Sonas Maclean

Sonas was born and brought up on the coast of Caithness, northern Scotland where she learned an appreciation of the sea and a love of coastal scenes and small harbours. Moving to Edinburgh she trained at the Edinburgh College of Art (Batchelor of Arts (Drawing & Painting) Hons).  She is now living and painting in Fife.

Combining colour, tone and composition to capture the harmonies and moods in the landscapes, she finds the way the land meets the sea fascinating and compelling, liking her work to be a true memory of a place, unconstrained by strict perspectives & photographic 'realism'. She likes her paintings to look like what you think of when you remember a place not like what you see when you take a photograph.

Her interest in birds was initially in the shore birds and has now expanded due to her huge interest in gardening and its wildlife.  Sitting in her garden watching them going about their lives, Sonas captures their characters, shapes and colours.

Sonas has received many awards, including:

Elizabeth Greenshields Award 1990 & 1995;
Dunfermline District Arts Council commission;
Ian Massie Memorial Quaich 1997 & 2001;
Dunfermline Council gift to Dalai Lama 2004.