Viewing Room
Welcome to the Castle Gallery Viewing Rooms where you will find highlights from our exhibitions - past and present - focussing on key works, inspirational ideas and telling the stories behind the show. Best viewed on a desktop browser.
FIONA WATSON
3th - 25th October 2025
'Out of the Blue'
Cyanotypes and etchings inspired by happenstance, music, state of mind and the cultural history of the treasured blue pigment.
'Out of the Blue'
Cyanotypes and etchings inspired by happenstance, music, state of mind and the cultural history of the treasured blue pigment.
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Everything is Connected, cyanotype, 50 x 47cm
Fiona Watson’s solo exhibition ‘Out of the Blue’ has seen a flurry of creativity and new work, embracing the possibilities of cyanotype. For the first time at the Castle Gallery, it also includes paintings. Fiona is one of Scotland’s most well-known printmakers and is featured in a new book ‘Reframing Women Printmakers’.
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Time Will Tell, cyanotype, 44 x 51cm
You may ask – what is a cyanotype?
Based on a photographic printing process, a cyanotype is created when paper that has been treated with a mixture of iron compounds is exposed to UV light resulting in a distinctive cyan blue image. Once rinsed in water the chemical reaction is halted, and the image is fixed. This technique was first used in the mid 19th century but is now appreciated by many artist-printmakers for the ethereal dreamy quality of the resulting images. It is especially effective when pressed natural foliage or images drawn or printed on transparent sheets are laid on the treated paper.
Based on a photographic printing process, a cyanotype is created when paper that has been treated with a mixture of iron compounds is exposed to UV light resulting in a distinctive cyan blue image. Once rinsed in water the chemical reaction is halted, and the image is fixed. This technique was first used in the mid 19th century but is now appreciated by many artist-printmakers for the ethereal dreamy quality of the resulting images. It is especially effective when pressed natural foliage or images drawn or printed on transparent sheets are laid on the treated paper.
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Watermark by the River Shira, cyanotype, 50 x 61cm
Fiona’s series of ‘Watermark’ cyanotypes were made outside in collaboration with Scottish Lochs and Rivers.
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The Correspondence, etching, 30 x 30cm
Fiona has been very productive on her etching press with many new designs inspired by her poetic connection to the natural world and her iconic typewriter series gets a makeover with ’The Correspondence’.
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Catch A Falling Star, etching, 23 x 23cm - Forest Ensemble, etching, 30 x 30cm - Feels Like Rain, etching with watercolour, 23 x 23cm
You may ask – what is an etching?
Etching starts with a metal plate, usually copper, zinc or steel, which is coated in an acid-resistant wax or ‘ground’. There are many different ways to create a design, some of which are highly technical involving photo-processes and resists. For the basic, direct method the artist draws lines into the ground using a needle-like tool exposing the metal underneath. The plate is then immersed in a bath of acid for a set period of time where the acid erodes or ‘bites’ the exact same drawn image into the metal below through the lines which have been exposed with the removal of the ground. The longer the plate is in the acid, the deeper the bitten line, therefore the more ink it will hold and the darker it will print. ‘Stop-out varnish’ can be used on the plate to halt the progress of the acid in order to keep lighter lines or white highlights. The etching is printed by forcing ink into the bitten lines and tonal areas of the plate. The surface of the plate is wiped clean, dampened paper placed on top and it is then run through an etching press.
We have an excellent book for consultation in the gallery by Robert Adam and Carol Robertson titled ‘Intaglio’ which explains in detail the methods of creating etchings and our online guide here.
Etching starts with a metal plate, usually copper, zinc or steel, which is coated in an acid-resistant wax or ‘ground’. There are many different ways to create a design, some of which are highly technical involving photo-processes and resists. For the basic, direct method the artist draws lines into the ground using a needle-like tool exposing the metal underneath. The plate is then immersed in a bath of acid for a set period of time where the acid erodes or ‘bites’ the exact same drawn image into the metal below through the lines which have been exposed with the removal of the ground. The longer the plate is in the acid, the deeper the bitten line, therefore the more ink it will hold and the darker it will print. ‘Stop-out varnish’ can be used on the plate to halt the progress of the acid in order to keep lighter lines or white highlights. The etching is printed by forcing ink into the bitten lines and tonal areas of the plate. The surface of the plate is wiped clean, dampened paper placed on top and it is then run through an etching press.
We have an excellent book for consultation in the gallery by Robert Adam and Carol Robertson titled ‘Intaglio’ which explains in detail the methods of creating etchings and our online guide here.
How the Guinea Fowl Lost its Spots, etching, 33 x 43cm
‘How the Guinea Fowl Lost Its Spots’ is available in a small edition of only 10 for this exhibition and follows on from the sell-out success of the previous guinea fowl etching that features in the Royal Academy 2026 calendar. The RA guinea fowl is featured, along with many other of Fiona’s original prints, in a new book ‘Reframing Women Printmakers’ by writer and art historian P. L. Henderson.
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Buachaille Etive Mor, acrylic on board, 30 x 30cm
The Castle Gallery is delighted that for the first time in this gallery, some of Fiona’s paintings will be included in the exhibition, including ‘Buachaille Etive Mor’
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Fiona Watson was born in 1952 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. After a degree in Biological Sciences at Leicester University (1971-1974) and time spent as a journalist, she studied printmaking at the Glasgow Print Studio. Her imagery focusses on ordinary everyday things but rearranged in a slightly unexpected way, influenced by her fascination with mathematics, patterns in nature and Japanese culture. She says:
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Fiona printing in the Glasgow Print Studio
“So ultimately, I’m trying to get people to see things the way I see them or things they don’t see or notice…The beauty of the ordinary mundane, overlooked. Chance and circumstance play a large role in what I photograph and paint – a lot of these things that I play with are immediately available- sticks, stones, bits of paper, ephemera -I just rearrange the pieces to draw attention to it, but I also try to leave a bit of space for the viewer to make it their own. On a typical day I will photograph stuff in the morning before going into the studio.”
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What brings happiness to Fiona?
“Ideas floating in out of the blue, working with other artists, gatherings of friends and family with good food and music, a new song, sunny skies, something from nothing, humour.”
“Ideas floating in out of the blue, working with other artists, gatherings of friends and family with good food and music, a new song, sunny skies, something from nothing, humour.”