Art Makes Lives Better

Tom Mackenzie was a printmaker ( 1947 - 2018), known for his Scottish landscapes. Although he was born in the Shetlands, his family moved to home in Portree, Isle of Skye and this was where his home was to be. He studied in London, where he grew more interested in printmaking than painting, where etching became very much his métier. His art was made from the unique and rich landscape of Skye, sea lochs with rocky islands, jagged coastlines and of course The Cuillins.

His art has a wide ranging appeal and two of his works are to be found in the Government's collection. An early print, At The Ebb, which John Taylor, a colleague and long time friend described as “like a vigorous action painting of sea, rocks and weed among strong wind blowing squally showers across a dark promontory” is appropriately housed at the Department of the Environment in London. A Mackenzie etching and aqua-tint adorns the wall of the British embassy in Muscat, Oman. His was one of the few Scottish printmakers to earn a living solely from his work.

John Taylor explains the special skills involved in capturing this natural beauty in print, saying: “His subtlety of light was astounding. Do not be fooled by the amazing simplicity in so many prints. It was hard fought, the plate often undergoing intensive workings. This was the process that Tommy enjoyed. An image moving down a direction and then back through a process of selection and discarding. Sometimes his plates changed like the Scottish weather he so deftly portrayed'.

https://www.pressreader.com/australia/shepparton-news/20180320/page/1/textview

Artwork in good condition.