The family of the late Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison have announced the release of a book containing the late singer’s artwork and illustrations.
- READ MORE: Remembering Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison – a friend through dark times
In 2021, Hutchison’s family and collaborators collected the late frontman’s lyrics and artwork together for the first time in a book titled The Work – described by the surviving members of Frightened Rabbit as “a tribute to Scott’s unbridled creativity”. The release was celebrated by fans, after he singer died by suicide in 2018.
Now, Faber Music will again be working with the band to share a new book celebrating the idiosyncratic, darkly comic, acerbic and romantic imagination of Hutchison. Living In Colour: The Art Of Scott Hutchison, set for publication on 13 July, will present Hutchison’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 band state that “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“.
Grant Hutchison, Scott’s brother and drummer of Frightened Rabbit (and now Twilight Sad), 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!).”
Grant added: “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 is another collaboration and creative concept from renowned album designer dlt (Dave Thomas), who worked with Frightened Rabbit across their career and on the previous The Work.
“I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work alongside Scott on the artwork for many Frightened Rabbit releases over the years,” he said. “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.”
Thomas continued: “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.”
- READ MORE: “We’ll always miss him” – Frightened Rabbit, their closest friends and collaborators celebrate the beauty of Scott Hutchison
Living in Colour: The Art of Scott Hutchison will be released on 13 July and is available to pre-order here. A percentage of money from sales of the book will be donated to Tiny Changes, the Scottish mental health charity founded by the Hutchison family following Scott’s death.
Speaking to NME about Tiny Changes in 2019, Grant Hutchison said: “Young people need a lot of help and attention, and it’s something that affects almost everybody. Not every young person will suffer from poor mental health, but our approach is a preventative one. We want to give them the tools and the skills to deal with it, even when they’re at a point when they don’t need them.”
He went on: “The lack of understanding is the main thing I’ve been surprised by. I haven’t suffered in the same way that Scott did or in the way that a lot of the people that we will be helping have, and it’s an almost impossible thing to wrap your head around if you haven’t felt those emotions – but, it doesn’t take a lot to try and empathise, even if you can’t fully comprehend it.”
Frightened Rabbit also recently reissued their 2013 album ‘Pedestrian Verse’ for its 10th anniversary.