‘Abstract with a suggestion of reality” is how artist Heather Davies RSW describes her work which, inspired by Scotland’s landscapes, is helping shatter misconceptions about watercolour painting.
“Years ago, watercolours were usually pale, wishy washy, but now there are really vibrant colours. Watercolour painting is so varied,” she says.
Having recently received the prestigious honour of being selected as a Member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, Heather, who lives in Kirkcudbright, urges everyone to visit its annual exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh in January: “Your mind will be blown. There is an amazing variety of approaches to working with water-based mediums. There seems to be something for everyone, whether you like more traditional or really abstract work.”
Perhaps because we all tried watercolour painting at school and, according to Heather, it is seen as an easy, highly transportable medium, it is often misunderstood.
“People don’t realise how difficult it is to use. In the 17th and 18th centuries watercolour was seen as a primary medium to develop compositions for large oil paintings so it wasn’t viewed in the same light as oils or taken seriously.”
Heather came to watercolour painting in her mid-20s, having drawn all her life and studied fine art, printmaking and textiles at art school in Hartlepool and Loughborough. “I thought I was going to be a textile designer but I won a competition after I left art college and that encouraged me to start painting seriously.”
Living in Staithes, a traditional working fishing village near Whitby on the east coast, informed Heather’s early work, after which she moved to the west Cumbrian coast and later the Eden Valley, before moving to Galloway just over two years ago.
The Solway coast has the rocky shoreline and sea that Heather loves bringing into her painting and she has also found inspiration in the fascinating ‘hidden’ gardens behind many historic Kirkcudbright properties.
However, artistically her heart still lies on the west coast and the Hebrides with which she has had a lifelong love affair.
“At the age of seven I was first taken to the west coast of Scotland. Going up through Glencoe and seeing Arisaig for the first time has always stuck in my mind. It became embedded in me.
“I have been going up to the north west of Scotland regularly for at least 35 years. A couple of years ago, in November, a friend and I stayed on the tiny island of Canna. The light there was amazing. I love Barra and want to see more of Lewis. I’d love to go back to Shetland too.
“I always thought I’d live on an island, and I did move to Tiree once, though only for a couple of months.”
Heather’s paintings have been exhibited in prestigious galleries and shows across the UK since the early 1980s, including Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth, Mall Galleries in London, Upfront Gallery near Penrith and Broughton Gallery, Edinburgh.
In 2009 one of her paintings was purchased by Lord Egremont, who has Petworth House in Sussex, where JMW Turner frequently stayed and painted.
Even before moving to the region, Heather took part in Dumfries & Galloway’s Spring Fling open studios weekend as an artist from a neighbouring region. The first time, she showed her work in Archie Sutter Watt’s former studio in Kirkgunzeon and in a subsequent Spring Fling she shared space with John Threlfall in Rockcliffe.
Moving to the Artists’ Town, initially she took a studio at WASPS, before starting to work at home, where she welcomed Spring Fling guests last year and hopes to take part in 2024.
Heather’s work has developed in lots of ways since she began tackling watercolours: “I found it really difficult at first. It took me ages to find my way with it.
“I used to do a lot of landscapes and I still paint out of doors at times. I then started being more inventive, throwing more strong colours on, and something started to click and come out of it.
“People seemed to like it and began to recognise my work. Now I’ve moved on to another phase. I’m getting more and more abstract.”
Heather is keen for her work to continually develop and her own pleasure in painting remains of the utmost importance: “If I just think about money and selling, I wouldn’t want to paint. It would spoil it for me. I think I need to get into a mindset where I’m relaxed and spontaneous. That’s when I paint best.”
Describing how her work “happens”, she says: “I start something and it grows organically. Shapes appear to begin with, then some colour comes and it often gets darker. People are surprised at how dark some areas of my paintings are. I use really intense colour. It’s dictated by mood.
“And it changes. I used to hate orange, then, during lockdown, I did this little abstract piece in black with paler green and this splash of bright orange. It was really different and I thought ‘wow, where did that come from?’.”
Environmental concerns have increasingly influenced Heather’s work, sometimes subconsciously: “I feel some of the darker areas and surrealist colours are trying to say something, to get people to notice the environment and what’s happening. I want everyone to wake up and realise they have to do something about it.”
Pushing her medium in different directions is something Heather is keen to continue, sometimes drawing into her paintings with conte pastels or even candles to achieve different effects.
Enjoying contrasts between light and dark and, increasingly interested in reflections on water, she uses the paper itself to come through the paint for lighter, translucent areas.
As a Member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW), Heather joins illustrious names like Dame Elizabeth V Blackadder, Joyce W Cairns, Richard Demarco and Ian McKenzie Smith CBE.
The society was established in the 19th century and continues to offer a platform for artists to display work, significantly influencing the Scottish art scene.
“I’ve been going to, and exhibiting at the RSW exhibition in Edinburgh, for years and have always loved it,” says Heather. “It felt wonderful to be selected as a member. I’m really chuffed.”
