New Work!
I have a lot of new work on the go! A series of elegant and detailed wildlife work with areas of serene calm. Here are a few examples of the backgrounds of these paintings (looking for a more dreamy and opulent style)
All posts tagged: update
King Fisher Charcoal Sketches
I LOVE charcoal! It creates such a beautiful contrast between soft blending and sharp marks. I used to use charcoal in all of my mixed media pieces, which is why I decided to revisit this material. I have finished my first of a set of sketches of large scale charcoal studies. The charcoal can be so complimentative to create the tonal qualities and pick up on the minuscule detailing of the feathers. The geometric shapes just seemed to fit… I really like this idea to bring something new to the sketches and almost a bit of compositional framing and imbalance, which I love. I am excited to create the next two, I have them all set up and ready to go! I am still deciding on the subject. Koi carps are a favourite of mine at the moment and could work beautifully… Any ideas??
‘Action Expresses Priorities’
‘Action expresses priorities.’ -Gandhi On a busy week, I can clock up around 70 hours painting. Especially recently, with so many commissions as well as ideas I just can’t for the life of me hold off, I have to timetable my work and stick to it, and it pays off every time. I do this because I love painting, I am passionate about making good quality work. I am also business savvy and love organisation, lists and generally being busy. Proudly, one thing I never, ever am is bored. A friend of mine sent me an article, there was a long passage written by Richard Dawkins called, ‘To live at all is miracle enough’ (which I urge you to google) which puts into perspective greatly just how miraculous the universe is, how even just existing right now through such slim circumstance is such an underrated and unappreciated idea in itself. A bit of perspective never hurt anyone, those chats where you get lost in conversations of space going back too far beyond measure and …
Wildlife Art – Recent Oil Paintings – Birds
I have been focusing a lot more on my wildlife work lately! Trying out a few new subjects and styles whilst undertaking a huge commission of a painting that is 2 meters by 2 meters… My first ever original painting was of two birds in flight, one of my main and most popular subjects to date. (The second was a stag which has also been one of my most popular..) Therefore painting birds is something I have continued to do, only taking on new breeds and styles and ways of representing them. This, or finding new ways to represent my favourite breeds. As my work has progressed throughout the year I can see by looking along my own timeline of birds in particular and the way I have worked with them, just how much my painting technique has changed. I decided to do a new take on an old classic of mine. My first ever OIL painting was of an owl. This was such an incredibly popular piece, one of the most mentioned at my …
2013 – A Nostalgic Overview! (Yes! 2014!!!)
It is the LAST DAY OF 2013!! YEAAHHHHHHH! What a year! Looking back over 2013 I couldn’t be more proud. This time last year I had finished my first oil painting of an owl in flight, and had been working on a blog/website/social network upheaval to make my work more widely accessible and to connect with other artists and art lovers. I sit here today with such a huge backlog of paintings under my belt, so much so that I cannot believe I managed to do so much in just one year! And a great following. For a clearer overview of my paintings of 2013, click on the link here for my Instagram page, with a brief and concise view of my work throughout the year! Here is an overview I write as I go through a year of posts/instagram/facebook/emails/conversations with friends. I started my artistic journey by no means at the shallow end, I took a high dive straight in, working directly towards my first ever solo exhibition at the Sam Scorer Gallery in Lincoln. …
Brushes and Appliqué – From a self taught angle.
I taught myself to paint, which shapes and colours to highlight, look for and transfer over to paper or canvas. With this comes a greater understanding on what you personally are looking for in the subject and want to portray to painting, but it also comes with the downfall of not understanding your materials. Yet it comes with the fun of learning to use them yourself! My first original pieces were experimental with materials, creating large mixed media pieces with clashing textures and as much movement as possible. My transfer to oils and stubborn independence to learn to use them myself gave me a wider experimental frame. This started with brushes. I used any brushes that I had, I did not use specific brushes for the purpose of the marks I wanted to make, I made those marks regardless. This went on for a long time, I created the marks I intended to and thought nothing else of it. Until I bought a good quality brush and could finally understood how nice it is to work …
How to be an Artist
How to be an Artist. Everybody is an artist at what they do; and everything you do is an art form. Whether it is the efficiency in which you input data into a system at work, or if it is a full flowing creative stream. Art (in my opinion!) is taking something everyday and making ‘something’. And this ‘something’ doesn’t have to be a painting, or a craft project or something so skilfully applied that people are in awe. Making this ‘something’ is either an expression of yourself that only you can see, something blatant, or something you enjoyed the process for. The people who seem to understand the world the most seem to see the potential in everything. The people who seem to see the potential in everything seem to be the happiest and most interesting people. And the happiest and most interesting people make art of everything they do. To be an artist isn’t always about painting a picture. It is taking what you can and making ‘something’ where the end result is …
Ian Curtis – Joy Division – Oil painting
The first section of a painting of Ian Curtis from Joy Division that I am working on as a commission. Oil on canvas 20″x24″
Newspaper article about my exhibition :)
Today a feature was run in my local newspaper The Lincolnshire Echo about my upcoming exhibition at the Sam Scorer Gallery, Lincoln (April 2nd-14th). I was very pleased to see my work there and suggested as a great visiting point over the two weeks it will be running. My work is a sophisticated blend of purposeful elegance with chaotic overtones, depicting wildlife art and varying subjects. I’m so excited for my work to be up for my first ever solo exhibition and I welcome you all to come see it for yourself 🙂 Pieces will be for sale, and I am hoping to have prints and postcards and other commemorative merchandise for my beloved paintings. Hope to see you there! Katy x
Oil Painting and Texture.
2013 has so far been my year of experimenting with oil paints. Oil paints and myself are still very much getting to know one another. I was strictly a mixed media girl before 2013, I did not limit myself to one medium, I wanted to achieve as many effects, textures and styles within one painting as I could and mixed media is great for that. Only I was not as clued up on oils as I thought, and only from using them have I opened a lot of doors in terms of styles, application, techniques and effects. I have now fallen madly in love with oil paints and although I will always use different materials for different pieces, oils paints have become another limb for me and my work. My first worry was the stodginess.. I was dubious to hand over my painting ideas to a cakey finish, only this has been avoided in some cases with the use of white spirit. This thins down the oil paints and can give a great fluidity to …
KATY JADE DOBSON 