Born in April 1964, Andrew qualified as an architectural
technician twenty years later. Whilst working for various architectural
private practices, local authorities and government bodies, he learned to
produce highly detailed architectural drawings, perspectives and
presentation work, ultimately “ghosting” for Edinburgh’s top perspective
artists. Currently, he has worked as a technician at the Edinburgh
College of Art for over twenty years. Through all this, and whilst
playing guitar in various rock/blues bands, he has always made time to
indulge in two of his many hobbies; art and Scottish history. Fascinated
since youth by epic tales of Scottish heroes, Andrew finally combined
his interest in historical research with his experience in the production of
detailed architectural drafting to produce authentic period
reconstructions of individuals, events, equipment and landscapes.
His early images of William Wallace were initially used to promote
the activities of some charitable Trusts. More recently, they have
graced the covers of books, magazines, CD and DVD covers. Some have
appeared on television documentaries and news items and his “Execution of
Wallace” piece was featured in a documentary included on the US Sapphire
Series Blu-Ray release of “Braveheart”. Three of his reconstructions of
the Wallace period are on permanent display at the Stirling Smith Art
Gallery and Museum and a further two pieces were incorporated into their
"Bannockburn 2014" exhibition. Some of his work began to appear on
various internet sites and helped to raise the awareness and
preservation of historical sites in Scotland. This exposure led to
further book illustration work, covering a range of eras and he briefly
became the official artist to Jonah Lomu, the New Zealand “All Black”
rugby legend.
Andrew worked with the late Scottish author and
historian David Ross who encouraged him to continue with his work at a
time when he had lost all confidence in it. He used many of his pieces as
cover and internal illustrations for his books on Scottish history. This
new found confidence led to him giving public talks on research and art
production related to the Scottish Wars of Independence. He subsequently
produced many pieces for the Society of William Wallace, including a
design for a memorial to Wallace which has recently been granted
planning permission in Glasgow. Andrew was honoured to be invited by
the First Minister of Scotland to Stirling Castle to commemorate the
700th anniversary of the death of Sir William Wallace in recognition of
this work.
More recently, he has been commissioned by the Battle
of Prestonpans 1745 Heritage Trust to paint several large images of the
said battle. Having grown up in Prestonpans, he was delighted to have
produced these pieces, the main purpose of which was to attempt to raise
local awareness of some of the lesser known aspects of the battle, the
first major encounter of the 1745 uprising.
Andrew does not consider
himself a real artist; "I’m still just a guy who likes to doodle in his spare time".
Over the years, Andrew has often been urged to organise and sell prints but has, somehow, never managed to get round
to it, til now!
The Douglas Archives recommends a visit to Andrew
Hillhouse's website, where prints can be purchased.
http://www.andrewhillhouseprints.co.uk
Andy died on Sunday, 15th April 2018, leaving his wife, Vicky and son,
Gus.
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