All posts tagged: oil painting

‘Talent is a pursued interest’ / My Personal Artistic Evolution

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A few years ago I had never painted with oil paints. I used paints (watercolour or acrylics) to splash some colour onto my mainly charcoal sketched pieces. The image below shows the work I had for sale at a stall in an art fair in 2012. After a closer look I saw so many familiarities with the work I used to create and what I paint now. There are abstract birds in flight, loose portraits, proud stags, elephants and dripping florals. I realised that your work doesn’t change over time, it only evolves as you progress. My decision to move to oil paints was based largely on the opportunities that they hold with colour. Being such a malleable material with so much depth to play around with, you can create any style or look that you want to achieve with the right techniques. Back before I taught myself to use oil paints I loved incredibly loose work that oozed energy and movement above all else. I wanted to show the construction marks and leave them raw and …

Micheal Zavros / Inspiration

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Just a quick internet search can tell you that there is no end to the amount of talented artists in the world. Instagram in particular has been great for unearthing these exquisitely talented humans who happen to document their creations and I love to ‘follow’ them. There is an infinite amount of inspiration that you can gain from looking at and enjoying the work of others, without copying/plagiarising. (A post about this topic in particular to be uploaded soon..) Taking inspiration isn’t about stealing, or at least shouldn’t be! It is noting the feeling you get when you see a particular piece of art and translating that into your own work in your own way. A painting might have an electric energy with movement that leaps out at you. Another might have solemn or moody overtones that gave you a sense of atmosphere when you looked at it. It is more often than not the ‘vibe’ of the painting that you most likely enjoyed. Inspiration should be transferring that feeling/vibe/energy in your own way, to …

Jellyfish Art / Oil Painting

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It took a lot of preparation before I decided to take on jellyfish as a subject for an oil painting. Before tackling the big decisions you make before you start a painting (composition, texture, colour palette, tones etc) it seemed important to get a better understanding of jellyfish. Are they often alone or in groups? (Which I found to be named a ‘Plume’ when they migrated and gathered together) How do they move? At what speed? What different positions would you find their tentacles to be in? And which movement does this represent? The only way to really find out was to watch them, thanks to YouTube! There is something so peaceful and mesmerising about watching jellyfish, the way they pulsate their gelatinous bodies for locomotion and the tentacles fan out so elegantly. It was apparent immediately that the movement was the most important aspect to capture within a painting. For the fished pieces ‘Bloom’ and ‘Plume’ I used oil paints (as always) onto primed wooden panels. The most interesting part of the process for …

‘Life Imitates Art’

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In the age old debate of what came first; the chicken or the egg, I find myself deep in a philosophical tangent inspired by a late night online shopping purchase. I bought a necklace that gives the impression of an elegant snake coiled around the neck. Unappealing to some, beautiful and ethereal to me. This internal debate reminded me of a quote from Oscar Wilde – ‘Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.’ My exact reason for clicking my purchase straight over to the checkout was because it reminded me of a painting I did in my last collection (The Phosphenes Collection) which depicted a bizarre image of two symmetrical women holding up snakes, which are coiled deliberately around their arms within the confines of the symmetrical intension. (Original piece shown below / ‘Serpens’ oil on wood panel) This is one of my stranger pieces, this and ‘Nectar of the Gods’ which I also hold an unhealthy emotional clingyness to even after sold and gone. The reason behind loving these stranger pieces is …

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 …

Very Short YouTube video – Oil Painting of starlings in flight

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I am always looking at new ways to document the process of my work, I have done this in many ways already through creating time lapsed YouTube videos, to writing about it, to showing progress photos of close ups, sets ups and various stages of painting. One of the most asked questions about my YouTube videos was if I could use a higher quality devise to record from because the videos were not clear enough. For me, with painting it is all about the visual and if the smallest of brush strokes cannot be seen then there is no point, these are the marks that make up the painting as a whole. Ask and you shall receive! I am now working on getting to grips with better filming equipment to show more accurately what I am working on, and here is a very small taster of ‘Arcus Flight’ with a shot of John Frusciante. (Original painting sold, but soon available as a Limited Edition print) Make sure you subscribe to my channel here ready for more videos …

The Phosphenes Collection / Katy Jade Dobson

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Phosphene ˈfɒsfiːn/ noun / plural noun: phosphenes – ‘A sensation of a ring or spot of light produced by pressure on the eyeball or direct stimulation of the visual system other than by light.’ The second collection for Wishbone Publishing by Katy Jade Dobson boasts a deluge of rich, vivacious colours and opulent textures in a joining of traditional oil painting with a modern presence. This coupling of classic inspirations and techniques, with contemporary deliverance shows a bold omnipresence throughout Katy’s work. Based heavily around the word ‘phosphenes’ as inspiration for this chromatic collection, the idea manifests within the aesthetics of each painting as the appliqué, the composition and the subjects themselves. Each subject is built up by a kaleidoscopic arrangement, a series that is adorned with ancient symbolism and original use of symmetry to show a partial balance to which the heavy embellishments do not adhere to. Much like the erratic and abstract styling of the work in relation to its classic subjects. Finding inspiration in the old masters’ appreciation for wistful women and romantic …

My Collection Endorsed by the Born Free Foundation

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My first collection released with Wishbone Publishing featured expressive wildlife oil paintings ranging from elephants to doves and many species in-between. It was a privilege for me to have The Spectrum Collection endorsed by the Born Free Foundation, meaning that 10% of proceeds went directly to this incredible cause that takes action to stop suffering and protect species in the wild. Over £4000 was raised for Born Free, the response was fantastic and to know that my paintings will have contributed to this cause is amazing. A Limited Edition print of ‘Chimaruka’ (the original painting of a gorilla named after one of the gorillas that can be adopted through the Born Free Foundation) was sent to the Born Free offices and I kindly received an image of Virginia McKenna with their artwork.

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 …