The family of the late Scott Hutchison are releasing Living In Colour: The Art Of Scott Hutchison, a book of illustrations and artwork from the former songwriter and vocalist of Frightened Rabbit. The publication is due for release on 13th July 2023 via Faber Music and is available to pre-order here. The collection follows the 2021 release of ‘The Work,’ which brought together Scott’s hand-written lyrics and accompanying artwork across the career of Frightened Rabbit. Scott studied illustration at The Glasgow School Of Art before forming Frightened Rabbit in Selkirk in 2003. Through his music and art Scott made tiny changes that had a big impact; his honesty and openness about his own mental health inspired so many. A percentage of the RRP will be donated to Tiny Changes, the Scottish mental health charity founded by the Hutchison family following Scott’s death. The family also plan to work with Selkirk High School to develop a project to encourage pupils who show a passion for art to hone their skills and nurture their creativity. https://tinychanges.com/
The limited hardback edition presents Scott’s illustrations, ranging from his time as a student at the Glasgow School Of Art, through the birth and rise of Frightened Rabbit, a selection of his book illustrations for various poet friends, and everything in between. The majority of illustrations, a huge swathe of which haven’t been published anywhere before, were provided by Scott’s family and friends. The book also contains selected artwork that was contributed by fans. Scott’s family, alongside the remaining members of Frightened Rabbit, put out a call across social media in 2022 to submit pieces of Scott’s artwork from across the world.
A special request from Frightened Rabbit and Scott’s family said: “As we were putting together our recent book The Work, a collection of Scott’s lyrics alongside snippets of his scribblings, it became clear that there was enough great material for a companion piece that could sit alongside it, celebrating the visual elements of Scott’s art. We’re working with Faber Music Publishing to create a collection of Scott’s artwork spanning his whole life. So much of the art he made during his time in the band lives in the hands and hearts of other people, so we would like to put out this call to anyone who may have a drawing, a painting or any form of illustration of Scott’s, to send us a photo so we can make this collection as broad and as expansive as we can.“
Grant Hutchison, Scott’s brother and drummer of Frightened Rabbit said,
“After finding a lot of joy and positivity in putting together a book of Scott’s lyrics we always felt there was room for a companion project of Scott’s visual art that could go alongside it. Before Scott wrote music he was already an incredible illustrator and artist. This carried on alongside the band as he worked with Dave Thomas on creating artwork for all FR releases. Having seen his artwork from the very beginning I’ve always thought it should be shared with more people. I think it shows another side to his creativity and just shows off how annoyingly talented he was (I can say that as his brother!). There will be some bits in here that are instantly recognisable and some that will be out there for the very first time, so as with Scott’s music I encourage everyone to immerse themselves in this book and the world of Scott’s illustrations and go get some more tattoos that are not FR related!”
Living In Colour: The Art Of Scott Hutchison’s creative concept comes from renowned album designer Dave Thomas, who worked with Frightened Rabbit across their career. He adds,
“I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work alongside Scott on the artwork for many Frightened Rabbit releases over the years. We spoke on many occasions about being able to put together a book featuring his illustrations and artwork outside of what he did for the band, so it has been amazing to be able to bring some of those ideas into being in this book.
Scott’s artwork has its own instantly recognisable visual language. His brilliantly detailed hand drawn illustrations and paintings of a gamut of characters and situations show the same observations on life, wicked sense of humour and playful use of words that were evident in his songwriting too.
For this book, together with Scott’s family, we were able to look through boxes and folders of his artwork going right back to childhood to create a collection that shows the range of work he created for so many different situations.
While reaching out to fans of Frightened Rabbit to request any artwork they would like to share, I was reminded of how generous Scott was with his time and creativity. We were sent many examples of pieces of personal artwork that he had created for friends and fans he had met around the world.
Whether you are already aware of Scott’s artwork or if you’re seeing it for the first time, there is so much here to immerse yourself into that I think will continue to inspire time and time again.”
Living In Colour: The Art Of Scott Hutchison is available to pre-order now as a limited edition to purchase from Frightened Rabbit (www.frightenedrabbit.com) and other retailers.
A limited number of exclusively designed Living in Colour tote bags are available as part of a book bundle from Rough Trade (www.roughtrade.com)
For more details on Tiny Changes, the Scottish mental health charity founded by the Hutchison family see here: Tiny Changes – A community of tiny change makers