All posts tagged: artist

Fundraising

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On Friday I will be spending the night sleeping rough for the Sleep Easy event 2017 to raise money for Lincoln’s YMCA, helping homeless and vulnerable people.  Last year, on a very bitterly cold and rainy night, an unnamed homeless man died behind a church close to where I live. When I heard this I was stricken with the thought that if anyone had known he was there or knew his situation, they may have helped him and he could have survived the night. This played on my mind as I took a bunch of flowers to lay next to the church, I didn’t know where exactly he had died, but I was expecting to find other flowers laid by other people (ex family members, friends, anyone who cared…) only to find that no flowers had been left. As far as reports claimed he was an ‘unnamed homeless man.’ Although before his situation declined he was a son. He may have been a father, or at once a husband, brother, friend etc. This haunted me throughout the …

Evolution of my Flamingos / Katy Jade Dobson

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Did anyone else laugh at the flamingos on Planet Earth II? It is obvious then as an animal lover and colour lover combined, that flamingos would come up throughout my portfolio of work. In fact, they come up much further back than I remembered from the top of my head. Sifting through my past paintings I found a set of similar works that have evolved over time and gown in my experience. It appears that I loved flamingos just as much in 2012. Sitting these paintings side by side will always be inspirational to me, to show myself just how far I can push my work if I want to. Working on your art, or anything at all, can take years of daily dedication and pure hard work. I have applied this to my art with patience and looseness to help me grow. I have let my gut instinct walk me, and through that I have taught myself to paint images as I want them to be seen and will continue to grow further. Please …

2017 / Katy Jade Dobson

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It is always exciting for me to reflect not only back on the previous year, but to look forwards at the opportunities and challenges and watching them become real.  Currently I am working on a new collection. Much like early last year, I am working hard on a full set of oil paintings that are interlinked, their concept is laced throughout the collection and their visuals are woven together. Working on a full set together is a piece of time that eventually reflects directly into a real, tangible ‘thing.’ I have often talked about pockets of time being mirrored in a painting, but a collection evokes both a memory of a period of time, or a feeling of de ja vu. This particular collection is exciting for me, and always, is an effort to push forward with my craft, honing, building on, and learning new skills. As well as an impending new collection, I have other very exciting things going on this year, which I will certainly be notifying anyone interested, though this website, my …

My 2016 in summery

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Although on the broader spectrum of things, 2016 has been a tough year for so many people in many places, on a smaller and more personal scale I have known people to have had a great year, filled with personal achievements and good times. Early last year I worked solidly on a collection named The 21 Grams Collection. (See in full here) which was a great achievement for me. It was a body of work, full to the brim with enthusiasm and everything I had gained in knowledge and skill of art and my craft in order to create it. It was a personal highlight and achievement for me. This collection was shown in its entirety at Robertson Fine Art Gallery in Edinburgh, a place so stunning that I ventured back for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival later that year. Amongst this show, I visited some other beautiful galleries throughout the year to showcase new originals and prints. A standout for me was Eye Like Gallery in Beaconsfield. A wonderful gallery full of life and enthusiasm for …

New Release – Sea Life and Majestic Mammals

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I am so excited to be donating a percentage of profits from my new sea life themed release to the Marine Conservation Society. They work hard to protect our living seas and the wildlife in them by keeping shores clean of litter, tackling overfishing of important species and offering marine life animal adoption schemes. Keeping our oceans clean and healthy for the environment and its inhabitants is invaluable work. I love what they do to proudly protect our sea life and I am thrilled to be working with them. These 2 original paintings are particular favourites of mine, for reasons in that portraying sea life is a different challenge altogether. I had never painted turtles before working on these sea turtles which shows them swimming amongst a midst of intricate colours and textures. I had watched videos of these serene creatures on YouTube before deciding the way in which I wanted to depict them. When working on forming a mammal painting there is a logic to consider when building the subject. The light source will highlight features and …

Courty – The Godfather of Neon

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‘There’s red neon gas running through my veins.’ Much like the bold and commanding nature of neon art, Courty himself radiates a parallel presence that you simply couldn’t ignore if you tried. As an artist who has immersed himself into almost 3 decades of fine tuning his skill in the art of neon, Robert Court respectfully demands your attention through his use of light, colour and the written word. Robert Court began his career in 1987. His rich portfolio of work and achievements have illuminated a pathway towards being one of the most prominant neon artists of proud London origin. His bold work has featured in film and tv sets, theatre, books, and businesses, as well as prestigious galleries and events. Courty is signed by Wishbone Publishing (the wonderful team who also represent my work) this has awarded me the privilege of seeing Courty’s work emblazoning gallery walls in all their brilliant glory. His work is hand made with pure passion and enthusiasm, distincly obvious from the emanating love shown in his fantastic artist interview, …

Laura Jones / Still Life Artist / Inspiration

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An artist I have admired for around 6 months via the stalking platform of Instagram, is Australian painter Laura Jones. I stumbled upon her Instagram page (@_laura_jones_ ) and immediately followed. With a meaty backlog of exhibitions, shows, awards and residencies her accomplishments have been as full as her engaging artwork. Although I love her whole back catalog of work including a portrait series titled ‘I woke up like this’ my favourite is her recent ‘Wildflower’ work which emphasises an expression of Australian identity. I find her work so warm and peaceful. The colour patterns are incredibly earthy while retaining the brightness of the flowers and vases. They are full and bold in application but soft by nature. I identify most to the tactful naivety of the brush strokes as well as the simplicity of the visuals. I very much hope to own one of these originals! This is the kind of artwork that I feel doesn’t need discussing at great length, it should be looked at and examine how you feel when you see it above dissecting …

Virtue – A painting ensouled

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It has so  far been rare that I connect to a painting that I produced quite as much as I did with Virtue: a light and ethereal take on a flock of doves. I enjoy working on every painting, some I would keep for myself and some I couldn’t wait to show the world and allow someone else to connect. Hoping for others to connect with your artwork is a pointless effort, it can only really be seen as you would like, if you paint with the intentions of making yourself feel a certain way. Only then, maybe someone else can channel into its meaning or create their own. I love this about art. Production based from feelings gives a timeless result to the artist. ‘Virtue’ came together incredibly fast for a painting of its vast size but tricky and slight proportions. It is often the case that when working so close to a large scale painting, you can become lost in the finer details, only to be surprised by what you produced when stepping away. It can …

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 …