The ever- changing colours and shapes of the Aberdeenshire landscape is an important source of inspiration for Haxworth.
Hetty Haxworth was born in Oxford in 1971, establishing herself as a prominent printmaker over a career spanning three decades. After graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 1993, she has exhibited extensively throughout the UK and internationally, with her work appearing in prestigious venues including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, and Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts. Now working from her studio in rural Aberdeenshire, Hetty creates monoprints, screenprints, and painted relief on wood that capture the interplay between light and landscape.
Hetty Haxworth's Artistic Journey
Hetty's creative approach draws inspiration from her background in textile design, experiences at Oxford Print Studio, and her formal training at Glasgow School of Art. Her abstract works visualize the sense of space, light, and movement that characterizes her surroundings. The changing seasons of Aberdeenshire profoundly influence her art—from deep russets of autumn trees to the yellow hues of spring and the white-blue tones of snow-covered landscapes. Regular furrows, pylon lines, and geometric field patterns provide structure to her compositions, transforming natural scenes into vibrant geometric studies.
Capturing Moments in Color
The immediacy of monoprinting particularly appeals to Hetty, allowing her to document fleeting moments when shafts of light transform the rural landscape. She builds texture through oil-based inks and often adjusts colors by overprinting additional tones to create vibrating hues. The simplicity of her work emerges from direct emotional responses to momentary observations. As she describes her process: ""I return to my studio each day and turn my memory of the composition into a collage or drawing and then eventually into a print."" This translation of memory into art results in works that balance abstraction with recognizable landscape elements.
Recognition and Recent Exhibitions
Hetty's printmaking has earned significant recognition throughout her career, including a Gallery 10 Prize from the Scottish Society of Arts in 2023 and a VACMA Aberdeenshire grant in 2025 to work with Master Papermaker Gangolf Ulbricht in Berlin. Her recent exhibitions include solo shows at Glasgow Print Studio and Upright Gallery Edinburgh in 2024, and a double solo exhibition with renowned artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham at Tatha Gallery in 2021. Her work is widely collected and held in numerous private and public collections, with commissions from organizations like John Lewis and Rugs By Design. Hetty continues to share her expertise through workshops, having received grants from Creative Scotland and Angus Council to conduct art education projects with primary schools.