Six Foot Gallery is delighted to present its annual Summer Show, featuring thirty-four artists working in a diverse range of mediums and disciplines.

Paisley based painter and designer Neave McCormick has been developing her skills in contemporary painting for the past several years, and she obtained an Honours degree in printed textiles from Glasgow School of Art in 2020. 

Neave has always had a passion for painting. Combining her training in textiles with more illustrative ideas, her deeply personal pieces represent strength, beauty, and power, and honour her skills in pattern-based working. Her recent work explores our inner selves and the relationship between our physical and spiritual bodies. Her process involves photography, digital manipulation, and different drawing techniques to establish a finished piece, usually in oil paint. Neave uses her own body as a reference, giving her work an intimate and visceral tone.

Hi Neave! Can you tell us how you typically approach your creative process from initial inspiration to completion of a piece?
 My approach usually starts with drawing or manipulating photographs to draw information from. I’ll then make several drawings, sketches or paintings exploring colour, composition and scale. After this, I’ll display these drawings and pieces of information and draw from them as I create the final piece, typically in acrylic paint, or oil at present.

Are there specific advantages or challenges associated with your chosen medium? Have you experimented with other mediums?
 I enjoy experimenting with a range of media with some of my favourite work I’ve produced being mixed-media. I mostly like to experiment with wet mediums but have created plenty of work using pencil, charcoal, pastels, and even found objects used for mark-making in the past. I’m currently enjoying using acrylic paints to build up layers. As it dries quickly it’s ideal for work where you are taping off sections. However, I enjoy the finish of an oil painting more as I find after varnishing, oils have a very rich finish which can be harder to achieve using acrylic paint.

How do you overcome creative blocks?
When I’m experiencing a creative block I find it useful to step back from being creative briefly. Nourish yourself in other parts of your life. I enjoy meditating, cleaning my workspace or exercising to clear my mind. After this, I sometimes find it helpful to look over old sketchbooks or work.

How has your practice changed over time?
From studying printed textiles at art school four years ago, my practice has changed a great deal. My work has gone from being pattern and abstract focused to being more thematic, personal, and dealing with the figure. Some things have stayed consistent however, like working heavily in layers, reminiscent of my training in screen printing.

What emotions or reactions do you hope viewers experience when looking at your artwork?
I like to leave interpretation entirely up to the viewer and strive to produce pieces that encourage viewers to draw context from their own personal experiences.

What artists inspire you? Are there any non artistic influences such as literature or music that impact your work?
From very early on in my artistic career, the work of artists such as Jenny Saville and Francis Bacon have had a great impact on me. I especially love the way in which they represent the body in painting. My painting Emote in Blues was originally inspired by a photograph of singer Arrow DeWilde in a crowd of fans during a performance. I was struck by the somewhat difficult to read expression on her face as well as the overall claustrophobia I felt when looking at the image. Often I also find myself inspired by the melancholy written work of American poet and novelist, Sylvia Plath and the way she deals with the experiences of womanhood and mental illness. Aside from this, I find the natural world and the beauty in it moving and inspiring daily, often what prompts quick sketches and photographs to use for inspiration later.

You can see more of Neave’s work on Instagram @neavemccormick. Our Summer Open Call Exhibition runs at Six Foot Gallery until Friday 23rd August.