The Origins of Hebscape Glass

THE STORY

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I've been increasingly drawn to abstract sea and landscape paintings over the last decade or so and have tried to incorporate these influences into my photography (ICM imagery being the most obvious example). Learning to paint digitally on the iPad was a great training ground and after many months of practice I managed to produce a body of work that I'm very proud of. The next logical step was to try and create my own original paintings for real but being so used to working in the digital world, I found the experience surprisingly alien and very frustrating, not to mention all the mess!​​ I had all but given up hope that I would ever be able to break free from the digital world at all. However, I'm a great believer in experimentation when it comes to exploring your own creative practice. Even if nothing tangible comes from your experimentations, you always learn something in the process.

One day, with no great expectations, I dug out my old brushes and paints and just for the fun of it, decided to paint on the inside of a glass vase rather than the outside. The initial results were far from perfect of course but I found the basic aesthetic very effective as the glossy surface saturated the colours and perfectly lent itself to the watery subject matter. I also realised that if I didn't like the initial results then I could simply wash the paint out of the vase and start again! More experimentations followed using different paint mixes, colour combinations, brush work and drying techniques. Eventually, I managed to create a handful of finished pieces and I've been genuinely surprised and delighted at the reaction and interest they've received. We got there in the end!

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As I write this, I'm gazing out of my studio window over green crofts, rugged mountains and the ever shifting colours of the ocean beyond. If these pieces can capture even a fraction of the experience of being on Harris and bring back some happy memories for whoever decides to own one, then it will have all been worth it.