many years. Here at TATHA, Walker's work feels at home. The gentle rhythms of the her precise graphic line and coastal forms go hand in hand with our location on the banks of the river Tay in Newport-on-Tay. Frances Walker is arguably Scotland’s best landscape painter. She has been acclaimed by many for her ability to tame and harness the wild and desolate places that she portrays through her paintbrush. From Iceland and Antarctica through to Tiree and the flow land in Sutherland she paints the landscape not as a gypsy passing through but as resident. Her work portrays no fear of the desolation in fact it is the opposite she paints as if she is at ease in such places. How timely, that Frances Walker’s work should be on show whilst our country makes the historic decision about our future. She has spent a lifetime recording in her unique way the landscape of Scotland. In almost all her work there lies the trace of mankind’s passing, a faint trail of what has been. From her passion for the now uninhabited places of Scotland to her solid portrayal of our prehistoric monuments she has logged our history without any political slant. Her comfort and knowledge of the Scottish coastline, both East and West is self-evident. Her brush tames the sea as easily as it softens the remote mountain. In this show co-curated with Arthur Watson, president of The Royal Scottish Academy, She brings together 60 years of learning and teaching art and returns to her home county, Fife. Her work sits well in the riverside location of Tatha where boundaries are etched with history and the Gaelic name gives some faint hint of times lost in the rain. One cannot imagine her work ever fading it has a presence and belief in it that resonates with its subject. She cares passionately for the world she paints, yet beats the quietest drum to waken us softly to the beauty of it. To miss this 84yr old’s amazing show, is to miss one of Scotland’s greats, a teacher to many of our inspiring established artists, including Watson himself, as well as Will Maclean, Allan Robb and Joyce Cairns to name a few. A pupil of William Gillies she has in our view surpassed even him with her incredible work. She has been blessed with amazing foresight and has been referred to as the Seer of Scottish art, a title few would question.