Distracted Dad
Richard Hearn returns to his first love
Ask me anything about nails. Go on, test me. At the moment it’s my specialist subject. I’ve recently put up an exhibition, or rather three (mini) exhibitions. I’m currently Artist of the Month at Lulu and Hitch in Hove, with work also in their sister shop in Shoreham, Lily and Harold, plus Pizza Express in Hove.
Art was what I studied at University, afterwards I taught it for a while, but then I concentrated my creative energy on writing instead. This wasn’t as much of a leap as it sounds. My artwork had involved words more and more.
My final year show had mock-ups of rooms where the carpet and wallpaper described daydreams. I carved chair legs into boats and projected dialogue onto rusty radiators. I made a pop-up book, from each page arising a full-size chair.
The arrival of The Boy diverted me back. I had been writing a novel, but parenthood meant I had about ten minutes of spare time (if that) a day, and somehow this suited working on small drawings more than large fiction. My subject matter was taken up from ten years before; intertwining domestic life and exotic creatures and stories. (Perhaps this is where The Boy gets his tales of giant squids from.)
“Ask me anything about nails.
Go on, test me”
Illustration: Paul Lewis www.pointlessrhino.com
In 2006 I took up painting again, working outside when weather and parenthood allowed. With The Boy still young, working in oils was impractical so I swapped to quicker-drying acrylics, building up paintings in layers so colour shows through at each stage.
My subject matter shifted to trees so I could concentrate on the more abstract elements: mark-making, shapes between lines, and the simple pleasure of paint. (We can barely walk past a tree without the Boy saying “I know who’d like to paint that!”)
The images on display this July – yes, of trees – are done as giclee prints. (This means that they’re printed using archival inks which are faithful to the original and don’t fade). They start off as drawings using watercolour pencils, and then scanned into the computer and enhanced and adapted.
I’ve enjoyed having these exhibitions over the last few years, in galleries, shops, cafés and restaurants. Apart from producing the work, I like the practical preparations. I’ll take broad measurements, noting down potential pitfalls such as interfering pipes and walls that have repelled nails in the past.
When it comes to putting up the work, I’ll be booked in for their least busy time, with chairs upturned, and staff swapping stories about the night before as they sweep up. Again, I like the final hanging stage; deciding what to put where, how things work next to each other, adjusting the levels. Meanwhile, I become a temporary specialist on nails.
July 20th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
I share your ‘passion’ for trees but lack your talent for drawing and painting them. My son, who is getting on a bit himself now, thinks clouds are much more interesting because they are constantly changing. It’s certainly a point.
July 21st, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Hi Don – Thanks for your comments…clouds are good too, but as I paint from photos, often photos don’t do clouds justice. Not sure why that is. I’ll leave clouds to the Dutch masters for now! All the best – Richard
July 21st, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Let’s add the link in case anyone wants to see the pictures – You can see them here – http://www.luluandhitch-giftshop.co.uk/artist-of-the-month/7th-month—july—richard-hearn