\n Their artistic paths have diverged since then \u2013 Scott\u2019s work is figurative and representative, Laurie\u2019s approach avowedly abstract \u2013 but they come together this weekend for a joint show at The Lemond Gallery in Glasgow.\n<\/p>\n
\n Drysdale Scott (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n Scott, who spent nearly 30 years as an art teacher before taking early retirement in 2019 to concentrate on painting, will exhibit a series of mostly new works showcasing his narratively-rich still lifes and, in particular, his studies of dancers. Tango is a big favourite of his, as shown in paintings such as Tango In Red And Green and Tango On The Spot.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019m a real fan of film noir imagery,\u201d he says, addressing the look of the moodily-lit works and the sense of drama contained within them. \u201cI\u2019m also a huge fan of the work of Caravaggio and Vel\u00e1zquez, and the great English painter Joseph Wright of Derby.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Caravaggio was one of the greatest exponents of the chiaroscuro technique, which emphasises the contrast between light and dark in a painting. Joseph Wright of Derby \u2013 his actual working name \u2013 was an 18th century painter and chief proponent of what\u2019s known as tenebrism. Think chiaroscuro on steroids.\n<\/p>\n
\n In fact to Scott\u2019s mind you can draw a direct line joining the painters of the 16th and 17th centuries who mastered the use of light with the famous film noir cinematographers of the mid-20th century \u2013 John F Seitz, for example, who shot several Billy Wilder films, including the classic Double Indemnity.\n<\/p>\n
\n Which theory neatly ties together his two main founts of inspiration. \u201cThat sense of drama and eeriness in a lot of these paintings is something I find quite electric,\u201d he admits. \u201cCombining that with the film noir imagery and taking my inspiration from those sorts of movies, is something I\u2019ve always been really interested in.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Winter Twigs on Blue by Simon Laurie (Image: Supplied)\n<\/p>\n
\n But how do you pose a couple of tango dancers long enough to execute a work in oil, a notoriously difficult medium? Answer: you don\u2019t. Instead Scott prefers to work from specially-commissioned photographic studio portraits of tango dancers in action: a freeze-frame image displaying poise and control but also tension and that all important drama.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe in capturing movement, or a blur,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2019m about. I\u2019m about sharpness, I\u2019m about definition, about capturing a moment in time.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe traditions I\u2019m trying to follow are of the great masters, particularly the great Baroque masters. It\u2019s not photo-realism, I\u2019m not trying to do that \u2026 it\u2019s pin-point. And in doing ballet or tango I\u2019ve decided there aren\u2019t going to be many wispy blurs, it\u2019s going to be sharply focused. That\u2019s something I pride myself on.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Cut to Simon Laurie, Scott\u2019s old studio colleague from art school days. He is known for paintings whose titles suggest landscapes but whose composition is formed largely from abstract shapes. \u201cThe titles are only a lead in,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re not important to me. They\u2019re a lead in for the viewer, just to give them a clue.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
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