Debbie Ross who is also known as Holly Holder has been an artist for the last 30 years, working on film and TV sets around the world as a make-up artist. In 2000, however, Holly’s life was transformed when she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa – a degenerative eye condition that would ultimately result in her losing her sight and being registered blind.
As Holly’s eyesight began to deteriorate she realised she needed to re-think her career and find another outlet for her creativity.
Having been visually orientated from an early age – Holly was always sketching and painting as a child and initially trained as a graphic designer – the conversion to canvas was a natural progression, giving her a way of expressing her thoughts and feelings and reflecting her new view of the world around her.
She developed a Business Plan with support from her network of industry contacts, and approached Five Lamps to help fund the venture. Approval for Start Up Loan support was quickly agreed and she moved into her business premises shortly afterwards.
October 2016 sees the launch of Holly’s first exhibition of her work as a painter at Art in the Mill, Knaresborough. Entitled Out of the Dark, the largely landscape works draw inspiration from the many places Holly has lived and traveled to, including her Yorkshire home in Harrogate. The Spanish coastal towns around Valencia in Spain – where Holly once lived and where her paternal grandmother was from – and Skye and Fife in Scotland, some of Holly’s favourite places due to their rich source of colour and light, are a particular source of inspiration.
Working from her studio in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, Holly’s work reflects both her experiences from her fully sighted days as well as her take on the world now. Being freed from detail, she now has a bigger perspective, seeing in colour and form – a metaphor for how she feels about life as a visually impaired artist – creating paintings filled with energy, colour and movement.
Using mixed media including watercolour, gouache and oil pastels (which feel very familiar to Holly, having a similar texture to greasepaint used on film and TV sets,) Holly’s work has fluidity, building multiple layers to create vibrant, textured works. Her post-impressionist style is influenced by Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh, drawing on both cubism and fauvism with heavy brush strokes and vibrant colours.
Five Lamps Enterprise Loan Officer Vince Rogers said,
“Debbie is so enthusiastic about her work and the manner in which she has responded to such a personal blow is truly inspirational. Her wide variety of work is stunning.”
Debbie said of the service received from Five Lamps;
“The application process was quite straight forward and I appreciated the help Five Lamps provided to develop my Business Plan & Sales forecasts. The support received has changed my life completely, as I would not have been able to go ahead with the project without this.”
‘Holly Holder’ can be contacted on; 07714243918 or via www.hollyholder.com
Five Lamps is a Delivery Partner for Start Up Loans Company which offers government-backed personal loans for business purposes. The loans are available to businesses yet to launch or those that have already started trading. The Start Up Loans Company works with a network of Delivery Partner organisations. The partners support loan applicants in all regions and industries throughout the UK.