Andrew Hill

Andrew Hill was born in Brighton in 1964. Following a foundation course at Brighton Polytechnic Faculty of Art, he studied illustration and graphic design at Exeter College of Art & Design. He graduated with a BA(Honours) degree in 1987 and moved to London, working as a freelance illustrator and graphic artist for clients such as Harrods, The Royal Academy of Arts, The Observer Magazine, IBM and British Airways.

In 1990, Andrew returned to Brighton, concentrating more on developing his painting. He won the Evening Argus painting prize at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery’s Sussex Open in 1992, moving to live and work in the mid-Sussex countryside the same year.

From 1997 until 2001, Andrew worked on large-scale abstract canvases from a studio on the outskirts of Ashdown Forest, whilst exhibiting in mixed and solo exhibitions. Towards the end of 2001, he began converting a disused builder’s warehouse, close to home, into a studio, exhibition space and somewhere to teach art and life-drawing part-time. He painted and exhibited there for three years and in 2002 was commissioned to produce a series of abstract works for the walls of the corridor to the main operating theatre of Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead.

In 2004, Andrew moved with his wife and two children to a house and studio south of Heathfield, where he continues to live and work today. More recently a series of his paintings was installed as part of the refurbishment of prestigious barristers offices in central London and in 2011 a large show of his paintings were exhibited at a gallery in Covent Garden, partly to raise funds and awareness for the charity Vision Aid Overseas.

Andrew’s work has evolved much over the years, from a closely-observed, representational approach to an idiosyncratic, essentially abstract expression of his inner life. He says of his current work, “I paint out of an urge to express otherwise inexpressible things, not so much to capture something, but to set something free.”

You can find out more by visiting his website, http://www.andhill.co.uk/.