Michael McVeigh - I Am Getting Younger Everyday

Michael McVeigh - I Am Getting Younger Everyday

A richly detailed sepia etching by the Scottish artist Michael McVeigh (b.1957), depicting a group of traditional musicians gathered around a table in a Scottish pub. Signed and titled below in pencil and inscribed “PROOF” at the lower right.

Three monumental figures dominate the composition: an accordion player, a mandolin player and a musician playing a tin whistle. A violin rests on the table beside a bottle of McEwan’s 80/-, drinking glasses and a packet of cigarettes, while two further figures converse beneath a large McEwan’s sign in the background.

The gently humorous title, I Am Getting Younger Everyday, contrasts with the musicians’ solemn and introspective expressions. McVeigh presents the pub session not simply as entertainment, but as a place of companionship, memory and temporary rejuvenation. The unused violin is a particularly charming detail, suggesting a musical gathering already in progress, with players changing instruments or pausing between tunes.

Born in Dundee, McVeigh studied Drawing and Painting at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art before settling in Edinburgh. He is particularly known for his highly individual depictions of Scottish life, including crowded streets, harbour communities, public gatherings, musicians and animals. His work combines close observation with deliberately distorted scale and perspective, giving familiar subjects an imaginative and gently dreamlike character.

Traditional musicians and Scottish pub life were important subjects in McVeigh’s early work. The exaggerated scale of the figures, densely worked surfaces and mixture of humour and melancholy are especially characteristic of his distinctive narrative style.

Printed in warm brown ink, the etching has a softly aged and atmospheric appearance. Fine cross-hatching, areas of plate tone and loosely modelled textures create a scene that feels both closely observed and filtered through memory.

Presented under glass in a dark wooden frame with a wide cream mount.

A wonderfully characterful Scottish print, combining traditional music, pub culture and understated humour with McVeigh’s highly recognisable figurative style.

Artist: Michael McVeigh
Title: I Am Getting Younger Everyday
Date: Circa mid-1980s
Medium: Sepia etching
Edition: Proof impression, inscribed “PROOF”
Signed: Signed and titled below in pencil
Image size: 20.5cm x 41cm
Framed size: 37.5cm x 58.5cm
Condition: Good vintage condition overall. Some light age-related toning and minor marks are visible to the sheet and cream mount. Minor surface wear and small marks to the dark wooden frame. Glazed and not examined out of the frame.