Christine McIver Art
1980-1984 BA(honrs) Fine Art, Gray’s School of Art ( students' RSA 1984 award for best print in show )
2001-2002 PGCE, Jordanhill College of Education
Membership: Glasgow Society of Women Artists, Society of Scottish Artists
Exhibitions : 2006 The Long Gallery, Duff House. “ A Different Perspective” Dual exhibition
2007-2010 An tSean Bhearic, Falcaragh, Donegal. “Atlantic Edge”. Solo
2010 St Andrew’s Building, Glasgow. Rock’s and Roses. Solo
2010-present Forth Valley open Studios.
2013-present twice yearly members exhibitions with GSWA. The McLaurin,
The Lilly and The Smith.
2017 Dunblane museum gallery. “The Journey”. Solo
2022 Dunblane museum gallery. “ Looking at Lillies”. Dual
Christine McIver Artist
After a very early childhood start with crayons and paint Christine progressed through school, happiest in the art room.
She arrived at Grays’ school of Art in 1980, with the intention of studying illustration and design, but was hooked instead by printmaking. She gravitated towards etching, at a time when hot plates and acids were still the tools of the trade. Steel plates were the cheapest metal to etch on, so could be purchased on a large scale. Steel also has a charactristically grainy surface, and using it as a base for a print has a similar aesthetic to starting a painting on a pre-stained canvas. On these plates Christine enjoyed working big semi abstract, organic images. Two of them are now repurposed as a fireproof backing for the stove in her studio.
She graduated and married in 1984. Not having easy access to printmaking facilities, she adapted her printmaking to a "wiped plate" monoprint technique, which suited her expressive style of drawing. The organic shapes in plants and figures was still her main inspiration.
Moving house and sharing the space now as a parent of two changed the scale of her work. Christine's work became more restrained, mostly seascape and landscapes of Donegal, where there are family connections
In 2003 on a visit to Ireland she discovered a rocky beach full of crystal clear pools of water, which brought back a favourite childhood memory and for a few years the theme of rockpools dominated her work.
By teaching part time she was still able to keep developing her work and participate in Open Studio events and in 2013 became an artist member of the Glasgow Society of Women Artists.
Being a member of an Art organisation gives a feeling of motivation to continue developing skills and to keep up a regular practise.
Her current project exploring themes connected with the jacobite rebellion and portraits of volunteers from Bannockburn house will form a solo exhibition in October 2023.
Christine's studio is in Stirling where she and her husband have lived for thirty nine years.