Donald Young

I paint music icons from the past and present in an expressive and colourful style, acrylics on stretched ready to hang canvas. I found my self looking back to my childhood being one of the last people in our town in Scotland to get a colour TV. Mum finally bought one with her tomato picking money for the Royal Wedding 1982! I bought my first painting with my tattie picking money aged 14 about the same time, I still have the painting, the TV is long gone, just some anecdotal evidence of the longevity of art. My motto in life is "always onward" regardless of what life throws at you, sudden and long term illness ended my design and build career and headed me in the direction of art. I also used to like to row a boat, where you look at where you have been while making progress into the unknown. This is reflected in my artwork as I look back on those days watching Top of The Pops in black and white and imagining what it would be like in colour. This sums up my practice today, living in a very grey environment colour is vital to lift the gloom in the room, so I take clips of images in black and white and compose a colourful reimagination of the people who have formed our musical past and the people who are forming our musical future. I ...

Having studied in design and build I have an HNC in Landscape Construction.
With illness cutting my career short I have used my life experiences to shape my artistic journey with no formal qualifications in art.

May 2026 Ideal Home Show Glasgow
Jan 2025 Lids Galashiels
Sept 2025 Big Art Show Edinburgh
Dec 2026 Fitzrovia London
Nov 2023 Sketchy Beats Edinburgh