George Birrell British

George trained at Glasgow School of Art form 1967-1971, during which he attended Hospitalfield Summer School in 1970. After graduating, George trained to be a teacher and the taught Art and Design in schools from 1972-1980. He then taught Art, Design and Photography in further education colleges for 1983-1998. He has been a full-time artist since 1998.

George lives and paints in East Lothian and enjoys painting his impressions of the east of Scotland. His paintings do not depict specific places, but rather an amalgam of different views and perspectives. He paints using oil paints and enjoys the fact that oil forces the artist to paint slowly, thereby affording plenty of thinking and planning time. He loves complementary opposites - for example orange and blue or yellow and purple - and loves to juxtapose light and dark. George does not paint figures but his paintings feel inhabited due to hints such as a light on in a window, or a hint of lace curtains. There is great depth and balance in his compositions.