Ruth Nicol’s landscape paintings are among the most distinctive in contemporary art. In the last of his series on the Junor Gallery, Alan Riach talks to the artist about her work and exhibitions.
Alan Riach: Ruth, we’ve worked happily together for some years now on the “Landmarks” exhibition with Sandy Moffat and your association with Sandy goes back further. Could you tell us first how you came to painting originally?
Ruth Nicol: I was a late starter. I decided to go to evening classes at Edinburgh College of Art, and it was there that the very talented George Donald told me the essential thing: “You have to believe that you’re an artist. Nobody will believe you if you don’t believe in yourself.”