All posts filed under: Events

Adam Handling Chelsea – The Art Of Belmond

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Last year I began a project that could only be described as a dream come true. To create bespoke artwork for an impossibly beautiful hotel in the heart of London. In a complete whirlwind of compositional sketches, late night note jotting, ideas bursting at the seams, scouring the internet for historical records and deciphering latin names for all kinds of botanical specimens… I set to work on a creating bespoke commissioned original oil paintings for the newly renovated building that would become one of the most lavish, expensive and artistically drenched hotels imaginable. The Belmond group have renovated a building, where the room marked 118 is famously the room where Oscar Wilde was arrested. The hotel is owned by the Cadogan family, a lineage steeped in rich history as the ancestors of Hans Sloane, the 18th century physician, naturalist, adventurer and collector noted for bequeathing his collection of 71 000 items to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Museum, the British Library and the Natural History Museum. He traveled to Jamaica …

Eye Like Gallery / Exhibition

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  Last weekend I had the privilege of exhibiting my work with the wonderful Eye Like Gallery in Beaconsfield. With a gallery full of my work exclusively, a mixture of limited edition prints and originals painted especially for the occasion adorned the walls in this beautiful space. The family run gallery  (the glamorous mother daughter duo Mollie and Saro above, along with Mollie’s father and their dog Brody) care deeply for their clients and the artwork they provide, basing the name ‘Eye Like’ on the way they only sell work that they love themselves. I was excited so attend this exhibition in the weeks leading towards it as I had admired Mollie’s innovative and witty take on their social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) and was keen to meet in person the passionate people behind the 2 year old gallery. I found that they exuberate passion and I couldn’t have felt more welcome. I found this family to be  a breath of fresh air in such a traditional field. The care and work they put in is blatant …

Exhibiting at Robertson Fine Art Gallery

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In the heart of Edinburgh, in the wonderful Robertson Fine Art Gallery I had the privilege of exhibiting my new collection of oil paintings. I had been working on this group of paintings throughout early 2016 and became quickly engrossed in the collection as a whole. I tailed off into new sections, irrelevant subjects that still laced in throughout the main body of work and played around with more muted palettes and ideas alongside hugely embellished subjects . To see more of The 21 Grams Collection, see the work and read about its origin – click here. I was incredibly nervous to be showing this work. It had been months of dedication, hoping to put my best foot forward to prove to myself that I can challenge my own techniques and build on what I already know about painting to create the marks and flourishes that I needed. I taught myself new approaches through trial and error and got lost in a concept of building continuously until I had reached the desired effect. So much so, …

The 21 Grams Collection / Katy Jade Dobson

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21 Grams A painting is the artist’s sigh on a canvas, the silhouette of their shadow, and their 21 grams. An early 20th Century physician hoped to measure the mass of the human soul. He believed it to weigh 21 grams. Thought to be as real and prominent as a vital organ, yet no physical attributes could be found. Artists and scientists alike hunted for information on the location of the soul in the body to find that it rests on nothing seen by the eyes. This ideal that represents an entire being does not exist in physicality, yet we see it. Each piece is an appreciation of it’s subject and a love for my inspirations. A collection ensouled and a moment in time captured in a prism, reflecting my everything onto a canvas. Physically, this collection is about texture and atmosphere. Years of techniques, new avenues and an ache to work on my subjects in such a way has driven the visuals of the paintings forward. Finding the best translation for the essence of …

New Collection Launch – March 2016

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As mentioned in a previous post, I have been working lately on a new collection due to be released in spring 2016. I did not waste a moment before diving straight into a batch of pristine white, blank canvases and making as much mess as possible. I am currently knee deep in what is one of my largest collections to date, and no one can save me now.. (Go on without me!) As the paintings have developed and taken shape, I have become increasingly excited to show people what I have been working solidly on, and not being able to show any of it yet is painfully difficult! However a date is now set for the launch of this upcoming collection. I am very excited that Robertson Fine Art in Edinburgh will be showing my entire collection of originals from March 25th 2016. I will be at the venue on Friday 25th March evening from 6pm, and on Saturday 26th from 10am. Thank you Robertson Fine Art for undertaking my mammoth collection! I am beyond excited …

New Collection / Spring 2016

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One of the most beneficial ways for me to work, on a personal level, is to produce a ‘body of work.’ It has been a while since I have worked solidly on a collection of paintings. The Phosphenes Collection was released in spring 2015, which led to a period of being inundated with commission requests, following on from Phosphenes and the Spectrum Collection. (Released Oct 2014) In between this influx of work I have managed to work on subjects and styles that I couldn’t hold back on trying in order to keep up my own personal rate of progression and creativity,  peppering small boutique collections of Limited Edition prints throughout the year. With commission waiting lists reaching up to 12 months for an original, it can become increasingly hard to expand and grow with your style and improve on your talent. Commissions can hold a different type of creative beauty in having a framework to adjust to make your own. If the subject is chosen, or a certain size or shape canvas is necessary, then working to fit these …

Exhibiting at Smart Gallery – Redbrick

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In September I made my way to Smart Gallery in Leeds where they were showing a few originals, some new and unveiled on the day, and exclusive new limited edition prints. It is always a lot of fun to meet you all at these shows and get to speak to you one on one about my work and this one was no exception. It was great to see so many people and get a chance to speak to most of you about the prints and originals that you had bought. I then got to be nosey and ask where in your home you might hang them, what other artist’s you collect, why you like my work etc. Thanks a lot for coming and having a chat! It was lovely to meet you! The gallery was beautifully curated by the talented staff who made the event run smoothly and a lot of fun. I highly recommend Smart Gallery as an official stockist of my work, they have a beautiful gallery as home to other artists who …

‘Flutter’ Limited Edition Prints

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A common question that I am asked is the distinction between ‘finishing or abandoning’ a painting (in terms of completing work) and which one applies to me?  There are two very different feelings when a painting is complete and is at most an unpredictable part of the process for me. Occasionally my idea is crystal clear enough to see when the finished version is in sight, or be unable to stop until I meet this mark in my mind. This is finishing the work that you set out with a cause, process and visual in mind. Abandoning the painting is a very different but equally as satisfying feeling, in when you reach a stage in the work where you feel it is right to stop. For whatever reason, it may be that the balance is right and anything more could be overworking it. Maybe you feel that what you are trying to put across has been successful and in going further could potentially spoil that. A number of reasons, even just that it ‘feels’ right to …

Artist’s Palette up for Auction for charity CRY / Katy Jade Dobson

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I am incredibly proud that the palette I used while creating my Phospenes Collection is now available to bid on to raise money for the wonderful charity CRY. CRY is a charity based around Cardiac Risk in the Young and supports those affected by sudden cardiac death. Undiagnosed heart conditions take the lives of at least 12 young people every week, a number in which this charity is aiming to lower through their fantastic research and prevention efforts.  I was made aware of the work of CRY through a private commission requested by a family who had lost their child to a cardiac condition. It should never be the case that a child or anyone should lose their life so suddenly over something that could potentially be diagnosed earlier on, CRY’s incredible efforts towards Young Sudden Cardiac Deaths with their research, raising awareness and prevention efforts in this field are life saving. The care and facilities to aid families affected by YSCD will continue to help so many people who desperately need it. To hopefully contribute …

Second Collection of Original Oil Paintings with Wishbone Publishing / Katy Jade Dobson

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I have been working recently on my second collection with Wishbone Publishing, a collection that I am incredibly   excited about. It has been a lot of fun to work on and showcases a lot of what I have learnt in the last few years as a professional artist. But above that I have injected mainly what I enjoy within this collection, the learning curve is palpable in the application and I love that it is raw and exposed in these original oil paintings. My work as always is selfishly about my process, my work thrives when my heart is fully engaged and I do not stop until the atmosphere is intimate and blatant. The success of my last collection was immensely unexpected and I am incredibly grateful to anyone who has supported my work over the last couple of years as I have found my feet. What I took from working solely on a full body of work is that your headspace during this period of creating can be temporary and down to circumstance. The …