EDINBURGH.- Ross Ryan takes visitors to The Scottish Gallery on a journey From Crinan to Catterline this September. Balancing the life of a sailor and painter, Ross has spent 3 years predominantly painting outside, often on deck of his 1947 wooden fishing boat the Sgrabh.




Since studying at Grays School of Art in Aberdeen from 1993-1997, Ross has been continually on the move. Recording in changing mediums that suit the various and often complex environments, Ryan has sailed the Atlantic on several occasions and travel bursaries have taken him to The Caribbean and The Arctic and he has held artist residencies in Poland, Finland and Ecuador.

In 2021, Ryan set out from the fishing village of Crinan - where he was born and still has a studio that perches above the harbour and enjoys spectacular views across the sound towards Jura – and undertook a journey of 1,300 miles around the Scottish coast. This included a run out to Saint Kilda, then heading north rounding Cape Wrath, sailing along the north coast to Wick and from there down to Moray and eventually to Peterhead. There, he moored Sgarbh and made his way to Catterline. His return voyage was the shortcut back through the Caledonian Canal.

For his exhibitions at The Scottish Gallery, Ross has chased heavy weather across the islands of Scotland, painting seascapes full of the energy and drama of Atlantic storms. By enduring and working in the harshest environments, both physical and emotional, his work offers the viewer a documentary style direct insight into the subject, work and creative process.