About

Fiona Macdonald Holt is a contemporary painter exploring the space between landscape, memory and abstraction. Born in the North East of England and now based in Nottingham, she draws on coastal environments and her family connections to Scotland and the Hebrides.

Beginning with observation, Fiona builds her paintings slowly, then scrapes, veils and partially erases the surface. Earlier marks and colours remain visible beneath later layers, much as a place can stay with us after we have left it. Working primarily in oils, often with cold wax, she is drawn to weathered surfaces, shifting light and the traces of human presence along the coast.

Horizons, vessels, reflections and fragments of light appear throughout her work as softened, remembered forms. Muted sea greens, chalk whites, deep blues and submerged earth tones connect shoreline and harbour with still life and interior space. Some paintings remain close to landscape; others move towards abstraction as their forms soften and boundaries dissolve.

“My paintings evoke places as they are remembered: familiar, shifting and unresolved.”

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Selected Galleries

  • Tolquhon Gallery, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

  • Finsbay Gallery, Isle of Harris, Scotland

  • The Jetty Gallery, Oban, Scotland

  • Iona Gallery, Isle of Iona, Scotland

Fiona’s paintings are held in private collections in the UK, United States, Canada, Australia, Norway and Sweden.

Selected Exhibitions and Events

  • Melbourne Art and Architecture Trail, Derbyshire, 2026

  • Wirksworth Art and Architecture Trail, Derbyshire, 2024, 2025 and 2026

  • Nottingham Contemporary Craft Fair, Nottingham, 2025 and 2026

  • Lady Bay Art and Architecture Trail, Nottingham, 2025 and 2026

  • People’s Prize Winner, Open Exhibition, Nottingham, 2022

Born in County Durham, Fiona holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Staffordshire University, having previously studied Art and Design at Jacob Kramer College of Art and Design in Leeds. She worked as a staff nurse before becoming a studio manager and graphic designer in publishing. Fiona now paints full time from her studio in Nottingham.