About
Ruth Thomas is an Australian artist who graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2014 with a BA in Combined Studies. She has lived in Eskbank, Midlothian for over 30 years. She also has a home on the Far South Coast of NSW and the inspiration for her artwork is drawn from these two contrasting geographical landscapes.
She is fascinated by nature’s calligraphy: the myriad of lines on windswept beaches, tiny barnacles nestled in rock crevices, the delicate structures of rocks, shells and seaweed. Central to her art practice is the experience of walking, observing and building a bank of pictorial references from which she develops expressive compositions and intimate artists’ books. Whilst her artwork is deeply connected to the landscape, she does not seek to make accurate representation but rather portray her emotional response to the environment.
Ruth is constantly experimenting with different techniques in an endeavour to develop a deeper physical connection to the natural world and impart energy into her work. She makes handmade brushes from foraged materials: driftwood, gnarled twigs, coastal grasses and beach plastic. These brushes have a vitality of their own and make sensitive gestural marks, which give a freshness to her painting process. Printing directly onto delicate paper and recycled packaging to make collage materials, she builds up layers of texture before adding more considered detail. Other techniques employed include eco-dyeing fabrics and paper with pungent eucalyptus leaves, freehand machine stitching and Momigami, the ancient Japanese process of kneading paper into fabric.
Within all her work, there is a divergence between the spontaneous marks made by chance and more controlled intricate lines, and a discordance between the organic and the manufactured.
Awards
January 2024 – RSW Scottish Arts Club Award, RSW 143rd Annual Exhibition
January 2017 – Turcan Connell Prize, RSW 136th Annual Exhibition
November 2015 – John Gray Award, RSW 135th Annual Exhibition
January 2015 – RSW Student Prize, RSW 134th Annual Exhibition
Professional Membership
2019-present – The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW)
2020-2023 – Council Member of the RSW
Exhibitions
Oct 2024 – RETURN OF THE NATIVE
Birch Tree Gallery Edinburgh
Jan-Feb 2024 – The RSW 143rd ANNUAL EXHIBITION
RSA Buildings, Edinburgh
August 2013-2024 – PAPERWORK EXHIBITIONS
Edfringe, Edinburgh
Dec 2023 – MAKING WAVES
Upright Gallery, Edinburgh
Oct-Nov 2023 – JOURNEYS INTO NATURE WILD
Birch Tree Gallery, Edinburgh
Jan-Feb 2022 – The RSW 142nd ANNUAL EXHIBITION
RSA Buildings, Edinburgh
Nov-Dec 2021 – The RSW 141st ANNUAL EXHIBITION
RSA Buildings, Edinburgh
February 2021 – The RSW 140th ANNUAL EXHIBITION
Online Exhibition
November – December 2020 – RE-CONNECTIONS
Upright Gallery, Edinburgh
August 2019 – PAPER WORK 6
Venue 208, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
November 2018 – RSW 138th ANNUAL EXHIBITION
RSA Building, Edinburgh
August 2018 – PAPER WORK 5
Working Lines Collective, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
February – March 2018 – RSW 137th ANNUAL EXHIBITION
RSA Building, Edinburgh
September 2017 – A FINE LINE
Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh
August 2017 – PAPER WORK 4
Venue 208, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
July 2017 – LINES OF ENQUIRY
Mesh Artist Collective, The Maclaurin Gallery, Ayr
January 2017 – RSW 136th ANNUAL EXHIBITION
RSA Building, Edinburgh
November 2016 – REWORKED
Mesh Artists Collective, Sciennes Gallery, Summerhall, Edinburgh
September 2016 – ALL AT SEA
Porty Art Walk, St Philips Church, Portobello
August 2016 – PAPER WORK 3
Venue 208, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
August 2016 – COASTLINES
Fringe by the Sea, The Den, North Berwick
December 2015 – RSW 135th ANNUAL EXHIBITION
RSA Building, Edinburgh
August 2015 – COAST
Fringe by the Sea, North Berwick
August 2015 – PAPER WORK 2
Working Lines Collective, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
July 2015 – IMPRINT
Spiral Gallery, Bega, NSW, Australia
April 2015 – EARTHWORKS
Patriothall, Edinburgh
January 2015 – RSW 134th ANNUAL EXHIBITION
RSA Building, Edinburgh
November 2014 – PRINT3
Black Cube Collective, Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh
September 2014 – BCC ANNUAL SHOW
St Margaret’s House, Edinburgh
September 2014 – ARTROOTS
East Lothian
August 2014 – PAPER WORK
Working Lines Collective, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
August-September 2014 – ARTROOMS AT COCKENZIE HOUSE
Black Cube Collective
May 2014 – EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART DEGREE SHOW
November-December 2013 – SURFACE MEMORY
Mesh Group Exhibition, Tweeddale Museum, Peebles
August 2013 – WORKING LINES
Edinburgh Ski Club, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
March-April 2013 – ALCHEMY
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop
February-April 2011 – SKIN DEEP
Surgeon’s Hall Museum, Edinburgh
February 2011 – EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS MIX EXHIBITION
Patriothall Gallery, Edinburgh
Various exhibitions at Edinburgh College of Art including Side Salad, 75%, Combin(e)d Textile exhibitions and CCS Annual group shows 2011-2014