Having her paintings on exhibition at the Lochgelly Centre has been a “full-circle moment” for Hayley Matthews, who was raised in the town.
Like many people, she took up painting as a new hobby during lockdown. The difference is that it didn’t stay as just a hobby for long.
Now she’s working as a full-time artist, having sold pieces of work to customers all over the world.
Hayley, 53, said: “I took a big risk with it, I had a beauty business before and when it closed in covid times, I was really pulling my hair out, not having any money coming in.
“I started picking up pebbles because at the time a lot of people were doing that, decorating them and leaving them on the beach or the park.
“That became a business and before long I set up a Facebook page. It grew to the point where I was selling hundreds, probably thousands of them.
“They went to Australia, Dubai, everywhere. It was crazy and I started getting more challenging designs. That gave me a bit of confidence, and eventually after a couple of years I decided to start on canvas to see when I was capable of.”
It wasn’t long before Hayley was given a chance to have her art displayed at The Glasgow Gallery.
She said: “I had to make a decision on whether I was going to go down the beauty route or the art route, and I chose the art one based on selling half a dozen paintings.
“I’ve since moved house, got a bigger studio, and have become part of the Central Fife Artists’ Collective.”
Hayley was always attracted to bright colours, but also produces monochrome work.
“You almost double your audience that way,” she said. “People tend to come in and go straight for one or the other.”
The painter, who now lives in Kirkcaldy, said the reception from her family in Lochgelly since her exhibition opened on Tuesday. April 7 has been fantastic.
As a three-year-old child in 1976, she was actually present at the centre’s opening.
“My mum used to run the youth clubs in the centre and my whole family are still there”, the former Beath High School pupil commented.
She went on to reminisce about how unlikely she feels her career path has been, adding: “I did get Higher art when I was younger. I always said that I only passed it because I was good at the theory, but here we are 35 years later and I'm doing exhibitions.
“One of my close friends always says, ‘how do you know you’re not a championship golfer if you’ve never played golf?’
“You need to try things out, I taught myself using YouTube tutorials, and I’m still evolving my style.”
The exhibition is in Lochgelly until Thursday, June 25. Hayley also hosts monthly paint and sip events in Kirkcaldy, and shares information on upcoming projects on her website.
Share