Scottish watercolourist Pete Gibb has had his painting, inspired by autumn in Wagga, selected for an exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy. Photo: Supplied.
A watercolour painting depicting autumn in Wagga Wagga has been put on display at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh.
The work was painted by lifelong watercolourist Pete Gibb, who visits Wagga every two years to see his daughter and her family.
The Scottish artist was one of the few artists to have work selected by the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, a group that is patronised by King Charles III.
Mr Gibb’s daughter, Jenny Skidmore, said she and her husband moved to Wagga more than 10 years ago, leading to Pete visiting and ultimately being inspired by the Wagga landscape, colours and architecture.
“My husband and I moved to Australia in 2012. My husband worked for Specsavers optometrists and got a bit of a transfer over here,” she said.
“Then in 2014, we moved here so that he could buy in as a partner at Specsavers in Wagga.
“Every second year, my parents will come and visit to see our two children and us.
“My dad, who studied at Duncan of Jordanston Art College, which is in Dundee in Scotland, was really captivated by all the colours and the wildlife and birds in particular.
“He just absolutely loves Wagga. He loves the architecture and he takes lots of photographs when he comes, and then he will work from photographs to do his paintings when he’s back in Scotland.”
Jenny said her father had been an artist his entire life, training to be a painter from the moment he finished school.
“I believe he started art school in the late 1960s, then he went on and trained as a teacher,” she said.
“He was an art teacher for years and was the head of the department in the school where he worked. He was always involved with art in some way.
“He retired when he was 60, and since then, he has just basically become a full-time artist. A lot of his paintings are seascapes of the east coast of Scotland, which is where we’re from.”
Pete took inspiration from Wagga’s colours, architecture, wildlife and First Nations history. Photo: Supplied.
Jenny said it was an incredible feat to have artwork showcased at the Royal Scottish Academy.
“Having an artwork selected by the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) is very prestigious, even more so when you’re not a member, which my dad is not,” she said.
“They tend to take preference for members when they’re selecting for the exhibition, so it’s very rare for someone who isn’t to get picked.
“It’s quite a huge exhibition as well; my mother went to the opening over the weekend, she was there for an hour and a half and thinks she saw just over half the artworks.”
Jenny said it felt special to have her new home of Wagga presented by her father and showcased to her old home in Scotland.
“It’s quite exciting. I feel it sort of puts Wagga on the map in the UK,” she said.
“It’s cool having things like the colours of Wagga, the picket fence and even a galah, which is all very regional Australia, shown over there.
“One of the things my dad was very proud of was the circular aspect in the middle of the work. He said he tried to display the Indigenous flag and display the Wiradjuri people, who lived here before anyone, in a respectful yet artistic fashion.
“We’re just all really proud of dad.”
Autumn, Wagga Wagga will be showcased at the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) on The Mound, Edinburgh, from 15 February to 11 March.
To learn more about the exhibition, visit the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour website.
