Prince Charles’ woven watercolour

A tapestry depicting a watercolour by HRH The Prince of Wales was presented to Prince Charles at an Ayrshire country house he saved 12 years ago.

A woven interpretation of The Duke of Rothesay’s work Abandoned Cottage On The Isle of Stroma, Caithness, was crafted by Edinburgh weaver Ben Hymers of Dovecot Studios. The tapestry is set to take pride of place at The Castle of Mey, where Prince Charles is regularly in residence. The Castle of Mey was restored by his grandmother, The Queen Mother.

Ben, 29, took eight months to complete the piece after loaning Prince Charles’ original watercolour from Clarence House in London.

He said: ‘I’m proud that I managed to stick it out. I was looking to represent a watercolour in wool, which was a challenge. You don’t want a slavish copy of the watercolour, as that’s like translating a novel through an online tool; you don’t capture the essence.

HRH The Prince Charles alongside the tapestry, artist Ben Hymers, and representatives of Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh.

‘Instead, I wanted to accurately show the techniques used by Prince Charles in a tapestry, to represent the idea of the layers of colour he used and the quick strokes he applied.

‘The whole point of this piece of work is to showcase tapestry as a contemporary art form and to show that it still has impact. If, by being viewed by visitors to The Castle of Mey, it sparks someone’s imagination or encourages them to weave, that’s great.’

The tapestry consists of hundreds of different colours of yarn, and the tips of the cottage chimneys are made of undyed natural wool from Welsh Lleyn sheep, a breed that Prince Charles has on his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire.

Ben recently completed a three-year apprenticeship under Dovecot’s master weaver Naomi Robertson. Originally from Otley, where he attended Prince Henry’s Grammar School, Ben went on to study History of Art at University of Edinburgh and, upon graduating, worked as a semi-professional magician.

As Ben’s mentor, Naomi, a master weaver with 28 years of experience behind her, worked with him on starting the tapestry before her apprentice ‘took ownership’ of the work.

She said: ‘I feel the sensitivity of Prince Charles’ watercolour has been retained in Ben’s work and that there is a real energy to the tapestry. For Ben, it’s been about finding a weaving solution to translating a painting into a woven cloth.’

The presentation to Prince Charles took place at Dumfries House.

Ben Hymers and Janet Casey (Dumfries House curator) with the watercolour tapestry at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh.