Ask anyone familiar with the history of Scotland and they will tell you that Dundee was famous for Jam, Jute and Journalism. With a decline in these industries Dundee has had to adapt and an important aspect of regeneration is a new focus on heritage and the arts. Duncan of Jordanstone Art School is highly regarded throughout Europe and produces a steady stream of artists whose professional careers attract critical acclaim.

Two such artists are Charles Monteith Walker and Deborah Phillips who feature in Just Art's April show. Both make use of strong colour and bold expression in their work, but while Deborah's work is strongly rooted in the Scottish Landscape, Charles's work finds inspiration in more exotic climes.

Both are at the forefront of the New Colourist trend in Scottish art and are both highly collectable.

Charles Monteith Walker was born in 1957 in Falkirk and attended Duncan of Jordanstone from 1978-1982. His influences at this time were mainly from Alberto Morrocco and David McClure.

After graduation he concentrated mainly on landscape drawings in soft pastels. In the mid 1990’s his style began to change after several visits to Italy, Spain and Portugal. The warmth of light and colour, the piazzas, churches and towns provided Charles with a new, rich source of inspiration.

His work became bolder in colour and composition, mixing imagery from Scottish and Mediterranean landscape.

Since 2000 Charles has worked on larger scale pieces that are highly distinctive both in style and subject matter. His work is held in private collections both in the United Kingdom and abroad and he is now regarded as one of our most original contemporary Scottish artists.

Deborah Phillips was born in Dundee in 1965 and first exhibited work at the Royal Scottish Academy and Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Art annual exhibitions at the age of 14. She attended Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee where she studied printed textiles and graduated with BA (hons) in 1987.

Following graduation she took up the post of Merchandise Designer with the National Trust for Scotland. A similar post with Historic Scotland followed. She also worked with an international art and craft materials company.

Her design work has been featured in several leading women's magazines.

Now concentrating on painting in acrylics, she exhibits extensively throughout Scotland and England with work in corporate and private collections throughout the world

Just Art is an independent gallery showing contemporary work by artists living and working in Scotland. Established in 1994 the gallery celebrates its tenth anniversary in May and is a testament to the strength and quality of contemporary art in Scotland.

Located in the historic village of Fochabers the gallery is easily accessible and approximately an hours drive from both Aberdeen and Inverness. The gallery website at www.justart.co.uk provides global access to exhibitions with regular clients as far away as Brazil, France and the USA.

The object in establishing the gallery was to take the mystique out of buying art. Galleries can be intimidating places and Just Art endeavours to provide a comfortable environment where clients are free to browse and find a suitable piece of work. The emphasis is on providing access to high quality, affordable art in relaxed surroundings.

A full range of fine and Applied Arts is included in the programme of monthly exhibitions featuring work by both established and rising artists.