Hannah Cornish graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2001 with a BA Honours in Drawing and Painting. She has exhibited in London, Scotland and New York and has work in private collections in Sydney and the U.K. Residencies include Cove Park in Scotland. Hannah’s work is about interior spaces from memory and observation. Different viewpoints and emotional responses to spaces are explored through colour, shape and surface. Hannah responds to the arrangement of what is in, how we move through and re-shape spaces. In the work, solid shapes, thin lines and visible brushwork contrast. Opaque and transparent layers give a sense of searching showing an intuitive approach. She aims for depth and harmony.

See Hannah’s work as part of our annual Spring open call, Keep Your Eye on the Doughnut, Not the Hole, which runs April 3rd to 24th, featuring an incredible collection of works by thirty artists leaning into joy, curiosity, and the often surreal pleasure of focusing on what is rather than what isn’t, in a myriad of mediums.

Hi Hannah! Can you elaborate on the significance or symbolism of the chosen title of your work?
The painting exhibited in the Spring show is  titled Edge. The title is derived from the fact that each shape is separated with clear edges. The painting is inspired by a sense of an interior space defined by shapes meeting another shape or area, thus creating an edge. Each shape expands with either a reflection or line which again, redefines where an edge can be.

What emotions or reactions do you hope viewers experience when they see your artwork?
Depending on the painting, a sense of calm and a want to look closer.

How do you overcome creative blocks?
Very often I will draw small abstract sketches of different compositions using a pen, a rubber and a ruler. I will do these in a small sketchbook. Other times I will use ‘a creative block’ as an opportunity to draw something completely different particularly realistic portraits which will give me thinking time but still give me a sense of achieving something.

How do you know when a piece is complete?
A painting is finished when I see a sense of depth or when I see that there is just enough contrast between a thin line and broader shapes or between bold flat shapes and painterly surfaces.

Which artists inspire you?
I am inspired by the perspectives and interiors in Renaissance paintings particularly Botticelli and Vermeer’s paintings. The depth of field draws me to the story telling and gives a strong sense of the setting. I am also influenced by Rachel Whiteread’s sculptures of negative space that becomes a solid form holding memory from personal and collective experiences. I am very drawn to Richard Wilson’s non-site specific installation 20:50 which is, in part, about changing our perception of space through the unconventional material of oil. The highly reflective surface and emphasis on the horizontal is peaceful and immersive, two attributes I aim for in my own work. 

What advice would you give to artists who are just starting out?
Stay close to your artist friends. Make opportunities happen between you. Support one another and find time to keep talking about your practice with people that understand the different creative processes.

Are there any upcoming events or additional information you would like the audience to know?
Innerleithen Open Studios (Scottish Borders) is on again this year, in the last week of September 2025. I’m part of the Walkerburn studios during that weekend.

Find out more about Hannah work on Instagram. Keep Your Eye on the Doughnut, Not the Hole runs at Six Foot Gallery until Thursday 24th April 2025.