All posts tagged: wildlife

It’s been a few years…

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What has happened since 2020? That was the year the world stopped, and for me writing blog posts stopped entirely. My last post on this blog was back in 2020, the year I took myself from being a managed artists to an independent one. Following almost a decade of blogging my art journey, after initially setting up this page as part of a university project, I then an almost 3 year hiatus from writing. Why did I stop and what’s been happening since?? One reason I stopped writing blog posts was because of taking on the management side of my artwork and how it meant that I immediately wore every hat that the business entailed. I went from working with a large team, to deciding to work alone! I wasn’t just the painter and artist anymore, I was the admin, the technician, the graphic designer, the packer and shipper. The other reasons is the slow, painful death of blogging! It pained me to watch the social media landscape turn away from blogging, (and pained me …

‘Jaws’ – Shark Painting

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I am very excited that my original painting ‘Jaws’ is being made into a limited edition print, with editions of 75. It is a privilege that this piece is endorsed by The Shark Trust, a wonderful charity. The misunderstood nature of sharks means that their demise as a species is hugely overlooked. Their importance within the marine ecosystem is of such huge importance to the health of our oceans. There are many threats to sharks that can have adverse knock on affects. The global decline of sharks can create a cascading effect. As one of the ocean’s top predators, sharks have potential to structure ecosystems in crucial ways. Decline can mean rearrangement of marine communities. One of the biggest threats to sharks globally is overfishing.  This is fuelled by a large demand for shark products such as meat and fins, cartilage, leather, teeth and jaws. Other threats include finning (the cruel practice of cutting off a shark’s fins whilst alive. Also, pollution and habitat destruction contribute to the hugely declining numbers. Climate change and pollution …

Social Media, Art and where I have been!

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The past year for me has meant a slight distance from painting for the best reason. In 2018 I spent a vast majority of the year working on something that in the end, I didn’t feel was good enough to release as a collection. This work has stayed private and ongoing, and hopefully one day I will be able to call it complete. For now, it is one of the first times I have felt that I couldn’t quite meet the challenge that I had set for myself. I took this quite hard, as I have always stepped up to my own personal goals with painting, however it is good to know there is still so much to improve upon and aspire towards. I did manage to work on a collection named Dawn Chorus based on bird species from around the world, this made my heart glow and reinstalled my love for painting. Just after finishing this collection, I had my son Reuben. I continued to paint in small doses to ease myself back into …

The Dawn Chorus Collection

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Dawn Chorus Nature’s greatest orchestra rivals many naturally occurring miracles each morning, as bird species from around the world mark their territory, make their presence known to mates, or call upon their flock in an enthusiastic symphony. A dawn chorus. Ranging from the beautifully delicate or well camouflaged species found in English woodlands, to the ostentatious birds of paradise parading around Indonesian forests. The intricate markings used for mating or territorial displays make perfect subjects and the plethora of species to celebrate is infinite. By encompassing the subjects in the beautiful colour ways that make them so mesmerising, I have hoped to capture the nature of each species in full concert. With extravagant blends of bright colours and bold textures, mixed with subtle areas of calm and reserve this collection of oil paintings was created to compliment the avian subjects through thoughtful composition and a love for the elegance of birds all around the world. For any information on this collection contact info@wishboneart.co.uk or one of the many wonderful galleries listed on my website here! …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …