Alma WolfsonDA

Alma Wolfson was born in 1942. Between 1960 and 1964 Wolfson studied under Robert Stewart at Glasgow School of Art and gained her Diploma of Art (Textile Design). She has exhibited at many solo and mixed UK and Scottish exhibitions. In the process, her paintings have won awards including: Barclay Lennie Award Glasgow Society of Women Artists 1995; Millers Art Prize Paisley Art Institute 1995; Southern Art Club Trophy 1995 & 1998; Alva Purchase Prize SAAC 1998; Save the Children Award 2000.

Member and Past President of GSWA and The Southern Art Club.

Alma has exhibited throughout the UK including at the Royal Academy, London and the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh. She is a long-time exhibitor with Compass Gallery and Gerber Fine Art. Her work is held in many private and public collections including The Scottish Arts Council; Bank of Scotland; University of Glasgow and Painting in Hospitals.

Up until the late eighties her paintings were completed in gouache. After joining the Glasgow Southern Art Club she was encouraged to switch to oils and hasn't looked back.
Wolfson loves painting 'en plein air' in the Scottish landscape. She works in both oil and watercolour. Her painterly approach is suited and used to great effect when painting Landscapes or Seascapes. She is equally at home in her studio producing Still Life paintings. However it is the continuously changing Scottish weather patterns which are a constant source of inspiration and challenge.

Alma says “Careful consideration is not me: Turner was a pioneer on the spot painter and the excitement shows. I also love Claude Lorraine who was not! His timeless romanticism captivates me, I want to be there in his landscapes in the soft golden afterglow of a hot day.” Inspired by the works of Joan Eardley and William Gillies, she has developed her own style of painting, capturing many earthy colours, the effects of the weather and the changing light and atmosphere of Scottish landscapes in all seasons, embedding her own personal responses into her work.

Wolfson says “Painting and drawing are two separate activities for me. It is the feel of the paint on the brush, the inexactitude of the marks of a loaded brush, it is a record of my feelings on that day in that place, not a postcard of the view. The quality and fluidity is important, the manipulation of paint, pencil or pastels is like music, there are as many ways to compose a painting, as there is to compose a piece of music, each is unique.

Awards:

2025 P.A.I. The Art Club Award
2025 G.S.W.A. Special Award for outstanding work
2023 P.A.I. House for an Art Lover Award
2011 Concept Fine Art Award, PAI
2010 Henderson Award, Southern Art Club
2000 Save the Children Award
1999/1995/2023 Southern Art Club Trophy
1998 Alva Computer Purchase Prize SAAC
1998 The Laing Landscape Competition – Finalist
1995 Barclay Lennie Award, Glasgow Society of Women Artists
1995 Millers Art Prize, Paisley Art Institute