Anyone who has taken a wander around the Sneinton Market Avenues recently is likely to have come across a giant rabbit or a mohawked mannequin lurking in one of the lanes. These are the punk-meets-pop-art creations of local artist and gallery owner Herbie Hare, whose vibrant artworks bring a splash of humour and fun to the area.
Heading to Sneinton Market on a Thursday afternoon, I find Herbie Hare adding the final touches to a lifesize rainbow-striped pug. The high ceilings, large windows and stark white walls of the gallery unit make for a wonderful blank canvas, with an array of multi-coloured artworks vividly popping out around the shop. “I work a lot on the floor and I leave the paint, because everything tells a story,” Herbie says, pointing out the colourful splashes of paint around his workspace. “It’s a picture in itself, isn't it? I think it looks cool. It's gone through the process to get there.”
Looking around, the eye is drawn to a multitude of details around the room. There’s brightly painted furniture, canvas paintings, and wonderfully decorated ornaments - but there’s also Herbie himself, sporting bright red hair and a jacket decorated with paint daubs from testing out colours. With The Beatles happily playing through the speakers and the conversation flowing, I’m already getting the urge to pick up a paintbrush myself.
Herbie’s journey to becoming a full time artist didn’t begin in art school. Originally from East Bridgford, he first started painting at age five while attending an art club at the local Women’s Institute. Years later, after getting his O Levels he thought about going to art college. “My mum said, ‘I’m not having any of that, you get yourself a trade’. So I’ve been painting and decorating all my life,” he says, adding, “I used to do a lot of work in London, a lot of bars and restaurants doing paint effects, and it sort of crossed over.”
I used to get the same tram every Saturday morning, and would be coming on with mannequins under my arm, or sets of legs
Whilst living in Cornwall Herbie found himself making art that was soon in demand. “There was a diner across from the beach but it had nothing on the walls, so I painted some pictures and suddenly people wanted to buy them. At first I said ‘they’re not for sale’, and then I thought… yeah, why not?”
Back in Notts, he made the move to turn his garage into an art studio, until it eventually became untenable. “We had mannequins all over the house - it was doing my Mrs’ head in. I’d hear her screaming in the night ‘cos she thought she’d seen a ghost or something. But it looked like a party from the outside.” To remedy this, he started selling at the Pete Spowage Art Gallery near Lace Market, before eventually moving to Sneinton Market in November 2023.
Herbie’s signature pieces - the aforementioned painted mannequins (and mannequin parts) are often turned into lamps. “I’ve got a shipping container full of mannequins and I’m always walking around with bits of body parts,” he laughs, before reeling off some amusing anecdotes about getting the figures to the studio on the bus or tram. “I used to get the same tram every Saturday morning, and would be coming on with mannequins under my arm, or sets of legs.”
When it comes to finding inspiration, it’s easy to see a musical influence in Herbie’s work. “I go and see gigs all the time. I’m still going to Rock City now - I started going there when I was fourteen, and I’m 57 now,” he explains. Along with paintings of jazz musicians, a ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ footstool and a ‘Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll’ mannequin (painted with white, gold and black piano keys), there’s a punk attitude visible throughout the pieces. “It's all about upcycling as well,” he explains. “I’m a bit of a skip jumper - all this lot would have been thrown away, these mannequins, chairs.”
While not everyone may be able to fit a lifesize mannequin in their home, it’s worth visiting Herbie’s studio just to say hello - it’s hard to not be cheered up by the creative atmosphere, good music and Herbie’s affable nature. “I like to interact with everybody, so I don't want to be stuck in a studio painting, I want people to see me painting,” Herbie explains. “It’s a different thing to selling online. I do sell stuff online, but it's weird - it’s like when you're working from home, people take you less seriously, but when you’ve got a place people like to see it.”
There’s a refreshing lack of snobbery or pretension permeating the space. He tells me how he let a child, in awe of the colourful artworks, add a little paint to one of the canvases (“I could always paint over if they ruined it”) and how late last year he painted two homeless men who were hanging around in Sneinton Market. “I don’t know who they were but they told me their stories and said they liked my work, so I did a painting” he explains. “I put it online and ended up raising a load of money, then I went down to Emmanuel House saying ‘Excuse me I’ve got a couple of grand to give you.’”
“It’s nice that people feel comfy in here,” continues Herbie. “Everybody feels like they can just come in and have a natter. And I don’t shut up when I get going.”
As we slowly sleepwalk towards a world of automated checkouts and online services, we could do with being reminded of the value and joy of random chit chats with strangers and shopkeepers. Whether it’s a child learning that art can mean giant rabbits and rainbow pugs, or just seeing the messy, creative process of an artist, perhaps we’d all be better off if more art spilled onto our streets like at Herbie Hare.
Visit Herbie Hare Art and Furniture, open between Weds-Sun in Freckingham St, Sneinton Market
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