How did your artistic journey start?
I am a visual artist and animator from Scotland currently living and working in Glasgow. Having graduated from my Painting undergraduate degree at Edinburgh College of Art in 2019 followed by a MSc in Animation at the University of Dundee in 2021, I continue to work across a range of mediums and utilise both traditional and contemporary techniques in my practice.

How did you arrive at the theme of your work?
When I was in ECA my obsession with retro video games and medieval art led me to create digital collages, merging these two worlds together I later transformed these into massive vibrant acrylic and gouache paintings and sculptures.

It’s interesting to reflect on my work from that period and think about how my approach has evolved. I was a lot more precise with my brushstrokes, I was trying to emulate the likeness of the screen and perfection of the digital world, which I wanted to create a new language of line from. My excessive attention to detail made it challenging to produce anything because I was so pernickety and overly meticulous.

I’ve returned to painting with a different approach than before. I am more expressive and let the paint do its thing. I am still precise when I need to be. This is a new direction for me so I do a lot of pondering. I know I have so much more to develop from this style. Also I think it helps to have many different projects on the go so I don’t get stuck! I quite often get stuck, but if I have another thing to do I just will hop to another project… it is so fun to not limit yourself to one thing, you can do lots of things.

Can you walk us through your creative process?
I am outside a lot, exploring, camping, climbing over rocks and laying in moss, albeit it is
teeming with ticks. I collect a lot of visual imagery and also take home little treasures from the forest like pinecones and lichen. But not a lot! And mostly stuff that has fallen on the ground.

Who influences you? Which other artists work do you love? 
At the moment I’m really enjoying Paul Evans work, he creates such magical atmospheres with strong colour. I also love Deborah Phillips uses paint to create texture in her paintings.

What advice would you give to artists who are just starting out?
Don’t be scared of the blank paper! Just start scribbling.

You can see more of Heather’s work on Instagram @hebie_illustrations

Our Winter Show, Warm Voices, runs at Six Foot Gallery until 9 January 2024.