Rachel Meehan

Rachel will be located in Venue 1 - Ancrum Bowling Club

Rachel is fine artist specialising in scraperboard and lino, her images are illustrative representations of flowers and birds where she aims to capture the boldness and colour found in nature.

I trained as a Fine Artist (Printmaker), completing my Post Graduate studies at Glasgow School of Art many years ago. At that time, I specialised in large figurative pieces and exhibited in a number of galleries in the UK.

After a long career in a non-art related job I returned to my creative practice in 2017 with a more decorative style, concentrating on floral and bird images. I now work mainly in two mediums, lino cuts which tend to be bold black and white pieces of scraperboard. These pieces are complex and highly coloured - the bolder the better. I enjoy working from black to white, gradually removing the black ink to reveal the images. It gives a woodcut effect and allows a lot of detail, but little room for error. Each piece can take days or weeks to complete.

I use my designs in a number of ways from cards to fabrics to decorative papers but also produce both open and limited edition prints. I love selecting something I have grown, sketching it, developing the design on the scraperboard before trying to capture the colours that encapsulate the essence of the specimen.

I often select specimens just as they are passing their peak when blooms are beginning to rage against the inevitable decline. Their shapes and forms are at their most expressive then. Exotic and colourful birds are also a favourite subject matter, and I am lucky enough to live near to a bird centre which specialises in breeding and protecting rare species from around the world so I can visit them.

Based in Birgham, I work from my studio in the garden which allows me to step outside and choose things to draw. The difficult is sometimes making that decision and not ending up gardening!

You can find out more about Rachel Meehan on her website, instagram and facebook.