The Solway Shoreline - Evening Light

The Solway Shoreline - Evening Light, June 2003, monoprint and pastel by Donald Wilkinson (1937-).

This view of the Solway shoreline between Allonby and Silloth in Cumbria is part of a series of work specially commissioned from the artist in 2003 for the Tullie House collections. Wilkinson made a series of works about the Solway which he sketched in different light and weather conditions during 2003. Wilkinson has returned to the Solway often throughout his career to make drawings. The unique panorama, weather and light effects of this area are of particular interest to the artist.

Wilkinson is one of the region’s most important artists. He specialises in northern landscapes and the fleeting effects of light and weather; working on the spot to capture these changes. Surprisingly, the museum has very images of the Solway in the Art collections. This commission has therefore filled an important gap in our collections and also helped us to interpret the unique landscape of the Solway.

Talking about this commission Wilkinson said: “These images of the Solway are from ideas gathered on two different days on the stretch of the shoreline between Allonby and Silloth. It is a place I have known since childhood, we always had family holidays here in various cottages with views of the sea. I started drawing in early spring making brief studies of the sea and coastline. I continued working there in the morning or late afternoon at various intervals until the summer. It is an elemental landscape, sky, sea, and land where the light, a particular light, is the vital component which makes each visit a different experience. The unbroken views, long horizons and big skies were the inspiration for these works.”

Donald Wilkinson was born in Keswick, Cumbria and attended Carlisle College of Art 1953-7 and the Royal College of Art 1959-62. In 1980 he gave up his post as Lecturer in Printmaking at Chesterfield College of Art and moved back to Cumbria where he set up an etching studio. He was a close friend of the artist Winifred Nicholson, holidaying with her in the Hebrides. Wilkinson has gained an international reputation for his etching and landscape drawings. He has won numerous awards, exhibited widely and his work is held in numerous public and private art collections.