Karla Black -Inverleith House (14 November - 14 February)

Karla Black is a Glasgow based sculptor. She creates site specific sculptures using a range of unusual material such as powder paint, cellophane, dry plaster and Vaseline.

Due to their unusual compound, Black's sculptures seem to posses an organic nature. They change over the duration of the exhibition; the plaster absorbs moisture which in turn alters the sculpture's appearance and texture. Black describes her material as a mess of formless matter and she chooses her material out of a "pure physical desire for them."

Black's work has an interesting interplay between fragility and sculptural form. There is a moment once the sculptures are finished they are perfect, then they slowly begin to disintegrate.

Black's choice of a pastel palette gives the sculptures a feminine quality, along with the use of materials such as eye shadow, concealer and lipstick. Her work also evokes a sense of landscape. One feels that the work is the landscape rather than a mere representation of it.

"The finished work has a looseness and messiness that is allowed to exist within an overall attempt at simplicity, purity, cleanness and smoothness. It is often caught between thoughtless gesture and seriously obsessive attempts at beauty." Karla Black.

Jamie Primrose - Twilight Hues at Dundas Street Gallery

I just love Jamie Primrose! I feel that if one has ever lived in Edinburgh one cannot, not own a Jamie Primrose. He catches the atmospheric beauty of Edinburgh perfectly.

In his latest exhibition Primrose presents timeless city views in ethereal oils and striking monochrome Indian inks.

Primrose's oils are an emotive portrayal of beautiful, vibrant sunsets that cast dramatic lighting over the fairy tale vistas of Edinburgh. Scenes of which include views from Inverleith Park, Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill. His inks take more of an intimate approach and concentrates on street views. He captures the romantic grittiness of the city in his depiction of Old Town architecture and the flowing lines of New Town's Georgian streets.

He says: "I have a fascination for the transient nature of light. My artworks are 'snapshots' form sunset to sundown, when the light changes so quickly. They are my emotional response to the relationship between Edinburgh's unique light, atmosphere ,streets and skyline towards nightfall. The capital represents a strong element of who I am, and I'm continually drawn to paint a timeless view of the city I grew up in."

Paul Sandby Bicentenary

The National Gallery of Scotland is holding a bicentenary for Paul Sanby. The draughtsman turned landcape artist and founding member of the Royal Academy in 1768. This exhibition is in collaboration with Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

I was lucky enough to catch the opening of the exhibition. Something about entering the National Gallery of Scotland after closing hours makes every art work more intriguing. Sandby's unique talent for conveying detail really is something to behold.

Paul Sandby was the Chief Draughtsman of North Britain (Scotland). Born in Nottingham Sandby later went to Edinburgh where he became a mapmaker for the military survey of Scotland, which become central to the country after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.

Whilst in Edinburgh Sandby sketched many viewpoints of the cityscape such as 'View of Edinburgh' 1750 which portrays an Edinburgh panorama looking out to the Firth of Forth from Castle Bank.

Sandby had a fascination of topographical, architectural and genre studies in Edinburgh which stretched to pioneering tours of the Highlands of which led to numerous prints.

Thomas Gainsborough once said that Paul Sandby is "the only man of Genius...[for] real views from Nature." In Sandby's travels he came across lots of traffic which he depicted in his art. In Edinburgh Sandby appears to have rejoiced in the rich promenade of contemporary life. He often depicts the bustling city streets and the unique characters that roam them, from the humble merchants to aristocracy. They are all captured magnificently in the highest detail.

He also depicted many historic architectural subjects. He was fascinated by castles, ruins and variable city centres. The secret to Sandby's accuracy is his mastery of perspective and texture, and how buildings are located in a landscape.

Sandby drew on his interest in Scottish antiquities in later life as captured in 'Views of Roslyn Castle South West of Edinburgh' 1780. It shows aristocratic amateurs sketching the scene in the foreground with a portable camera obscura, a devise Sandby himself often utilized.

Commissioned views of the country side became popular. They displayed a sense of wealth, taste and prudent management. Sandby was interested in depicting a remarkable range within this category. His works consisted of royal and aristocratic parks, domestic gardens, agricultural, industrial and imaginative views. A good example of this period is 'View of Vinster at Boxley, Kent' 1794. Commissioned by James Whatman II, a paper maker.

In later life Sandby turned to portraying rural life. He loved depicting the dramatic such as the melodramatic woodland scene of 'The Rainbow' 1800, arguably one of his greatest works.

What is amazing is that through Sandby's astonishing detail, one is able to recognise a 200 year old view as it stands today. This exhibition gives a great insight to everyday life of the 18th century.