David Fleck is one of our most loved artists. He captures Edinburgh and Scotland in lineal details and an outerwordly eternal beauty. Based in Glasgow, he travels all over the country with his wife who works as a remote and rural GP. I had a chance to ask him some questions about his work and life. He is a fabulous human, deeply rooted in the beauty of Scottish land. Read along to get to know him a little bit better.
Arthur's Seat Edinburgh print by David Fleck.
1. How do you know what to draw?
The things I choose to draw are generally based on memories of places or experiences, mainly around Scotland, and most of it lives in my head for a long time before ever reaching paper.
Over the time it takes for me to actually get around to drawing something the memory often changes and becomes a little more nostalgic or vague than the actual moment.
Edinburgh Castle art print by David Fleck.
2. Can you tell me about your process?
The elements of my pieces are all analog- starting with pencil on paper, separate washes of paint and texture, and then I layer things up and bring it together digitally afterwards. The hybrid of traditional and digital methods gives me the flexibility to keep playing with how a piece looks and feels, while still keeping a truly hand made feel.
3. Architecture sits very close to art. How do you work within the two disciplines?
After doing both for years, I don’t work in both any more actually- I’ve weaned myself off architecture and now am happily a full time artist, which I love. The history and theory of art and architecture overlap and run parallel in many ways, and I still have a fascination with architecture and how we live and inhabit spaces. The best architecture and art can be very moving and powerful. My time in architecture definitely helped me with things like visualising, drawing, thinking about light, and considering scale and detail. The reality of two careers for me personally was that I didn’t feel like I had the time or energy to really explore or grow either, and ultimately I’m happier with the creative freedom I have now!
The Vennel Steps, Edinburgh art print by David Fleck.
4. Clarity about scale and perspective roots your art in realism. How important is it for you to experience the location you are going to paint?
When it’s a real place then it’s really quite important, and I’ve found on the few occasions that I’ve drawn a place from references and then visited later I’ve realised that I really missed something important about the sense of that place. For more imagined or abstract pieces, they too are always drawing from experiences of real places. At the moment I like observing and thinking about permanent things and momentary things in my pieces- rocks vs a blustery sky, buildings vs people etc - and the relationship and scale between those things.
Old Pier art print by David Fleck.
5. Have you been travelling much around Scotland? What are your favourite places?
Yeah I spend a lot of time out around Scotland. I built out a camper van a few years ago so we’re very often out in it as a family discovering new places, and my wife works as a remote and rural GP which takes us to lots of different spots we might not normally reach, generally for a week of two at a time. I’ve got endless favourite places that I can go on and on about! Some absolute favourites are the staggering cliffs in Shetland (Hermaness and Noss in particular, with hundreds of thousands of seabirds), or the empty beaches of Coll. I’m a fan of getting a ferry- you’re pretty much guaranteed to end up somewhere magical and away from the crowds.
Shetland Cliffs photograph by David Fleck
6. Where do you sit down to work? Tell me about your studio.
I'm very fortunate to have been able to build a room at the back of our house where I now work - so I got to think about what I really wanted from scratch. It’s not a huge space but it’s got a really high ceiling, a bunch of natural light, and a little wood stove for cold days. It’s where I do a lot of my work, as well as preparing prints and packaging things up.
I’ve also recently moved into a beautiful big studio space in the centre of Glasgow, where I'm hoping to explore a lot more painting and larger original pieces!
David in his studio holding a wee dog.
7. Love the creative exploration. What happens when the idea hits home? What does your creative process look like?
In the run up I might do a couple of small doodles, but generally I start once I’ve got something I want to achieve fairly clear in my mind- and from there I prefer to have a solid stretch of time and space to just blast through it- ignoring other things I need to do until it’s done. The down side to this is that I can put off starting something new if I know I’ve not got full days ahead of me to work through it!
8. How do you recharge your batteries? Stay connected with your creative self?
Something over the past year or so has been that I’ve started climbing, which has been brilliant. I’ve never been a gym person, but climbing feels like playing rather than exercise, and really clears my head since it’s totally non work or art related!
Creatively, visiting art exhibitions is always very energising for me, taking photos (with an old film camera - the anticipation and reward of getting developed photos back is great), and of course getting outside somewhere in Scotland. Getting out on the water is particularly good- swimming, snorkelling (yes, in Scotland!), paddle boarding or kayaking our amazing coastlines or lochs.
Details of Aurora Coast print by David Fleck.
9. Has being a dad changed your art?
I’m sure it has. Whenever I’m out around Scotland it’s always with my wee girl too, so most of those memories that inspire my pieces these days were places we explored together. It’s probably making me more nostalgic and reflective, but being a dad has also made me think more about the future and purpose- which has driven me to start doing more original painting and also expand into the separate studio space I mentioned.
Tiree, photograph
10. What do you read at the moment?
Some books that have been a recent companion with me around Scotland have been the illustrated travel journals by Mairi Hedderwick. She’s the author/illustrator behind the brilliant Katie Morag children’s books, and I was recently lucky enough to sit with her for a conversation and lunch on a ferry back from the Isle of Coll. She has a handful of books published which are about her exploring and observing Scotland, alongside her sketches and watercolours.
For fiction I’m quite into short story anthologies at the moment- it’s refreshing to be able to sit and smash through a really thought provoking short story in an hour or so rather than committing to something big! I’ve recently enjoyed The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu.
11. What makes you truly happy?
Exploring a beach or coastline with my family, a stinky cheese board and glass of red, and anything cooked over a fire outside with friends.
David Fleck holding one of his prints titled Library.
Thank you so much for talking to me David. Enjoy your new studio space and venturing more into painting. We cannot wait to see your new work.
You can find all the art we sell by David Fleck here.