artists register

John Rowland


235 Sauchiehall Street

235 Sauchiehall Street

Glasgow is my current home city, it is a city of magnificent architecture reflecting its former prosperity. Sauchiehall Street is one of its three main shopping streets. Number 235 is located at the point where the street transitions from prime retail to ‘night time economy’. It is also in the part of the street that has been affected by the 2018 Glasgow School of Art fire.

For this painting I wanted to depict the faded glory of what was until quite recently a prestigious branch of the Bank of Scotland guarded over by two ghost like statuettes.

Original
Pastel
40cm x 30cm

Statement

John Rowland is a former chartered land surveyor and keen photographer who developed a passion for art after moving to Glasgow in the late 1990s.  After pursuing a number of evening class programmes, initially at Strathclyde University then Glasgow School of Art, he developed a keen interest in working with pastel under the tutorship of Glasgow Art Club member Margaret Evans.

Much of his work draws from past travel experiences and the portrayal of 'sense of place'.  His early career as a land surveyor took him to parts of the world that at that time were largely off the beaten tourist track.  During the 1970s and 80s he lived and worked in the Middle East, Pakistan and Northern Australia.  Since returning to the UK at the end of the 1980s he has continued to travel recreationally.  

He became an elected artist member of the Glasgow Art Club in June 2018 and his work now features regularly in their exhibitions (see  https://glasgowartclub.co.uk/whats-on/forthcoming/).