Scottish Portrait Awards winners named

THE winners of the Scottish Portrait Awards have been unveiled.

Sam Dalby from Moffat won the Scottish Portrait Award in Fine Art and £5,000 for his painting “Meeting Daniel”, a posthumous portrait of the artist’s mother, meeting her grandson, Daniel, for the first time.

‘Meeting Daniel’ by Sam Dalby

Gordon Mitchell, director of the Scottish Portrait Awards and chair of the fine art panel, said: “Not only is Sam’s technical mastery evident in ‘Meeting Daniel’ but the sensitivity in conveying his emotional engagement with the subject and the tangible joy of a grandmother holding her grandchild for the first time, made this sincere painting stand out.”

Kit Martin, a former medical and police photographer who lives in Newport-on-Tay, won the Scottish Portrait Award in Photography and £3,000 with her portrait of Mhairi, host and owner of Island Darkrooom in Lewis.

‘Mhairi’ by Kit Martin

Siobhán Coward, chair of the photography panel, said: “Mhairi’ may be the smallest photographic work in the exhibition, yet its ability to draw the viewer in to discover the many layers of film [that] make up the composition – from Mhairi’s gaze to her attire and surrounding interior of the bothy – gives it a tangible sense of depth and mystery.

“You want to lift this work, hold it, explore it – it has an exquisite appeal.”

Check out the full list of winners on the Scottish Portrait Awards’ website.

Read more stories on Scottish Field’s visual art pages.

Plus, don’t miss our Field Culture news pages in the September issue of Scottish Field magazine.