Alex Harrow is a multidisciplinary artist from Perthshire whose practice spans painting, relief prints, and sculpture. Known for his expressive mark-making and dynamic use of colour, his work explores the emotional complexities of life, capturing its light and shadow, joy and sorrow. In his solo exhibition, Capturing Life Through Colour, Alex brings together a body of work that celebrates the vibrancy of existence while reflecting on its challenges.

Hi Alex! Could you tell us a bit about how you arrived at the theme of your exhibition?
Sure! Life Through Colour is a culmination of the past two years of my life, capturing significant moments as I transitioned from being a dedicated art student to balancing my practice alongside work and other commitments. This exhibition feels like a glimpse into a diary – offering viewers an insight into how I live and experience the world.

I’ve never kept a written journal, but my sketchbooks serve as a visual record of my daily life. As I’ve been busier than ever, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the fleeting nature of time and the importance of treasuring each moment. My work is an act of appreciation – dedicated to the people, experiences, and memories that have inspired me to continue pursuing my practice.

Can you walk us through your creative process?
Like many artists, my practice begins with a simple sketch. Drawing is my favourite pastime, and I never leave the house without a sketchbook. There’s something remarkable about how an artist’s perspective can completely transform a scene. Gesture and mark-making are central to my approach, allowing me to merge contemporary ideas with traditional techniques. My sketchbooks are filled with pencil and oil pastel works, using colour to convey my emotions within a scene.

From these initial sketches, I often develop woodblock prints, drawing influence from artists of the German Expressionist movement, particularly Die Brücke. I use a combination of traditional and modern techniques, including laser cutting, to translate my smaller sketches into larger-scale relief prints on paper and canvas. Once the prints are made, I build upon them with gouache, oil pastels, and paint to refine and enhance the composition. As I add colour, I carefully consider how to integrate my brushstrokes and gestures so they blend seamlessly with the original sketch. My process is meticulous and time-consuming, but staying true to traditional artistic techniques allows me to create a large body of work while maintaining a sense of authenticity and craftsmanship.

Which artists inspire you? Are there non-artistic influences such as literature or music that impact your work?
I am definitely an artist influenced by the greats of the past. Sometimes, I feel as though I was born in the wrong era, as my practice is so deeply rooted in modernist movements. Impressionism, Expressionism, and Fauvism have all played a major role in shaping my work, particularly their use of colour and composition.

Impressionist artists like Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh helped develop my early understanding of light and gestural mark-making. I was also heavily influenced by Expressionist movements such as Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter, where artists used bold colour to convey emotion. Wassily Kandinsky’s early townscapes and Ludwig Kirchner’s mastery of brushwork, colour, and woodblock printing have been particularly influential in my own practice.

The Fauvist movement has also left a lasting impact on my work, particularly André Derain and Henri Matisse, whose use of vibrant colours and creative mark-making brought a sense of joy and energy to their paintings. One aspect of Fauvism that I’ve always admired is their refusal to use black pigment, instead favouring pure, saturated colours—a principle I also incorporate into my own work.

What emotions or reactions do you hope viewers experience when they see your artwork?
My work is deeply personal and serves as a way to navigate my own mental health journey. I tend to focus on the highlights of my life, preferring to capture positive moments rather than dwell on the negative. However, my practice is inevitably shaped by my experiences with manic depression, which causes me to fluctuate between emotional extremes. Creating during high points allows me to hold onto those moments for longer, and looking back at my work can help ground me when I find myself in a low state.

I know life isn’t always easy – struggle can come unexpectedly – but I also know that there are moments of joy and beauty that are worth cherishing. Through my work, I hope to offer viewers a sense of appreciation for these moments. In a world that often feels overwhelming, I want my paintings to provide a brief escape, a welcome distraction, or simply a reason to smile. If nothing else, I want to remind people that even in difficult times, colour and light are always present, because I know that sometimes it’s hard to have a sunny disposition being Scottish.

Are there specific advantages or challenges associated with working in your chosen mediums? Have you experimented with other mediums or techniques?
One of the biggest advantages of my process is that I can always be working. Because I carry a sketchbook everywhere, I can create new work at any time, and from a single sketch, I can develop multiple pieces—whether as woodblock prints or larger paintings. My process is similar to how Edvard Munch created The Scream, first making a print and then experimenting with colour variations. This allows me to explore multiple interpretations of an idea while producing a diverse body of work.

However, my commitment to working from life presents certain challenges. I always want to sketch in the moment, which can sometimes be distracting – especially to those around me, as I often stop what I’m doing to draw. Additionally, I only use traditional materials and techniques, despite modern alternatives that could potentially simplify my process. While this can make things more difficult, I believe there is a certain power in working with the same methods as the great artists before me, and I see it as a way of honouring their legacy while bringing their techniques into a contemporary context.

Will your next project be a continuation of your current style, or are you experimenting with something different?
My next project takes me to Japan, where I’ll be travelling with my partner, who is also an artist. I plan to use this trip not only to create work inspired by Japan’s landscapes and culture but also to further develop my printmaking skills.

Japanese woodblock printing has had a profound influence on many of the artists I admire, and I hope to gain a deeper understanding of traditional techniques by studying works from artists such as Hokusai and Hasui Kawase. My goal is to integrate these historical methods into a contemporary context, using them to document my experiences and surroundings in a way that remains true to my artistic voice.

Find out more about Alex’s work on his Instagram or website. ‘Capturing Life Through Colour’ runs at Six Foot Gallery from April 25th to May 9th.