REGIONAL NEWS by Drazen Jorgic, Citywire 25th November 2010

by Drazen Jorgic

Around 70 Adam and Co clients spent an evening in London networking and viewing a series of exhibitions about bottle art, bespoke furniture and painting. Jeremy Vaughan, associate directors of Adam and Co, said the client event at its offices gave the wealth management firm an opportunity to better understand the needs and goals of its clients and solidify manager-client relations. As well as networking with Adam and Co's managers, Bottle Top- an environmental craft charity that aims to alleviate poverty- spoke to Adam and Co investors about its unusual work. Meanwhile Glaswegian figurative painter Frank To (pictured) was also on hand to discuss his work, along with furniture designer Tim Gosling.

FRANK PUTS ART IN SHOP WINDOW By Caroline Wilson, The Evening Times 15th June 2010

By Caroline Wilson

A Glasgow-based artist hopes his unusual city centre exhibition will encourage people to invest in fine art.

Frank To, whose fans include Star Trek star Sir Patrick Stewart, is showing his latest works across the windows of a vacant shop as part of a major Glasgow City Council regeneration project.

The installation, on a three-storey building in St Vincent Street, is part of the £300,000 Style Mile initiative, which aims to help the city beat off competition from out-of-town shopping centres, attract tourists and fight the recession.

To's unique painting technique is earning him international recognition among art critics and high-profile collectors as a leading contemporary figurative painter.

The Falkirk-born painter hopes the shop project, which was backed by Braewell Galleries, will open up fine art to a wider audience and encourage more of the public to see art as a good investment.

He said: "Artists and galleries in Scotland are suffering due to people not buying art. It's not that people can't afford to. It's just that a majority are afraid to do so.

"As well as inspiring the general public with this kind of project, I'm hoping it will also encourage them to go to art galleries to view the actual work.

"With many investors reluctant to put their hard-earned savings into stocks and shares at present, fine art offers an attractive alternative asset. Depending on the artist, the value of art rarely falls over the medium to long term."

Born in 1982, To has exhibited alongside some of the greats of the international contemporary art scene, such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst.

His work has featured in several national art fairs and shows in Glasgow, London, Bath and Dundee and in various episodes of the STV detective drama Rebus.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

CITY ART By Ruth Walker, Spectrum Magazine, Scotland on Sunday, 13th June 2010

STREET ART

By Ruth Walker

NO- ONE likes to see empty shop units covered with flyers and graffiti. Which is why Glasgow City Council have commissioned a group of artists to decorate them instead. Artists featured in the past have included Peter Howson and Laetitia Guibaud, and this week Frank To will be joining the illustrious list. His distinctive work- collected by Star Trek legend and newly knighted Patrick Stewart- will be transferred on to large vinyl panels and fitted to the windows of 73 St Vincent Street. It's all part of the Glasgow Style Mile Regeneration project, collaboration between the council and Braewell Galleries. The properties are donated by the owners, which means the only cost is for the vinyl. To says: "Artists and galleries in Scotland are suffering due to people not buying art. It's not that people can't afford to. It's just that a majority are afraid to do so. As well as inspiring the general public with this kind of project, I'm hoping it will also encourage them to go to art galleries to view the actual work."

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

GALLERY'S TRIUMPHANT DEBUT AT FAIR By Joy Watters. THE DUNDEE COURIER April 1st 2010

DUNDEE'S QUEEN'S Gallery has returned triumphant from its debut at the Glasgow Art Fair, writes Joy Watters, arts reporter.

The country's most prestigious contemporary art fair outside London attracts a vast range of buyers and the Queens contribution did much to fly the flag for Dundee and the east coast with several ofthe featured artists either resident or having trained in the city.

Gallery owner Joyce McGlone said they had had their appetites whetted by art fairs before but this was their first time in Glasgow and they were delighted to have sold so much.

This year 46 selected galleries from Scotland, the UK, Europe and beyond showed work for sale by 1000 artists, emerging talent to well- established. Now in its 15th year, the fair is in the heart of the city housed in white tented pavilions in George Square.

One of the first sales for the Queens was a work by renowned painter Jack Knox, who after studying at Glasgow School of Art and Paris came to teach at Duncan of Jordanstone in 1965.

The work of Frank To also proved popular after training at Huddersfield he took a Masters at Duncan of Jordanstone. Strongly influenced by the Old Masters, is approach to painting involves careful preparation of the canvas and he won the Deloitte Prize at the SSA exhibition in Dundee last year.

Catriona Miller has become one of the country's most prominent and original iconic painters and provoked a lot of interest at the Queens stand. She is now collected worldwide and since her sell- out degree show in 2005 at Gray's Aberdeen has become a favourite with the contemporary art buying public.

"It was gratifying that the work was so well received. A lot of people are now using the Scottish Art Council's Own Art scheme for purchasing work which offers interest- free credit up to £2000," said Joyce.

Anyone wanting to see the sort of work that took the buyers' fancy can visit the Queens Gallery in the Nethergate where on show is Paul Telford in a mixed exhibition. It runs until April 17.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

WELCOME TO MY WORLD by Ruth Walker, SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY March 21st 2010

Interview by Ruth Walker

Photograph by Robert Perry

YOUNG Scottish figurative artist Frank To has exhibited alongside the likes of Damien Hirst and Peter Howson, and has a number of high-profile collectors, including Star Trek legend Patrick Stewart.

He will be taking part in Glasgow Art Fair Thursday to next Sunday, with a series of work based on the psychoanalysis of football culture. To find out more, see www.franktofineart.com.

Describe your perfect weekend

Playing poker with some friends - I like being manipulative and devious. Or maybe a saki night, but not the two together: when I'm playing poker I'm in to win.

What would you do if you ruled the world?

Install some kind of grant system for graduates of art and design courses because I don't think there's enough support for them out there to make it out on their own; they're just left to their own devices and I know how difficult it can be.

What one thing would improve your life?

If I took care of myself a bit better, because I have a habit of working myself into the ground. Sometimes I feel ill because of it, and my caffeine levels are sky-high. Recently I worked three days straight.

Who did you last receive a text from and what did it say?

I just received a text from my best friend Tony O'Reilly saying: "Arrogance has to be earned, what have you done to earn yours, Frank?" I think it was because in our last poker game I was quite arrogant.

What's your guiltiest pleasure?

Alcoholic ice-cream. The first time I tried it was in the States and it was absolutely delicious - but it was only when I started to feel a bit happy that I realised there was Scotch in it.

When did you last feel sorry for yourself?

When I crashed my car. It was very icy, and I drove into a bollard, then a red Rover crashed into me.

What do you wish you'd never done?

Accidentally destroyed a rival's work at art school. The caretakers were clearing up and everyone had their work for the degree show in there. I used to come in quite smart-looking anyway, and I looked like a lecturer that day - the caretaker asked if I was in charge so I jokingly said yes. Then they asked if I wanted all the rubbish cleared out of the corridor, so I said, "Yes, go ahead." I didn't realise my rival's paintings were drying out there. He hasn't found out so far...

Would your mother be proud of you?

Yes, but she worries that I work too hard. She thinks I make myself quite ill.

Who would you like to say sorry to?

My ex-girlfriend. She didn't always see the best side of me and it's only recently that I've realised she was trying to make me a better person.

Who does the cleaning in your house?

That would be me - I'm an absolute clean freak.

What's the most you've ever spent on a purchase, apart from a car or property?

Probably my first trip to New York on my own. I was going to make contacts back in 2007, but it was money well spent because that's when I met my New York art dealer, who now has my work hung beside a Picasso and a Warhol.

What is your earliest memory?

My mum drawing Mickey Mouse on a chalk board back in the 1980s. I must have been about two or three. I think it was that which probably made me want to become an artist.

What song is the theme tune to your life?

Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes.

Who would play you in the movie of your life?

Edward Norton, because he has that geeky look, but he can also portray the tough guy.

Should you vote? If yes, how did you vote?

I voted for the SNP because they abolished the parking fees in hospitals. I had to drive my brother to hospital when he was dying of cancer and there were times I was cracking up about it.

What worries you in the wee small hours?

My next deadline.

When were you last naked in front of another person?

That would be my ex.

Who was your favourite teacher and why?

Simon Burton - my lecturer in Yorkshire. He saw me as someone who had potential, and encouraged me to be what I am today, which is an emotional painter.

Who is your fantasy date?

It would be someone who can outwit me, but also someone who can understand my persona. I can be fun, quirky, a bit sarky, but when I'm working I can be more serious and a bit like Batman - I have a dark side, but I only show it through my work.

What is your most treasured possession?

A piece of artwork given to me by a lecturer at Duncan of Jordanstone, Harvey Duke. It was a large mono print, and he gave it to me on the basis that we had a shared friendship and similar views on art in general. I think he saw a younger side of himself in me.

What do you remember better, your first car or first kiss?

My first kiss - because she bit me. She actually drew blood!

What has been your greatest achievement?

Doing what I'm doing and not failing financially. That's the best thing I can hope for.

How old are you?

27

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

ME AND MY... MENTOR by Marianne Halavage, THE SUNDAY HERALD March 7th 2010

Interviews by Marianne Halavage

Photograph by Gordon Terris

How a promising young artist found friendship- and discovered the patience he needed to realise his talent

FRANK TO, 27, ARTIST

I paint fine art, both figurative and abstract. But I prefer abstract for being able to portray myself- and my dark side. I have this dual "nice guy, dark guy" persona, a bit like Bruce Wayne, who turns into Batman. But, like Bruce Wayne, I keep my dark side close and channel it in my work.

At secondary school, I realised I had a bit of a talent for art but that's not why I produced it. I was this skinny, geeky teenager and I figured the only way I could attract girls was to do portraits of them. Did it work? Did it heck. They thought I was a Van Gogh- type weirdo. Actually, I tried to ignore my talent. But at every step- standard grade art, higher art, art school, my career as an artist- I was drawn to it and chose it at the last minute. So now I say, "I didn't choose art. It chose me."

In 2004 I did a masters in Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone Art College in Dundee and was taught by Philip Braham. I remember back then, going to the opening of his show at the Scottish Gallery, seeing his work and thinking, "I want to be that good". Now even though I've graduated and I'm a "minor celebrity" in the art world, I still consider Philip as the master and me as the apprentice.

Philip has a great technique, but he also has a great mind for painting. In 2004, I was a very irrational and impatient painter. Phil infused me with patience and rationality. He used to say to me, "Those oil paints don't control you, you control them."

My most famous buyer is the actor Patrick Stewart, who is also the chancellor of Huddersfield University where I studied fine art. I met him before my degree show, and a year later I received an email from him. At first I thought someone was playing a hoax. He bought some of my stuff and we've been friends ever since. When Patrick acts, he portrays his own voice. When I paint, I portray my own voice, and people recognise my work as Frank To's, no one else's.

www.franktofineart.com

PHILIP BRAHAM, 50, ARTIST

Frank's enthusiasm, determination and personal vitality come through in his brush work. He's a very good painter, as well as very good publicising his work. Some of the most talented students disappear after college, but Frank has the confidence to get his name out there.

I suppose when I was starting out I also had that boldness. In 1985, a friend and I held a protest outside the RSA because the Edinburgh Festival was not showing contemporary Scottish art. Our protest led to a blockbuster exhibition at the 1987 festival. That exhibition not only made my name as an artist.

My gift for art was obvious from a young age. At five, when other children were drawing stick figures, I was drawing solid volumes and trying to shade them in. In 1980, I won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Fine Art in The Hague. There, I was inspired by Piet Mondrian's early work on landscapes.

Now, I try to represent a landscape as precisely as I can, while giving a flavour of the events in history that took place there. One landscape might take six months.

I began teaching 10 years ago, and though it slows down the number of paintings I can produce, the quality of my work benefits from my tutoring. Sometimes, I can even hear my own voice as tutor over my shoulder.

I have many big- name collectors but I don't like to say who. The work shouldn't need the nod from a celebrity. But Frank is at a different stage in his career and it's part of his marketing strategy, so I won't be too critical. Frank is in the phase where he must work hard at doing and publicising his art. But, in five years, when he is able to relax, his celebrity buyers won't be the first thing he is proud of.

www.philipbraham.com

Frank To is exhibiting at the Glasgow Art Fair. March 25- 28 (www.glasgowartfair.com)

Interviews by Marianne Halavage

Photograph by Gordon Terris

ARTS FOR ARTS SAKE By David Oliver, THE EXTRA December 3rd 2009

Think of December days out in the city centre and usually two things spring to mind- Christmas shopping or pantomimes.

Obviously there's also ice skating in George Square now, or winter walks through the city's many parks or a saunter along the Christmas market in Argyle Street.

But there's an alternative to the chilly outdoors or the raucous hilarity of festive theatre- fare.

It is an altogether more cultured, if potentially, more expensive, way to pass the time.

This week there are several high- profile art exhibitions going on across Glasgow. The Roger Billcliffe Gallery, in Blythswood Street is one, displaying its Christmas exhibition.

Among those featured will be local boy Frank To (26) showing some of his latest work including Susanoo, Ascend and Gentlemen's Conduct.

The Huddersfield- trained artist told Live!: "I'll be the youngest exhibitor there. I am delighted to be part of the exhibition. Usually you apply to the Billcliffe, but I was asked. It's a huge honour for me.

"I have five pieces on show, and I'm pleased I have the opportunity to show some of my abstract paintings- since graduating I've been focused on figurative work, but I have included some abstract as that's how I was trained.

"They'll be hanging alongside some big names and really great artists. The Billcliffe has a really high reputation among galleries and is highly regarded as one of the best outside London."

But Frank's fine art and the Billcliffe exhibition isn't the only on display this month.

Over the weekend rare watercolours by cartoonists Jimmy Turnball will be displayed at Eastwood House, while another cartoonist, Frank Boyle is exhibiting football cartoons.

Among them are wry looks at the Scottish national team's fortunes, so they're aptly hung in the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden.

And still on a sporting yet artistic note, Michael Vaughan OBE- former England cricket captain- will also have his work on show from Saturday in the Castle Galleries within Princes Square.

* Billcliffe Gallery Christmas exhibition until Dec 22, 134 Blythswood Street. Entry free.
* Football cartoons at Scottish Football Museum, Hampden until Jan 21. Entry free with museum entry £6/£3.
* From Crease to Canvas until Dec 20 Catle Galleries, Princes Square, Buchanan Street. Entry Free.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

FRANK'S NEW SHOW By Roy Beers, EASTWOOD TODAY November 26th 2009

HIGHLY- rated Newton Mearns artist Frank To is set to exhibit a selection of his latest work at the Billcliffe Gallery in Glasgow.

Frank's unique painting technique is garnering him international recognition as a leading contemporary figurative painter amongst art critics and high profile collectors alike, including actor Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek fame) and New York- based Michel Witmer, who hangs To's paintings alongside those of Picasso, Dine and Warhol.

In a shared show with some of Scotland's most promising emerging artists, To will exhibit three pieces at the Billcliffe Gallery.

To said: "I'm delighted to be one of the very few invited to do this exhibition. I hope this show will be the one of many that contributes the importance and reputation of Scottish painting especially in this Recession."

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

THE EXTRA NEWS By David Oliver, THE EXTRA November 26th 2009

Mearns artist Frank To is part of the Billcliffe Gallery's annual pre- Christmas exhibition. From tomorrow, To's work will be on show in showroom,s in Blythswood Street.

In a shared show with some of Scotland's most promising emerging artists running from until December 22, To will exhibit three pieces- Ascend, Gentlemen's Conduct and Susanoo.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

ARTIST FINALLY HONOURED IN OWN COUNTRY by Mark Smith, SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY October 4th 2009

HE IS the rising star of Scottish art with paintings that now sell for up to £10,000 each.

But Frank To has revealed for the first time how racism and bullying took him to the brink of suicide and rejection by the country's most prestigious art college forced him to leave his native country.

Grangemouth-born To was turned down for a place at Glasgow School of Art when he was a teenager.

This weekend, the 26-year-old artist was back in Glasgow to give his first public demonstration of the techniques that are making his reputation.

He said: "I love Scotland and am proud to be called a Scottish artist. But sometimes you have to leave Scotland before you can get a chance.

"I know that I had to leave Scotland or I would have really struggled.

"I've never talked about this before, but I was rejected by the Glasgow School of Art when I was younger.

"That was very upsetting at the time, and I doubted whether I was up to the job. I'm just a wee lad from Grangemouth, and sometimes you think you are out of your depth in the art world. When Glasgow knocked me back I was pretty gutted."

The Scots-Chinese artist left Scotland and took a place studying art in Huddersfield, in Yorkshire. His painting style involves teasing human forms out of blobs of paint on the canvas, using unusual tools such as toothbrushes.

To said his early life was also scarred by constant bullying at a new school in Glasgow, where he moved with his mother, Winnie, after his parents divorced.

"Life at school was terrible," he said. "I had an artistic outlook, and that didn't go down well at school. I was already badly shaken by my parents' divorce, then the move to Glasgow was also a big change.

"I was badly bullied. Sometimes it was racist because of my Chinese background. Most of the time it was just because I was different. It got so bad that I considered suicide. But painting helped me cope."

It was during his degree show at Huddersfield that To's work first came to prominence. The university's chancellor at the time was the actor Patrick Stewart, famous as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek films but also hailed as one of the country's finest stage actors. Stewart is now his biggest fan, championing his work around the globe.

To said: "Having somebody like Patrick behind me is a great thing. He not only backs me as an artist, he's also been mentoring me on how to present myself, how to be more confident."

Stewart said: "I think he's very gifted, and I'm delighted he's beginning to get an international audience. He's adventurous and bold, and not afraid of a big canvas."

Peter McGlone, owner of The Queen's Gallery in Dundee, described To as "one of the next big things."

He said: "Frank already has an international following, and his paintings are selling quickly in London and New York. Prices are soaring, and will continue to do so."

This year, To has become one of the youngest painters ever to have his work exhibited at the Albemarle Gallery in London, one of the art world's most prestigious venues. He is also being represented by the New York art dealer, Michel Witmer.

To has now returned to Scotland to live and is at last receiving praise for his work in his home country.

He said: "I don't feel bitter that I was rejected by Glasgow. I like to think I'm too mature to stick two fingers up to them and say, here I am, I've made it."

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK by Mark Smith, THE GLASWEGIAN October 1st 2009

A YOUNG Glasgow artist is set to reveal the tricks of his trade at an arts event this weekend.

Frank To's unique painting technique has won him praise among art critics and high- profile collectors alike.

His work has been hailed by Star Trek star Patrick Stewart, who has bought of his paintings.

Other examples have featured in STV's detective drama, Rebus.

But Frank struggle for recognition in his early professional years.

Now he is offering art lovers a rare opportunity to see for themselves how he creates his work by inviting them to this year's WASPS Open Studio Event in the city's Hanson Street.

Frank said: "My painting technique is inspired by a story attributed to the Renaissance sculptor, Michelangelo. It was said he could visualise the human form within a block of marble.

"In the same way, I tease out figures from initially abstract images. I'll be demonstrating in detail how my paintings are created for the first time at the forthcoming open studio event."

Opening times for the event are Saturday 11am to 5pm and Sunday 12pm to 5pm

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

KINGS AND QUEENS by Leah Parker, Home Plus Scotland Magazine Sept - Oct 2009

Throughout autumn Home Plus Scotland favourite, Frank To will be exhibiting his latest work in the upcoming show Insights at the Queens's Gallery in Dundee's west end.

Frank is a young Glasgow born artist whose unique painting technique is garnering him international recognition as a leading contemporary figurative painter amongst art critics and high profile collectors alike. In a shared show with established artist Angus McEwan and Duncan of Jordanstone graduate Peter Mansfield, Frank will be exhibiting ten pieces at the Queen's Gallery.

The exhibition runs from 26th September- 17th October 2009.

The Queen's Gallery, 160 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DU.

Tel: 01382 220600

www.queensgallery.co.uk

www.franktofineart.com

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

TO BOLDLY GO TO FRANK'S DISPLAY By Peter Carroll, The Glaswegian 22/04/09

GLASGOW-BASED artist Frank To reached the final frontier when he welcomed an other worldly guest to his latest exhibition - Star Trek legend Patrick Stewart.

Frank, from Newton Mearns, welcomed the sci-fi icon to his latest exhibition held at The Leith Gallery, Edinburgh, this month.

But don't think the 27-year-old artist, who is based at the WASPS artist studios in Dennistoun, has nothing more to do than KLINGON to his famous guests.

Frank and Patrick, who is currently treading the capital boards in Samuel Beckett's play, 'Waiting For Godot', go back light years. Well, more than five years actually.

Frank told The Glaswegian: "I've known Patrick ever since 2004 when he came to my degree show at Huddersfield University. He has been a great supporter of my work and has five of my paintings in his collection."

But Frank says when he was first introduced to the English actor things weren't so pleasant.

He said: "I first saw Patrick on Star Trek Generations when he was playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but he had been turned into a baddie. I was seven at the time and totally terrified.

"He's a really nice man though and it was great for him to come along on Thursday."

Frank's exhibition in the capital closes on Saturday and he is currently working on his next show, to take place in Dundee in September.

To view the actual article, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Art.

SCOTS ARTIST WHO CAUGHT PATRICK'S EYE by Tim Cornwell, The Scotsman 18/04/09

ACTOR Patrick Stewart took time out from a "marvellous" run in Edinburgh this week to visit an exhibition at the Leith Gallery featuring Frank To, a young Scottish artist whose work he collects.

Stewart has been buying art for 20 years, he said, including five works by To.

"This is my private passion. I like to have pictures around me, I have two homes and I've run out of wallspace."

The two men first met at Huddersfield University, where Stewart is chancellor. Falkirk-born To, 26, was a student there before returning to Scotland to do his masters at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee.

He has since shown work alongside Peter Howson and Damien Hirst.

"I think he's very gifted, and I'm delighted he's beginning to get an international audience," Stewart said. "He's adventurous and bold, and not afraid of a big canvas."

To's portrait of the actor is on sale as part of the show, for £1,700, the last of three he completed.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

FRANK GOES WHERE NO ARTIST HAS GONE BEFORE IN ROMAN PORTRAIT by Hazel Mollison, The Edinburgh Evening News, 17/04/09

Patrick Stewart hails image as it goes on display in Capital

Patrick Stewart hails image as it goes on display in Capital

HE has boldly gone where no artist has gone before.

Frank To created a striking image of actor Patrick Stewart, aka Star Trek Captain Jean-Luc Picard, in the style of a Roman emperor.

And when the artist showed it to the man himself at a gallery in Leith, the 68-year-old Stewart - currently in the Capital performing in Waiting for Godot at the King's Theatre - gave it his seal of approval.

The actor became friends with the young artist when Mr To was a student and he was chancellor of Huddersfield University.

Stewart admired his work at a graduate exhibition and bought two pictures. Since then, he has eagerly followed his career and was happy to sit for a portrait.

His profile, in red and orange colours, is one of the eye-catching paintings now on display at the Leith Gallery, on The Shore.

Stewart said: "For me, it was especially gratifying to find a student whose work was so exciting and fresh. Since then, I've got to know him and keep abreast of his exhibitions. I've got pictures by him in both my homes. I'm very impressed by his latest work. It's very different from his earlier pictures, which were very abstract."

He said he has enjoyed returning to Edinburgh for the first time in more than a decade. He is performing until tomorrow in the sell-out production, opposite his X-Men co-star Sir Ian McKellen.

He said: "I'm here with my girlfriend this time, and we've had time to be tourists. We've loved it - I wish I could stay longer.

"It's such a beautiful city and unlike anywhere else. I'm a fan of architecture and I've enjoyed walking up streets and looking at all the details on old buildings. We also enjoyed the Turner and Italy exhibition.

"We've had a wonderful welcome, with full houses every night. One of the most charming things is, in every city, we've used local young actors. We've really enjoyed working with them."

Mr To, 26, who is originally from Falkirk, said Stewart's interest and encouragement had been a huge morale boost.

He is already making a name for himself as a figurative artist, with exhibitions in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. His work has also featured on STV's Rebus.

He said: "I met Patrick by chance when he came to my degree show. I was very surprised.

"It's been nice to have someone like that support me and believe in me. It was a massive boost."

He said he had been inspired by depictions of kings and emperors on ancient coins when painting the portrait. He said: "I was thinking about art and propaganda, and why they put the head of the monarch on to coins. Patrick acted in Anthony and Cleopatra, and that inspired the idea."

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

SHOOTING STAR, Homes and Interiors Scotland Magazine Issue 64 March- April 2009

Text by Catherine Coyle

Despite an uncertain start to his artistic career, Frank To's stock has rocketed since he graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone in 2005. Twice rejected by Glasgow School of Art and snubbed by many of the city's art galleries, To has nevertheless won massive success and is now much sought- after. Tipped by Homes & Interiors Scotland magazine back in 2006 as one to watch, To exhibits a brand new body of abstract paintings in his show, Boundaries, at the Leith Gallery, alongside fellow artist Graham Flack. Prices for To's work have trebled in the last few years, demonstrating the investment potential in this young talent.

Boundaries, The Leith Gallery, 65 The Shore, Edinburgh, April 4- 25

0131 553 5655, www.the-leith-gallery.co.uk

For more information on the artist, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist

ART OF MAKING A LIVING by Colin Cardwell, The Herald 27/01/09

A good grounding in business can be an essential asset for emerging young artists, say Colin Cardwell

There are two distinct sets of figures that dominate artist Frank To's life- the tenebrous wraith- like bodies that inhabit his canvases and the ones that populate the bottom line of his business. He talks with almost as much energy about the need to weather the economic storm as he does about his painting.

The 26- year- old already has his work hanging in the private collection of actor Patrick Stewart, forever to be known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek fame, and beside the work of Andy Warhol and Picasso in New York.

Frank grew up in Glasgow and studied at St Ninian's High School where, he developed an interest in art in his teens ("I remember being impressed by Peter Howson's work on CD covers") he was also given lessons in sound business by his Hong Kong born mother, who is a self- employed caterer.

He had, he said decided to make fine art his career at an early stage and Huddersfield University was the only institution at the time that combined his twin interests of fine art and business.

After two years of a BA he took a year out to travel in Europe, which sparked an appreciation for Michelangelo, then took a work placement, returning to Glasgow and a studio in the Merchant City with the kind of serious drive that was beginning to distinguish him from the typical art student.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, he was applying to galleries which he continued to do during a further year studying for an MA in Fine Arts at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee. "It made economic sense; I have a place to work from, free internet access and I was thinking long term," he says.

In 2005, just before completing the Masters, Frank received an offer from the Fairfax Contemporary Art Gallery in London to show his work at the Affordable Art Fair, the showcase for contemporary art priced at under £3000.

"The gallery took all my Masters work," he says. By the end of the three days all but one painting has been sold." This, for a new artist who had never been heard of, was unusual. The gallery hadn't been sure how the audience would react to my work, "says Frank. "I think they were surprised."

He admits that he was surprised too. "But I was very pleased because not only did it allow me to start up in business as a self employed artist but importantly, it allowed my work to be seen by new, emerging and established galleries. Because it sold well, a lot of other galleries started taking notice and I began to get offers.

Wary of making too many commitments, he returned to Glasgow to set up his own studio space, currently at Wasps Artists' Studios in the city's east end- a charitable company that provides studios for more than 750 artists at 17 locations throughout Scotland.

This, unsurprisingly, was no mere chance either. Anticipating the competition for studios, he had begun to search in his second year at Huddersfield.

"By beginning at 20 I knew I was going through the waiting list while I was still studying. Luckily for me, it worked out quite well."

Start- up cash was needed and he contacted the Princes Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT) and Business Gateway. "I started taking commissions and making commitments, "he says. The first year was extremely difficult- probably he concedes, down to his taking on an overload of work, "But I had to get my name known on the art circuit, to get galleries to notice me."

He was also assiduous in keeping the galleries undated with his developments and raising his profile- which was given a boost when Patrick Stewart, who was chancellor of Huddersfield University, came to his BA degree show.

"We had a chat, then I had an email from him saying that he had enjoyed my work. I went to London to see him and he bought two of my paintings."

This engendered more interest among private collectors and his work was seen by Michel Witmer, an art historian and dealer who now has a Frank To in his New York collection, which includes a Picasso and Andy Warhol. "For me to be hung beside guys like that is something major," says Frank.

Influenced by the New Glasgow Boys, including Howson and Ken Currie, Frank describes his oil paintings as being on the boundaries of figurative and conceptual art. His smaller pieces sell for around £1700 and the largest for more than £5000 and the value of his work has, he says, increased significantly in the past three years.

In the meantime, he retains a connection with PSYBT: "I believe in the same things they do, in terms of motivating new business. I plan to be mentoring young artists, I've been asked to be on the committee and I'm always willing to help."

In five years, he says, the only certainty is that he will still be an artist, and still looking after business. "A lot of people think that there are no job prospects in fine art, but it is very much a real job. You have to keep certain hours, you have to do your book- keeping and make sure all your paints and materials are in stock. And in this the current economic climate, where people are in a state of fear, art can be both an inspiration and an investment.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

MY FAVOURITE LOOK by Ali Howard, Sunday Herald 25/01/09

Interview by Ali Howard

Photograph by Kirsty Anderson

Frank To, fine artist

I've always been into post- Victorian/ 1920s fashion, as reflected in the style of my bag and shoes. I like the gentlemen image. There's no point looking like a behemoth with paint on my clothes; I maybe an artist, but I still know how to present myself. So I have a casual- smart look that works both for attending meetings with people and painting in my studio. I like to shop at Zara and Gap as their sizes fit me well, and H&M do nice textile fabrics in shirts. But stuff in charity shops can also catch my eye

My sister Florence made this shirt for me for my birthday. She's a Masters graduate of Fashion at Glasgow School of Art and is currently making a new collection of menswear clothing. This shirt is based on the idea of metamorphosis, the idea of "changing" or "mutating" from one form to another. I like it as it's quite loose, but elegantly made.

Even when I was at university, I dressed smart. This also means that the bag has to be right for me- smart and functional. I found this bag on eBay. It was fierce bidding as it was a vintage item. I stayed awake the entire night making sure I would win. Luckily, the guy bidding against me realised I wasn't going to back down and gave up.

I bought this waistcoat from Zara as something smart for my show opening. It's not too confining and it's cool to wear.

This TAG Heuer watch was given to me by my mother on my 21st birthday. I think my mother knows that I've got conservative taste. The memory that it was given for my 21st birthday makes it more special.

I'm always working in a rough- floored environment, so whenever I kneel down, there's a strong possibility that I'll encourage holes in my jeans. After art school I realised the more money I invested in jeans and trousers, the more robust they'd be- and that I'd save money in the long term. I bought these Levi's jeans a year ago and they're still going strong.

When I was travelling to London a year ago, as I got off the train the stitching of my shoes broke, Luckily I was staying close to Portobello Market. I went to find some good cheap shoes and immediately fell in love with these boots. They're robust as they're made of old leather.

For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.

Radio Clyde Interview with Frank To 09/01/09

Interview by Rob Waller of Radio Clyde. Officially aired 09/01/09

INVESTMENT IN ART PAYING OFF by David Oliver, The Extra 15/01/09

EVERYONE's pocket has been hit by the credit crunch.

Be it the collapse of a popular high-street brand, the loss of money through bank collapse, or just the soaring cost of living.

Well, except one young Newton Mearns man.

Artist Frank To has seen the price of his work escalate - despite the apparent tightening of purse strings.

He's threatening to go from strength to strength, all on the back of economic instability.

Frank (26) explained to The Extra: "Last year I donated two paintings to the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice. At the time they were worth about £750 each and bidding started at £200. Now prices, for the same pieces just a few years on, are more than £2,000 each.

"I've been exhibiting for eight years now. When the markets were quite stable, my work was selling for £300 max, now it's more than six times that and more and more galleries are looking to pick up my work.

"People are always on the lookout for the next set of Glasgow boys, the new generation of up and coming artists."

With bank savings only guaranteed to £30,000 investors need somewhere safe to stash their cash during a recession. Frank believes that the economic downturn will benefit to the new batch of artists as more investors cut their losses in the stock market and look at alternative uses for their cash.

He added: "Until the last recession, Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin were unknown, then, at the end of the 80s they rose to fame. It's the same this time around. No-one in there right mind would put more than £30,000 into a bank in case it went bust. So what else is there with a stock market in collapse?

"More and more people are viewing art as an investment. Damien Hirst's Shark was initially valued at £25,000 - now it's selling for more than £1m."

So, as painting and economics come to an unlikely collusion, what other financial advice does Frank have for would-be investors?

"When people ask me about buying paintings I always tell them, it's more important to buy something that you enjoy. There's no point in wasting a piece of art you don't like by spending a lot on it, for it not to be displayed."

*For more information, please visit the official website of Frank To Fine Artist.