Dr Deborah Cumming is a Scottish contemporary still life painter. She began her tertiary education with an Honours Diploma in Art and Design from College of Lake County, Chicago and Parsons School of Design, New York. Upon returning to the UK, her studies continued with a Higher National Diploma in Graphic Design at Edinburgh’s Telford College, after which she worked as a freelance and in-house designer across the Central belt of Scotland. At this time, she was also commissioned by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh to carry out botanical illustrations for publication in Flora of Bhutan, 1996. Deborah continued her studies at Glasgow School of Art where she was awarded Masters of Design (MDes) in 2000. Upon completion of her Masters degree she secured two graphic design lectureships firstly at Napier University, Edinburgh and latterly as subject leader at Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen. Keen to pursue the highest level of academic qualifications in her field she gained a fully funded research grant to carry out PhD research into “Design Theory and Practice” at Gray’s School of Art. Deborah was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2007.

Deborah’s work focuses mainly on a paired back combination of fabric and flowers within strong design compositions. Fabric pattern designs are brought into still life set ups from the wealth of printed designs from designers such as Wm Morris and Liberty, along with designs inspired by the work of Owen Jones. Deborah’s background as a botanical illustrator and in design education and research provides uniquely interesting combinations brought together on the canvas.

A regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Scotland Open Exhibition, Deborah’s work has been shown in key galleries across Scotland. Her work is well sought after and held by collectors within the UK, USA, Germany and Canada.