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Showcase celebrates Perthshire artist’s journey from through the windscreen to gallery wall

Former off-road driving instructor Libby Scott is among the artists taking part in a special Perthshire Open Studios exhibition.

Libby Scott holding a large landscape painting in a garden.
Libby Scott is taking part in the Perthshire Open Studios showcase. Image: Colin Hattersley Photography.

Working as an off-road driving instructor meant Libby Scott was often at the mercy of the Perthshire weather.

But now she’s turning those windscreen impressions into paintings which capture the local landscape in all its changing glory.

Libby, from Stanley, is one of more than 100 artists who will be taking part in next month’s Perthshire Open Studios festival.

Her work will also be on display at a free exhibition in the Barn Gallery at The Bield, Blackruthven.

The show, from September 2-11, will feature more than 230 pieces from artists and makers from all across Perth and Kinross.

Libby will be showing four paintings inspired by the land and skyscapes of northern Highland Perthshire.

Libby Scott with one of her paintings.
Libby Scott will be taking part in the Perthshire Open Studios exhibition. Image: Colin Hattersley.

The former driving instructor turned to art after inheriting her 98-year-old grandmother’s painting set.

She said: “When I was working I noticed the sheer drama of the weather, and all the panoramic views, and increasingly spent time drawing and painting the places I saw.

“Perthshire is quite astonishing, it has just about everything, from lochs and rivers to mountains and wide open spaces. And each of the seasons is spectacular in its own way.”

Exhibition is a showcase for what Perthshire Open Studios has to offer

As well as paintings, the exhibition will feature original prints, photography, ceramics, jewellery and more.

Ceramicist Ceri White, from Dunning, will be showing three pedestal pots.

Ceramicist Ceri White with colourful pots in her studio.
Ceramicist Ceri White. Image: Colin Hattersley Photography.

She will also be welcoming visitors to her studio in Perth during the Perthshire Open Studios Festival, which runs from September 6-11.

Ceri said: “The showcase is a great opportunity for people to see work by lots of Perthshire artists and makers all in one place – and often inspires them to visit particular studios during the festival.”

Another artist Babs Pease, whose studio is a converted cow barn on a small farm near Rumbling Bridge, makes nature-inspired artwork.

There will also be the chance to see paintings by Kinross landscape artist Nichol Wheatley and by Jonathan Sainsbury, a Scottish wildlife and landscape artist whose pictures hang in public and private collections worldwide.

Babs Pease holding up one of her paintings.
Babs Pease’s artwork will also be part of the Perthshire Open Studios showcase. Image: Colin Hattersley Photography.

Heather Budge-Reid, Chair of Perthshire Open Studios, said: “The showcase is a fantastic way for us to highlight and celebrate the scale and breadth of the creative talent of beautiful Perthshire in all its glory and to offer a foretaste of what you can enjoy during the festival.”

The exhibition at the Barn Gallery is open from 10am to 5pm every day.

Beyond the festival, now in its 13th year, Perthshire Open Studios has created a Perthshire Creative Trail.

It features 15 galleries and 32 artists’ studios (including 17 in the Perth Creative Exchange) where people can meet artists, visit galleries and discover more attractions in the area.

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