A View of my HeART

Amanda Hamilton’s arresting paintings of family pets and Scottish wildlife will strike a chord with the viewing public, being full of style but also expertly depicted. In her new selling exhibition in Hawick Museum’s Waterfall Gallery, Amanda’s work demonstrates how she experiments with colour and texture in a stylised way to bring her artworks to life.

She spoke to us about her work ahead of her exhibition opening:

“I have a symbol placed into each piece and am known to quite literally put my heart into my art!” says Amanda, who was born in Edinburgh and who lives in Hawick. As a child, I was keen on drawing; never being far from a sketchbook and pencils. From an early age, I loved bringing a blank page to life with a few pencil lines or brush strokes. I pursued art as a subject at secondary school and, on leaving, I took up an apprenticeship in ceramic art and painting, which led to a career spanning more than 10 years.”

Richard White, one of our Assistant Curators at Hawick Museum said, “Attractive, colourful, stylish and well-drawn, Amanda Hamilton’s paintings would look well in many a home and we are really excited to show her work in Hawick Museum. This exhibition gives a local artist a chance to exhibit, fulfilling one of our charitable aims at Live Borders, to support creative communities and make life healthier, happier and stronger.”

A self-taught artist on canvas; favouring acrylics as a medium, although enjoying playing around with mixed-media, Amanda’s initial subjects were often flowers or seascapes.

“My love for animals soon took over, so was an easy step to create works of Scottish wildlife, in particular Highland cows and stags,” explains Amanda. “Painting in a stylised way, I veer away from super-realistic creations and just have a lot of fun painting these.”

Amanda recently started using wood as a surface for paintings, finding it to be a versatile and interesting surface to work on. “I believe the natural effect and grain lends itself as a backdrop to my Scottish wildlife paintings,” explains Amanda, who also uses reclaimed materials and sometimes re-purposes common household items as part of her creative process.

At the end of 2016, Amanda undertook her first pet portrait commission. “I paint these in acrylics and make them as realistic as possible,” says Amanda. “My growing portfolio can be viewed on Facebook @AmandaHamiltonCreations.”

‘A View of my HeArt’ runs from Sunday 12 May to Sunday 14 July 2019 at the Waterfall Gallery, Hawick Museum. Entry is free, but donations are welcome.

Live Borders is a charity. Every penny you spend with us is reinvested into supporting active, creative and healthy communities in the Scottish Borders.