Driven to Abstraction: father and daughter collaboration, shared inspiration, individual style. By Alan Richmond and Samantha Smith

March: Fri-Mon 11:00-15:00 (closed Tue-Thu)
April & May: Wed-Mon 11:00-16:00 (closed Tue)

A new exhibition in the Waterfall Gallery at Hawick Museum sees the
artwork of father and daughter, Alan Richmond and Samantha Smith,
displayed together. Their inspiration comes from their shared passion for
old and weathered paintwork, rusty textures and random colours and
shapes found on skips, old doors and abandoned boats.
Alan includes his love of the Highlands and Islands in his work, which he
describes as semi-abstract landscapes, ranging from near realism to
abstract, from highly coloured to monochromatic. His method includes
using acrylic paint, squeegees, rollers and razor blades to reproduce a
weathered effect by layering up paint and removing it again, resulting in
varying degrees of abstraction.
Samantha enjoys making her own natural pigments, mostly from the
remains in her open fireplace. The colours and marks left on the bricks
after each fire is another source of inspiration. Using what is left behind
she recycles and recreates those beautiful natural and neutral tones in her
abstract work.
The result is an intriguing and atmospheric exhibition which is well worth a
visit.