Ailig MacMaoláin
​(aka Alex McMillan)

using the Gaelic spelling to avoid confusion with Australian artist Alex McMillan (1910-1987) and ​Australian photographer Alexander McMillan

Born in 1946 in the village of Sauchie in Scotland, Ailig was apprenticed as a cooper at the age of 14 and remained in the profession for most of his early adult years.

In 1997, at the age of 51, he decided to pursue his dream and attended art college where he was taught by the renowned Scottish artist Pam Carter.

From 2005 to 2011 Ailig worked with members of Reachout With Arts in Mind - an innovative award winning expressive arts and mental health self-help organisation based in Alloa.

He is a member of the Society of Scottish Artists.

His subject range is varied: landscapes and seascapes, figurative, nudes, and abstract.

His preferred medium is oil paint.

​Ailig paints at his studio in Clackmannanshire.
"Life is just one very, very big canvas and it's scary - where do you start?
You get to your teenage years and the painting is fast and full of mistakes, but full of colour.
You get to your 20s and you think it's taking shape, so you slow down a little.
Then, before you know it, you're in your 40s and there's so much white canvas still left!
​
Well, my canvas is still nowhere near finished - and never will be - but I'm happy with the way it's going."​
​Ailig MacMaoláin (2013)