Incredible artwork of iconic Scottish brands created using biro pens

These incredible pieces of colourful artwork featuring the Beano, Oor Wullie, Irn-Bru and Tunnocks Teacakes were created using Bic biro pens.

Artist Nicola McBride used her passion for growing up in Dundee to capture depictions of all the things she loved as a youngster in the 1980s.

Raised in Ardler, her parents worked in public houses and she has fond memories of sitting on the floor outside opening hours making drawings. 

Nicola, now based in Perth, is one of 120 participants in the Perthshire Open Studios Festival which takes place from 6-11 September.

Nicola McBride. Credit: Colin Hattersley

The festival highlights include painting, original prints and photography through to ceramics, jewellery, woodwork, and textiles.

‘My family was all from Dundee – my gran was a jute worker and my dad was the manager for The Ambassador,’ Nicola said. 

‘I would go in the lounge, when it wasn’t open to customers, and sit on the floor and make drawings. 

‘I loved the way the light shone through the optics and was fascinated by the graphics of the brands.  

‘I was a big fan of things like The Beano and Tunnocks and I really loved all the branding. Nowadays a lot of my art is about childhood memories.’

Others at the festival, like potter Shona Mackenzie, are inspired by Scotland’s landscapes and environment. 

Shona’s studio is a former beekeeper’s shed.

Shona Mackenzie. Credit: Colin Hattersley

She has turned the shed where her father kept his beekeeping equipment into a pottery – with seven hives full of bees live just behind. 

‘It’s lovely to work in my father, Torquil’s, old bee shed. It’s such a beautiful place, the views and the countryside are spectacular,’ she said. 

‘My pottery is very functional, tea pots, bowls and mugs. I suppose it’s because something I really enjoy is having a cup of tea and thinking ‘that’s a lovely mug’. 

‘A lot of my work is inspired by the weather as well. So, this being Scotland, I make ‘cloud dishes’ and “rain cups”.’

Heather Budge-Reid, Chair of POS, said: ‘It’s a welcome return for the festival, which took a break last year. 

‘We are looking forward to opening up a whole world of wonderful Scottish art and craft to visitors from all across the country. 

‘It’s a fabulous chance to discover the amazing creativity of Perth and Kinross – and to enjoy spending time exploring the city and the countryside – and to find all those hidden place we don’t normally get to see.’

Read more on Scottish Field’s News pages. 

Plus, don’t miss the September issue of Scottish Field magazine.