David Short
My Art Journey
Four years ago, before retiring, I realised I needed to find a hobby to keep myself busy. Although my wife is an avid golfer, I needed to find my own thing. So, I enrolled in a council-run evening painting class. I hadn't painted since my school days, about forty-five years ago. After attending various evening and weekend classes, I applied to the prestigious Leith School of Art (LSA) for a year-long, one-day painting class, and they accepted me.
At LSA, I discovered an artist toolkit and those who inspired my work, including Matisse, Hockney, Roal Duffy, Anne Redpath. I am drawn to colour and pattern and have found that I always return to abstract still-life subject matter. After three years of studying painting, I am expanding my knowledge by attending a printing course and LSA mentor program. My mentor is a leading Scottish Landscape Artist.
With my background in project management, I organised exhibitions of fellow students work at LSA and built a website during the lockdown to showcase our work. During the last year, I have been asked to exhibit my work in several rural galleries in Scotland and shared a stand at the Edinburgh and Scottish Borders Art Fairs. Over the last year, I have also built up my Social Media presence with an Instagram site (@DavidShortArtist) and a website I built, DavidShortArtist.com.
My abstract still life work includes objects from my childhood memories and travels, such as Sunday tea with my aunt or objects from my grandma's china cabinet. My research today includes frequent trips to antique shops to find objects that spark these memories. Botanicas also play a big part; much of my abstract art is based on real flowers.
Once I decide what to paint and have a general composition in mind, I will start laying down paint/ink, letting the work flow, and building up layers until I am happy with the mark-making. I tend to live with the work for a while and go back to “fix” the things that I find annoying. The aspiration of the work is for the viewer to find it joyous and uplifting.
What started as a retirement hobby has turned into so much more. I am so glad I decided to pick up a paintbrush rather than a golf club.
Film Documentary about My Art Journey
The following is a documentary made by first-year students in the Film & Media course at Napier University Edinburgh. The remit of the film was that it had to use only static camera images (this makes some of the film appear slightly jumpy).
