Art studio “dream comes true” for Ingrid Grieve thanks to Council grant

A lifelong ambition to open a purpose-built art studio became a reality for Orkney artist Ingrid Grieve earlier this year thanks to assistance from the Council.

Toumal Art Studio sits within Ingrid’s garden in Orphir and enjoys breathtaking views across Scapa Flow – an area, among many others throughout the county, to provide an endless source of inspiration for the artist.

Despite always having a desire to paint as a professional artist, it wasn’t until she was in her forties that she decided the moment was right to pursue her dream. Giving up full-time work, she undertook formal training at Orkney College, studying first for an HNC and then HND in art, successfully achieving those with merit.

She graduated in 2009 and set up a shed in her garden, the beginning of her artistic journey in earnest. In 2013, she set up Toumal Art Studio as a company – “toumal” is an old Orkney dialect word meaning “the field belonging to the house”.

You won’t find any people in her paintings, Ingrid’s work is very much about place, but she'll often incorporate some elements of human interaction with the Orkney environment, recognising the part generations of farmers and fishermen have played in shaping the landscape. She uses mainly water-based oil paints.

Ingrid said: “I always wanted to paint Orkney but it was only when I was in my 40's that I found the time to go to Orkney College. After leaving the College in 2009 I was lucky enough to be offered a few exhibitions both solo and with other artists and by 2014 I left work completely to concentrate fully on painting. At that point I joined Creative Orkney and the Creative Trail. I have gathered a good local and international clientele mostly through being part of Creative Orkney, Destination Orkney and social media. Some collectors have 5-13 pieces and are everywhere from throughout the UK and internationally to the likes of USA, Australia, Norway and Japan.

“I try to show how I 'feel' about Orkney in my paintings and use texture, colour and even real grasses and barley in my work. I hope to put across a sense of 'place' to the viewers.

“The purpose-built studio allows me to share some of my experiences with those who come to view my works. They can see first-hand some of what inspires me when they look out over Scapa Flow and the wonderful landscapes all around.”

The dream of a new studio first started after a chance meeting with one of the Council’s Development Officers.

“I met Morag Robertson at an event and was telling her what I was doing and how I needed more space and was planning to build a bigger space with better access for visitors etc than the garden shed.

“She suggested that I might be eligible for an economic development grant.”

Despite finding the prospect of a business plan and grant application process quite daunting, Ingrid decided to go for it!

She was successful in getting the economic development grant for 30 per cent of the costs – which made her dream of a purpose-built studio achievable.

“Work started in August 2021 and the completion certificate was issued in May 2022. This year has been really busy and passed all expectations. Visitors love the open plan space where they can see my work in progress, the completed work in the gallery space and the views over Scapa Flow.

“I can’t tell you how pleased I am with my new studio and gallery. It really is a dream come true and I’m so grateful for all the help and support I’ve had over the years to get me here.”

 Toumal Art Studio is open to the public from Wednesday-Saturday 11am-5pm, although Ingrid is happy to open at other times by arrangement. Get in touch via enquiries@toumalart.co.uk

You can take a look here: https://www.toumalart.co.uk/

For more information about the help that is available head here: Orkney - Local Support | Business Gateway | Business Gateway (bgateway.com) 01856 886666 business.gateway@orkney.gov.uk