by Vivienne Nicol, Evening Times
A Glasgow artist has won Scotland's top arts prizes with a
dramatic painting of the new Riverside Museum.
Mother-of-two Patricia Cain gave up a well-paid job as a lawyer
to pursue an interest in painting.
She has now won this year's Aspect Prize and a cheque for
£15,000 which was presented by Taggart star Alex Norton at a
ceremony in London.
Mrs Cain's winning painting showed a highly detailed section of
the construction of the new museum on the banks of the Clyde.
Originally from the Lake District she moved to Glasgow nine
years ago.
She qualified as a solicitor and practised law in Scotland but
decided to give it up to accept a scholarship at Glasgow School of
Art to study full-time.
Mrs Cain, 46, said: I gave up a lot to be able to make art and
in the last five years money has been my biggest worry.
"We really have been living on the breadline as most artists do.
I went from having a stable job to being a struggling artist and
winning the Aspect Prize makes all the difference in the
world."
Competition judge Selina Skipworth, keeper of the Fleming
Collection in London, said: "Mrs Cain was a clear winner as the
work she entered will stand the test of time and provide future
viewers with a historic record of the construction of this
remarkable building on Glasgow's waterfront which has been designed
by eminent architect Zaha Hadid.
"I have selected Mrs Cain's Riverside Museum interior to become
part of the permanent collection of the Fleming Collection."
Reproduced with the permission of the Herald and Times