All posts tagged: Photography

Eye Like Gallery / Exhibition

  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

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, …

‘Flutter’ Limited Edition Prints

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 …

Micheal Zavros / Inspiration

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 …

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

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 …

First Collection with Wishbone Publishing released tomorrow!

I am incredibly excited that tomorrow my first collection with Wishbone Publishing is released! I have worked incredibly hard on the pieces that will be available as a set of originals, and limited edition prints. Some originals have already sold with the Cloud Gallery at Buy Art Fair in Manchester where I had a couple of pieces up for a first look. The paintings are all oil on wood panel where I have worked hard to focus on attentional to detail juxtaposed with negative space, embellishments and an abundance of kaleidoscopic colours! It is a collection where my love for wildlife meets my traditional draftsman practice, and my obsession with opulent jewel toned colour bursts. I have mentioned numerous times how difficult it has been to not post updates on the progress of my paintings, for the past 12 months I have posted every development I had recorded of my work, and whilst creating some of my best work yet I had not shown as much as a close up of a  piece in this collection. …

Inspiration behind my artwork and creative block.

For anyone working on anything remotely creative, it is fair to say that your style is not something you made up on the spot. An individuals’ signature style for art, writing, music, fashion or anything you ‘output’ is a collection of things you have liked, consciously and subconsciously throughout your entire life. It is an amalgamation of things you can do, things you would like to do, things that inspire you, things you like, practicality, your lifestyle, your preferences and your self image. What you create is as much a part of your output as what you wear that day. The stamp that you put on activities are what you desire to associate yourself with. I personally love all things elegant and opulent, words that run through my mind when I am considering a painting in terms of composition, subjects, colours and feel. I may have a certain idea in mind, but I know how I want to portray it under my name, and this is how people associate themselves with certain styles, to be seen …