Gloria Wallington was born and educated in London, was a mature student at the Sir John Cass School of Art, City of London and is a landscape painter in oils. She has has exhibited widely in London, America, Scotland, Orkney and Shetland and has work in public collections. Gloria has lived in Orkney for the past 15 years.

The medium of monotype combined with the adventure of exploring Celtic myth and Pictish fantasy has given Gloria the opportunity to discover new elements and insights into herself.

The power of these images travels through the centuries. The beauty and simplicity of the inscribed lines of the Pictish Slab Stones speak imaginatively of those days. When faced with these images it is difficult not to be inspired

Stromness is a sheltered haven where the P&O ship docks daily from Mainland Scotland, bringing its summer visitors to the winding streets and byways fo the small town. Gloria lives here with her husband John, who is also an artist, in a 200 year old Merchant house in a tiny close with views of rooftops, the sea and the ever changing weather. Orkney has changed little since Viking times, one can still travel on horseback from the Cathedral town of Kirkwall to its sister town of Stromness. It is against this unique background and these strong links with the past that inspiration for Celtic art can constantly be renewed.

The Stones

'Etched into solid rock with great artistry and imagination are the images carved by Picts during the 6th to 9th Century - living witnesses to the life and fantasies of their age yet totally without interpretation. Mythological monsters and antlered beasts, fish tailed serpents and bird-headed humans all intertwine in superb interlacing patterns; riders soar on majestic mounts; magic symbols and musical instruments abound. In the later carvings, Christian symbolism too, plays its significant role in the intriguing, silent, drama, culminating ultimately in the starkly elegant Cross Slabs. By mixing together many of these symbols to create a 'situation' I have tried to depict something of the Pictish lifestyle in the medium of the 'one off' process of monotype.'

Gloria Wallington