Gavin McDermott

About

The thing I didn’t do is continue with my art education straight after school, and I have only recently made the mental shift to even describe myself as an artist.

The drawings and illustrations have always been there as something in the background of everything I’ve done.

I started off as a Biologist and have worked as a teacher before I specialised in IT. I’ve been a professional graphic designer before, and digital photographer, too. Along the way I’ve studied colour theory and typography, and thought and drawn and thought some more.

Anyway, this chapter of my artistic endeavour owes its existence to my enrolling on a Foundation course in Fine Art a few years ago. Twice. And a spin off from that was a small art group I was part of for a couple of years, where I was able to extend techniques and grow my ability to create.

My work has moved beyond attempts at photographic representation, through to much looser and abstract creations, letting things emerge, and onto work combining both aspects of precision and impression.

Anyway, I often paint acrylics on canvas, and watercolours and pastels on paper. I usually base my landscapes on photos I’ve taken, although sometimes include intermediate steps of drawing first or even making a collage to then base the final painting on.

Made By Hand

I have come back to ‘hand made’–I used to design things for on screen (logos, websites, colour schemes, graphics), but they kept reminding me that stuff changes–sometimes really quickly–and in a way that things no longer work.

For example, I first manipulated some digital photos (of rowing blades of all things), using a long-since disappeared piece of software ‘Microsoft Image Composer’, which shipped with FrontPage 98. .MIC files are now un-openable (not least when saved on a floppy disk!), and even the output file (.JPG) is looking a bit iffy as my new iPhone has shown the future and takes pictures in .HEIC format.

The obsolescence hasn’t gone away: my beautiful logos in Macromedia Flash are no more, and old videos are a nightmare.

Books, however, are still good. And paper. And paint. Even old books are still good from before my lifetime.

So maybe I increasingly like creating things which can survive without the latest download or version of the software to even see them…