Tea Break: Darren Cole

In our regular feature, we join a local for a tea break and find out how they spend their time and their time off. This week, we welcome award-winning photographer and glass artist Darren Cole.

Darren Cole showcases his work

Please introduce yourself...

I moved to Harris in 2013 with my partner after several regular holidays on the island. Having been involved with landscape photography for many years, I decided to turn professional. Since becoming the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year in 2021, I have also been experi menting with digital painting on the iPad and more recently, creating original paintings using acrylics on the inside of glass vessels.

How did you get to where you are today?

The photographic side of my work has developed gradually. I started with my own black and white darkroom using film, before moving over to digital once the technol ogy had advanced enough. I became very interested in the potential to create more abstract and evocative photographic-based images. After we moved to Harris, I discovered a long exposure photographic technique called intentional camera move ment (or ICM for short). By moving the camera during a long exposure, painterly images can be created.

Through many hours of practice and experimentation, I managed to create a body of work that I'm very proud of. I became more interested in producing real paintings, but being so used to working digitally and having no formal training, I struggled to produce anything of worth. Learn ing to paint digitally on the iPad was a useful next step however and when I finally returned to experimenting with real acrylics I found I was able to create original pieces that I actually liked!

What piece of work are you most proud of?

Winning the Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year award was a real thrill, but being finally able to work with acrylics has been amazingly satisfying for me. When I first started making these pieces in May, they were all of a modest size. Recently though I felt brave enough to scale things up and the vessel you can see on the rock next to the heather in the image is a particular favourite. It sold within minutes of being put online. Having to say goodbye to original pieces that you'll never see again has been a new experience for me!

How do you spend your time off?

Touring around Harris and Lewis is always inspiring and rejuvenating. I find that travelling further afield often inspires me to push my work in different directions as we visit different galleries and experience new locations.

What are your favourite places on Harris?

As much as I love Luskentyre, I find Seilebost a better pho tographic location as you get a great view of Luskentyre from there and the ever-changing shoreline always presents some interesting foregrounds to use. There is so much to be inspired by here, but I think the colours, textures and dramatic weather combine to keep my work moving and hopefully improving.

What’s next for you?

I've found that letting your creative work change through experimentation and following what attracts you the most is the best way forward, so it's difficult to know what might happen next. Pushing the painting work is a priority and perhaps introducing some different material to make mixed media pieces. I have several two foot tall glass vessels that are going to be a challenge to paint.

It’s Tea Break time. What are you having?

A decent cappuccino from our old gallery machine and a slice or two of Chris' moist fruit loaf.

• Find Darren online at darrencole.photography or at the Tarbert Community Centre Craft Markets on Fridays.