Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Star Trek star portrait puts Inverness artist on shortlist for national award

The winner will be awarded £1,000 and a solo show.

To go with story by John Ross. Invferness artist shortlisted for award Picture shows; Frank To. Inverness. Supplied by Frank To Credit Euan Anderson Date; 24/10/2023
Frank To is set to give a lecture at Harvard University. Image: Euan Anderson.

Renowned Inverness artist Frank To has been shortlisted for a prestigious new award for his portrait of Star Trek and X Men actor Sir Patrick Stewart.

The UHI Inverness lecturer, known for his ignited gunpowder work, is in the running for the Guildford House Open Art Prize.

The portrait, entitled Kindest Regards, will be one of only 100 to go on show at an exhibition at the 17th century Guildford House in Surrey from November 25 to January 6.

More success for Inverness artist

Guildford House Gallery and art consultants Parker Harris created the new award and exhibition this year to showcase the best contemporary art from across the country.

The winner will be awarded £1,000 and a solo show.

Sir Patrick is one of a number of high-profile collectors of Frank To’s art and unique technique.

It is the latest success for the artist who was recently elected as co vice-president of the 132-year-old Society of Scottish Artists.

He is also the only Scottish artist selected to exhibit at the Royal Ulster Academy exhibition at the Ulster Museum in Belfast with his work Black Bird.

In addition, his piece My Name is Bee has been selected for the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts exhibition in Sidmouth, Devon.

The portrait of Sir Patrick Stewart is done with ignited gunpowder

He said: “I think if I’m being honest, the whole series of successes I’ve been having is humbling.

“I know that when it comes to my art, I want to continuously push myself so that I can discover new methods and possibilities such as my portrait of Sir Patrick Stewart who I know personally.

“By exceeding my limits both mentally and physically I’m striving to achieve a level of mastery in my craft which is contemporary art drawing draughtsmanship.

Enhancing contemporary art

“My constant need to challenge and better myself in my craft is now recognised by various art establishments.”

He said he is “honoured and humbled” to be elected as the co-vice president of the Society of Scottish Artists.

“I’m hoping with my recent appointment I can actually help contribute to the society and be part of its journey to further enhance its stance on the international contemporary art platform.”

My Name is Bee has been selected for the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts exhibition in Devon.

Last year To’s artworks were accepted for both the Royal Ulster Show and Royal Academy Show in Bristol.

He also had his work exhibited alongside that of King Charles at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol.

For more Inverness news and updates, join our local Facebook group.

Conversation