Brian Speedie
"In painting, I've always been drawn to oils. It's something to do with the way that time for contemplation and change is inherent the medium. I’m never more conscious of time than when I’m working with a lump of Bavarian limestone from the Jurassic period in stone lithography. The process offers similar opportunities for contemplation and change."
My work on stone has been mainly non-figurative, and the best of it (or at least the work that most satisfies me) shows a dialogue or tension between things, marks that happen and are allowed to do their own thing, and those that are quite deliberate and managed. It makes some kind of sense to me, visually, as a way of proceeding. I live in Madrid for part of the year and the spirit of Goya, which still pervades the city, is a big influence. This explains a return to drawing and figuration in my recent etchings and aquatints and monotypes.
BIOGRAPHY
Brian Speedie's first degree was in Biochemistry, and he has a long-standing interest in the philosophy of science. While this has had an influence on his work, his reading in poetry and philosophy is perhaps more significant. In recent times he's been thinking most about the work of Wallace Stevens, John Ashberry, T.S. Elliot, and William James. When he's working, he usually has some source material loosely in mind, often fragments of poems that have affected him, exploring the emotional landscapes they evoke before rationality manages to nail them down. The poetry and music of Spain is a constant source of inspiration.
-
Harmonium, 2023Brian Speedie, Harmonium, 2023200.00
-
How to Live, What to Do, 2023Brian Speedie, How to Live, What to Do, 2023320.00
-
The Rose Garden, 2023
-
Batgirl Returns (After Tintoretto), 2022
-
The Curious Sheep-Girl, 2022Brian Speedie, The Curious Sheep-Girl, 2022200.00
-
Untitled, 2020, 2020£310
-
New members’ exhibition ‘Journey’ at Edinburgh Printmakers
Celebrating the Journey of Edinburgh Printmakers’ Workshop from its beginning in 1967 5 Jan 2024Hung across Galleries 1 & 2 at Edinburgh Printmakers, ‘Journey’ celebrates the ‘journey’ of Edinburgh Printmakers' Workshop itself. Starting as a small collective of imaginative...Read more -
Member Spotlight: Brian Speedie
25 Jul 2022A selection of Brian Speedie's prints are available in the shop. I've been a studio member of Edinburgh Printmakers for five years. I visited...Read more