Dominic Vince - 'Paintings from the Hebrides'

Painting from the Hebrides’, a new exhibition by artist Dominic Vince, arrives this week at Mirfield’s Creative Arts Hub. Featuring a series of heavily textured semi-abstract paintings, the images recall the artist’s trips to the Hebrides over the past ten years. Celebratory in essence, and made in the studio from drawings, the paintings represent a key phase in Vince's development and are exhibited here as a group for the first time.

Vince, born in Kent in 1978, now lives and works in Hebden Bridge. He studied at Canterbury Christchurch University where the paintings of English Painter Euan Uglow had a profound effect upon his development as an artist. After being awarded a bursary, he spent a year at The Prince’s Drawing School in London - which, according to Vince, “… taught me, amongst many other important things, that I did not belong in a city.” After many painting trips to Dartmoor and the Hebrides he now focuses almost exclusively on landscapes, particularly the rugged beauty of Calderdale.

Vince first began visiting the Hebrides in 2006. Spending his honeymoon on Mull, he began thereafter to visit the area regularly with trips to Eigg, Rum and Colonsay. It was an association with Winifred Nicholson’s paintings that provided the first impulse to go; Vince admired this often undervalued painter, who painted in many locations throughout the Hebrides. Whilst Nicholson is valued as a colourist, Vince’s engagement with the Hebridean landscape leans towards drawing and abstraction.

On his affinity with the location, Vince says, “I fell in love with The Hebrides and they are all I wanted to paint for about five years. It’s not just the sea, the mountains and the white sandy beaches with nobody on them. It’s also the sheer amount of life there; birds, flowers, otters. It’s an area yet to lose its wildlife, unlike the rest of Britain, and for me, it’s in our wildlife and countryside (and art) that our true and common heritage lies …”

Vince has exhibited widely, with solo exhibitions held at Dean Clough, Artsmill and Hebden Bridge Town Hall. Other recent exhibitions have included the Fabric Gallery in Bradford, 108 Fine Art in Harrogate, and the Royal Academy Summer Show in London. Further information about Vince’s work can be found on his website, www.dominicvince.co.uk. Dominic’s exhibition has been organised in collaboration with local arts organisation ArtBound – see http://www.artboundcommunity.com for further details.

There will be an exhibition launch event held on Friday 10th June, 6pm to 8pm, when visitors can meet the artist and talk to him about his work – all welcome.

The gallery is open from 10am to 5pm, Wednesday to Friday, and 10am to 3pm on Saturday. Entry to the gallery is free. For further details contact mark@creativeartshub.org.uk, or ring 01924 492775. We regret that there is no disabled access to Creative Arts Hub.

For more information visit http://www.dominicvince.co.uk/