
Sheila Page, Artist
I live and work in Fife, Scotland. I trained at Glasgow School of Art as a textile artist but my work has developed over many years and I now focus on drawing and painting, working in my beautiful log cabin studio. I use a range of media on paper, including waterbased paint, pastels and charcoal.
Over time, the same subject themes have appeared again and again in my work. I particularly love things which have been shaped by different forces. This includes the rural landscape around my home, and you can see examples of this work in the Trees and Landscapes section. I have a particular affinity for objects which have been used but are now neglected and unloved. Projects have included broken down sheds and a forest of birch trees, misshapen by the prevailing wind.
For the past four years, I have been exploring collections of rusty, worn, well-used old tools. I find these functional objects extraordinarily beautiful. They are poignant and honest and they represent lives lived, work carried out and a myriad of things crafted, repaired or maintained. I aim to respect the character and purpose of the tools through exploring their soft, subtle colours and weathered surfaces, and also by focusing on good draftsmanship. Recently, I have been combining mechanical form with natural form, with unusual and surprising results.
I have exhibited widely in the UK, including at RSW and Meffan Open Forfar and several times at Off the Rails Arthouse in Fife. I am part of a group of artists which represented Scotland at the FabrianoinAcqurello International exhibition in May 2020 and will do so again in 2023. I am a regular participant in Open Studios North Fife, and also took part in the Cupar Arts Eden Art Trail in June 2019. I have shown work at Torrance Gallery in Edinburgh. In 2022, I had a solo exhibition called Time-Served at Fire Station Creative, Dunfermline and in April 2022, a two-person show called Construct at Gallery 47 Pittenweem.
Most of my work is for sale, and I also undertake commissions.