Beautiful Work By Howard Towll Shown In Da Gadderie

It’s always a pleasure to look into any of Shetland’s galleries to keep abreast of the work of the many artists that practise in the islands. At Da Gadderie, the gallery space at the Shetland Museum and Archives, Howard Towll recently showed an exhibition of woodcuts, monoprints, lithographs, paintings and field sketches.

The subjects included wildlife and landscapes from observations made not only in Shetland but also from trips to Iceland, Spain and Japan. Indeed, all Howard’s work is informed by direct experience and is based on a vast amount of sketching from life. The exhibition included several examples of this field work, displayed in the form of sketchbooks and loose sheets of paper.

Many of the birds and mammals that were featured are familiar in Shetland, including eiders, crows, mountain hares and otters. However, there were also studies of vultures, cranes and eagles from Howard’s travels.

From his drawings, Howard moves on, in the studio, to print-making, in particular from woodcuts. He has recently been developing colour woodcuts using several woodblocks for each colour to create the final image. The results are captivating.

Howard doesn’t simply produce a record of his subjects. He uses them to create strong patterns and textures and the work is always beautifully executed. You can see much more of it on his website by going to the gallery section.