Although elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1973, and latterly well known for his watercolours of North-East Scottish landscapes, Donald Buyers, RSW was equally adept at painting landscapes and still lifes on panel. According to his wife, Margaret, and his two children, Donna and Mark, painting and his sunny garden were his two loves - "There was not a day when he was not either at his easel or in his beloved garden."

The following synopsis of the Life and Works of Donald Buyers, written by Dr Ian McKenzie Smith O.B.E., P.R.S.A., P.P.R.S.W., R.G.I. for the 124th Annual Exhibition Catalogue for The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, is a thorough and accurate summary of Donald Buyers' academic and artistic career. 

"From his earliest days, it was clear that Donald Buyers would be a painter. He had vivid memories of sketching Ballater Bridge on the River Dee in Aberdeenshire when he was eight years old. His maternal grandfather, William Stewart, had exhibited in the Royal Academy, and his father's family had connections with James McBey, the renowned etcher.

Donald was fortunate, like so many others, to be a pupil of the redoubtable Charles Hemingway at Aberdeen Grammar School. Subsequently, as a student of Robert Sivell, RSA head of drawing and painting at Gray's School of Art, he was selected to assist in the completion of the celebrated murals in the Student's Union. Following an upsurge in tuberculosis after the Second World War, art therapists were introduced, and Donald became the first to be appointed in Aberdeen Hospitals. Working alongside him at the time was a young nurse, Margaret, whom he later married.

Their honeymoon in Paris became an extended stay in the city which they both loved; Donald painted and found casual work, while Margaret, as a trained nurse, was employed by Caroline Marcs, a cousin of Peggy Guggenheim. On their return to Aberdeen, Donald shared a studio in Back Wynd, and the three friends, Eric Auld, Bill Baxter and Bill Ord formed the ABBO Group, which became a dynamic force in the Arts of Aberdeen throughout the 60's and 70's.

Donald continued in education, and from 1964 to 1985 he was a lecturer at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology, latterly at Gray's School of Art. During most of this period he was a regular contributer to most of the major exhibitions in Scotland, and his work is represented in the Duke of Edinburgh's collection and in many public and private collections in this country and abroad. Donald Buyers was elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1973".

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

1954, 1958	Gaumont Gallery, Aberdeen
1955	Crown Gallery, Aberdeen
1956, 1968	Art Centre, Edinburgh
1969, 1971, 1973	Douglas & Foulis Gallery, Edinburgh
1969, 1973	Art Centre, Aberdeen
1970, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1986	Staff Common Room, University of Aberdeen
1975, 1977	Gallery Paton, Edinburgh
1989, 1992	Tolquhon Gallery, Tarves
1991	Tolquhon Gallery, Edinburgh
1993	Cornhill Hospital Gallery, Aberdeen

ABBO GROUP EXHIBITIONS

1957	Gaumont Gallery, Aberdeen
1958	Dundee Art Gallery
1958	Braemar Festival
1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967	McLellan Galleries, Glasgow
1962	Peterhead Art Gallery
1964	De Mann, Belgium
1964	Westgate Gallery, Newcastle
1965	Birmingham University
1965	Crestine Gallery
1965	Aberdeen Art Gallery

SELECTED PUBLIC AND CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

Arts Council for Great Britain, Scottish Committee; Art Gallery and Museum, Aberdeen; International Business Machines, London; Royal Edinburgh Hospitals; The Teachers' Centre, Angus; Dumbartonshire Educational Trust; Midlothian Education Authority; George Watson's Ladies' College, Edinburgh; College of Education, Coventry; School Pictures Library, Leeds; Medical Centre, University of Colorado, U.S.A.; Tayside Regional Council; Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen; Phillips Petroleum, Aberdeen; Adams & Company, London; Robert Fleming & Company, London; The Trustee Saving Ban, Scotland; First Bus PLC, Aberdeen.