From Vienna & Hitler to New York City & Religious Icons

From the Granite City's glistening grey architecture to intricate Viennese buildings, former Grammar school pupil Jillian Bain Christie takes inspiration for her artwork from an array of man-made structures. The Glasgow School of Art graduate, who also has a Masters in Design from Edinburgh, produces elaborately detailed artwork of buildings and other subject matter which are then transformed into 3D cards, pop-up books and character illustrations as well as one-off commissions.

Twenty-seven-year-old Jillian Bain Christie, of Jillian Bain Christie says, "Fine art has always been my first love. Art was my favourite subject at school so there really was no other alternative as to what I would do when I finished my education. In between my degree courses I had the opportunity to attend Vienna's Academy of Fine Art for three months, which still proves to be a constant source of inspiration for my work. Vienna is steeped in history and the academy's most famous reject was Hitler!"

Jillian continues, "I also worked for the Scottish Opera in the props department during my studies – this also influences my work. My subject matters range from architecture to depicting stage sets from the theatre and religious icons. Commissions prove to be my biggest output. I was recently commissioned to produce an illustration of Aberdeen Grammar school for a former pupil who is now a banker in New York."

"I use various medium such as pen & ink, watercolour, lino cuts and etching but my preferred medium is gouache, which is a paint that is heavier and more opaque than watercolour, with greater reflective qualities. Gouache allows you an enhanced intensity of colour and is ideal for illustration purposes. I have two styles of working which are a straight forward representational style and a stylised and more detailed form using fine lines."

"I also have a side of my work which can be seen as controversial. I had been collecting kitsch religious statues and medals, with a view to using them as a basis for work, for some time. I was amazed by the fact that something so pious could be so crude and throwaway. I reworked them through mezzotint and hand drawn colour separations, painstakingly trying to evoke the feeling of producing a real icon. By doing this, I wanted to bring their devotional, sacred preciousness back."

"My 3d cards are available from the Holburn Gallery, where I also exhibit larger pieces of artwork as well as at The Heinzel Gallery on Rose Street in Aberdeen. I am currently based at Wasps Studio as the unpredictable Aberdeen weather means that I cannot carry out 100% of my work on-site so I also work from photographs. My commissions usually come through word-of-mouth but I also hope to get into illustration for book publishers."

"Business Gateway has been a huge help to me in terms of setting up on my own. I met a Business Gateway business advisor through a social event and she advised that I go and see her about becoming self-employed. I was hugely apprehensive about the amounts of paperwork I had to fill in as I am dyslexic, but they were extremely helpful and put my mind at ease."

"I would thoroughly recommend for people to go along and have a chat with one of the advisors if they are unsure about taking that first step. They will ask what your motivation is, what your strengths and weaknesses are. It should help you get a clear idea of why you are considering becoming your own boss and what you hope to get out of it. It can be life changing; it certainly has been for me."

The Business Gateway service in Grampian is delivered by Enterprise North East Trust. For more information telephone 01224 289725 or visit www.bgateway.com.

ENDS

Picture Caption: Jillian Bain Christie's drawing of Aberdeen Grammar, the school where she developed her love of art.

For further information contact:

Sarah Bremner

Tricker PR

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