About

Lee Craigmile (b.1985) is from Largs, Scotland.

Lee Craigmile is a contemporary realist oil painter, specialising in paintings of the Scottish landscape and of Scottish whiskies. Growing up in a stunning coastal town in Ayrshire, Lee developed his interest in the epic Scottish landscape and his passion for painting at an early age.

From 2005 to 2012 Craigmile studied drawing and painting at the Glasgow School of Art. He then moved to Florence, Italy in 2012 to receive his formal education in traditional drawing and painting at the prestigious Florence Academy of Art, where he met his wife, Sarah Margaret. Lee graduated from the Florence Academy in June of 2015, after which he returned to the west coast of Scotland with Sarah.

In 2019 Lee and Sarah founded the Glasgow Academy of Fine Art, which they ran for five years. In 2024, the couple decided to reinvent the school, moving it to Lee’s hometown of Largs and combining it with their personal painting studio to create Ayrshire Atelier of Fine Art.

Lee currently splits his time between working on commissions, painting for galleries, and teaching pleinair painting workshops all across Scotland with the Atelier. He hopes to inspire others—just as he himself was inspired as a youth—to realise the truth that one can achieve exceptional works of art through the mastery of traditional techniques and by looking to the beauty of nature and the great artists of the past.

Lee’s work has been exhibited widely throughout the U.K., Europe, and The U.S. and can be found in numerous private collections.

Exhibitions

    ▪    2019   Burns Night Exhibition, Scotland Art Gallery, Glasgow

    ▪    2018   Unwrapped, Thistle Gallery, Glasgow

    ▪    2018   EAFA Gala Show, Edinburgh Atelier of Fine Art, Edinburgh

    ▪    2018   Joint Solo Show, Mary Ran Gallery, Cincinnati U.S.A

    ▪    2018 Postcards Exhibition, Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow

    ▪    2017   The ROI Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

    ▪    2017   Postcards Exhibition, Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow

    ▪    2015   Joint Solo Show, Mary Ran Gallery, Cincinnati U.S.A

    ▪    2014   Group juried show, REPRESENT, 20th Century Theatre, London

    ▪    2014   Group juried show, Luna studio, Florence, Italy

    ▪    2013   Group juried show, Luna studio, Florence, Italy