User:Rob Hain/Bio



Rob Hain (19 March 1952) was born in Dorset, England and after gaining an honours degree in Fine Art from Loughborough in 1977, he moved to the Scottish Borders where he paints full time. Currently he is working on a series of paintings inspired by the Salford painter L S Lowry.

Early life
Rob was the first child of Victor and Dorothy (nee Morgan) Hain and came into the world in a solid brick and flint house at 13, Water Lane, Durweston. The river Stour ran close by and the landscape was very reminiscent of the painter John Constable's Suffolk with flat water meadows a feature of the surrounding countryside. Whether this gave Rob his first inspiration to paint is debatable but it must have had a profound influence in the sense that his love of the countryside was ignited in these early years. Rob's father worked for the National Provincial Bank and in order to get promotion had to move to where he was required. The family moved from the idyllic land of Thomas Hardy to the less rarified air of Newbury. Surrounded by houses and streets Rob's horizon changed as he became interested in the accidental patterns made by the new streets and houses around him. In Southampton there was a further sense of distancing from his roots though his experiences again returned much later in his work. From Southampton the family finally moved to to the village of Stonesfield in West Oxfordshire, where Rob's parents still live.

Artistic career
Rob Hain turned professional in 1981 and exhibited at the Mill House Gallery in Duddingston, run by Andy and Fi Martynoga. After a virtual sell-out he was asked to exhibit at the Peter Potter Gallery in Haddington. In 1982, an exhibition at the Heriot-Watt College of Textiles in Galashiels revealed his interest in illustration. The interest in humour was one that led to approaching subjects with something more than 'quick laughs' and led inevitably to an interest in creating more lyrical pieces.
 * "The small paintings on paper worked as series and I could see how I could develop them into a story. As I proceeded along this route, I found I could inject humour into the narrative with visual jokes."

His big breakthrough occured when Rob was chosen to depict the life of Galashiels on the walls of Old Gala House. The work was commissioned by Scottish Borders Council and Page and Park Architects. The successful completion of this work led on to a commission to paint the ceiling of a café in the Italian Centre in central Glasgow. For this Rob received a Civic Trust Award and a Civic Trust for Scotland Award.



'Old Gala House'. (Civic Trust Award 1992) Commission: Classical House Ltd. vision of 'The Italian Centre'. Acrylic on Paper. collected by Sir Walter Scott. Acrylic on Paper. Paintings to accompany text of 'The Seven Valleys' by Bahá'u'lláh. 'Sylvester', Children's picture book, individual illustrations - Acrylic on Paper, 7" x 7" Text commissioned from Judy Steel 'The Seven Valleys' Robert Gordon Institute of Technology, Aberdeen 'Scottish Borders Live at Simpson' Piccadilly, London [Scottish Borders Arts Network] Bahá'í prayers for children - drawings 'A Treasury of Bahá'í Prayers' a series of drawings to accompany text by Ian Gregg, published by Calligrafix TweedNet and Calligrafix, awarded three stars by Magellan. with graffiti from Atlanta, venture with Susan Farrell at Georgia Tech. USA for Scottish Borders Enterprise mid-summer and Christmas for ATACAMA Ltd, Film & Multimedia for ATACAMA Ltd Royal College of Art, London Royal College of Art, London
 * Born in Durweston, Dorset
 * Banbury School of Art, Foundation course
 * Loughborough College of Art and Design.
 * Fine Art BA (Hons)
 * One-Man show at 'The Garden', Loughborough
 * Group show ,'Peter Potter', Haddington
 * One-Man show, 'Millhouse Gallery', Edinburgh
 * One-Man show, Scottish College of Textiles, Galashiels
 * Group show, Central Library, Newcastle
 * Group show, Gosforth Library
 * Joint show, 'Scott Gallery 'Hawick
 * Group show, 'Ancrum Gallery', Jedburgh
 * One-Man show, 'Sunflower Gallery', Peebles
 * Group show, 'Ancrum Gallery', Jedburgh
 * Christmas Show, 'Mercury Gallery', Edinburgh
 * Festival Show, 'Mercury Gallery', Edinburgh
 * Group show, 'Picture Gallery', Peebles
 * Christmas Show, 'Mercury Gallery', Edinburgh
 * Christmas Show, 'Open Eye Gallery', Edinburgh
 * Christmas Show, 'Ancrum Gallery', Jedburgh
 * Group show, 'Fair Maid's House Gallery', Perth
 * Group show, 'Robson Gallery', Selkirk
 * Christmas Show, ' Fair Maid's House Gallery', Perth
 * Christmas Show, ' Mercury Gallery', Edinburgh
 * Christmas Show, 'Ancrum Gallery', Jedburgh
 * Commission: Ettrick and Lauderdale District Council
 * Page and Park, Architects. Mural in Old Gala House,
 * 7' 6" x 64', Acrylic on Plaster. Brief:
 * Life of Galashiels, Early 17th Century
 * Commission: Ettrick and Lauderdale District Council
 * Banner, 12' x 5'. Screen Inks on Polyethelene.
 * Commission: Classical House Ltd.,
 * Page and Park, Architects, Italian Centre, Glasgow
 * Mural, 1,200 sq. ft. Acrylic on Plaster. Chosen theme:
 * 'The Seven Deadly Sins'
 * Commission: Classical House Ltd.
 * Billboard, 20' x 10' Acrylic on Board.Title:
 * 'Put Some Dolci In Your Vita'
 * Series of miniature paintings to make tangible the
 * Series of paintings based on Border Ballads
 * One-Man show, Lindean Mill Studio, Galashiels
 * Commission: Nightingale Books.
 * Acrylic on Paper, all 6" x 4"
 * One-Man show, 'Traverse Theatre Gallery', Edinburgh
 * One-Man show, 'Christopher Boyd Gallery', Galashiels
 * Book Launch at Waterstones, Edinburgh,
 * One-Man show, 'Scott Gallery', Hawick
 * One-Man show, 'Balbardie Gallery', Bathgate
 * Group show, 'Queen's Hall', Edinburgh
 * Christmas Show, 'Ancrum Gallery', Jedburgh.
 * Exhibition / Launch, 'The Seven Valleys'
 * Venue: Old Gala House
 * Lecture tour: 'The Seven Valleys':
 * Leicester Square, London
 * College of Art, Loughborough
 * Nene College, Northampton
 * Vale of Catmoss, Oakham
 * Guildhall, Bedford.
 * Exhibition, lecture and seminar:
 * Exhibition: 'The Seven Valleys'
 * Exhibition: 'AMayZing!', Launch of S.B.A.N.
 * Publication of 'O Thou Kind Lord'
 * 150 colour illustrations for children's prayer book
 * 'A Visitor's Guide to Dryburgh',
 * Summerhouse Exhibition, Dryburgh
 * New Works, exhibition at Artwork Gallery, Hawick
 * Exhibition at Stables Gallery, Yetholm
 * Development of Internet Web Sites
 * Virtual Gallery of the Muses,
 * Pictures combining stills of Dryburgh Abbey
 * Tweed Horizons Virtual Walk-Through
 * Summerhouse Exhibition, Dryburgh
 * Group shows in Ormiston Institute, Melrose,
 * Appointment Artist in Residence with 'Art in the Woods' with Tim Stead and Borders Forest Trust.
 * Group show in Borders General Hospital
 * Advertisement in Museums Yearbook
 * R.S.A. Summer Exhibition, Edinburgh
 * Artwork and design for promotional video cover
 * Mercury Gallery Summer Show, London
 * A Treasury of Bahá'í Prayers' published
 * Mainhill Gallery stand at 'Works on Paper' show
 * Mainhill Gallery stand at 'Glasgow Art Fair'
 * Kirkbride House Summer Exhibition, Traquair
 * Lost Gallery Summer Exhibition, Strathdon
 * Mainhill Gallery, contemporary and traditional
 * Mainhill Gallery stand at Works on Paper show
 * Mainhill Gallery stand at Glasgow Art Fair, Glasgow
 * Edinburgh Festival - Mainhill Gallery
 * Frames Gallery, Perth
 * Castlegatehouse Gallery
 * Lost Gallery, Strathdon
 * London Art on Paper - Mainhill
 * Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth
 * Glasgow Art Fair - Mainhill
 * Chelsea Art Fair - Mainhill
 * Edinburgh Festival - Mainhill
 * Mainhill Gallery
 * Castlegatehouse Gallery, Cockermouth
 * Glasgow Art Fair - Mainhill
 * Chelsea ArtLondon - Mainhill
 * Edinburgh Festival – Mainhill
 * Affordable Art - Battersea
 * Glasgow Art Fair – Mainhill
 * Lost Gallery - Strathdon
 * Gascoigne Gallery, Harrogate
 * Manorhouse Gallery, Chipping Norton
 * Edinburgh Festival – Mainhill
 * Glasgow Art Fair – Mainhill
 * Ettrick Riverside, Selkirk
 * Tweeddale Museum Gallery, Peebles
 * Artist in Residence WASPS Studios Selkirk
 * Just Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh Festival

Awards
for Italian Centre work
 * Civic Trust Award (UK) and
 * Civic Trust Award (Scotland)

Short Biography
Rob Hain has painted professionally from 1981, having graduated in Fine Art at Loughborough in 1977. It was at Loughborough he met his wife, the painter Margaret Scott and in 1981 they settled in the Scottish Borders; a move that has provided Hain with a constant source of material for his landscapes. His favoured medium is acrylic paint which he applies generously. There are no specific views or subjects, rather a building up of marks and texture which suggest field shapes, trees, water and sky.

Notable achievements include a ceiling mural commissioned for The Italian Centre in Glasgow for which he received a prestigious Civic Trust Award. Over the years his work has moved from the miniature to the more gestural colour rich style which has secured him amongst the current crop of Scottish Colourists. He is currently setting up an exhibition in Los Angeles.

Rob Hain is WASPS-Selkirk Artist in Residence

Bahá'í Faith