All posts tagged: wildlife

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 …

New Limited Editons / Born Free Foundation

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Introducing two new Limited Edition Prints ‘Felid I & II’  These two colourful feline pieces, originally are oil on wood panel, but have been released as editions of 75, with 10 Artist Proof copies and are fully endorsed by the Born Free Foundation. I worked with the Born Free Foundation for The Spectrum Collection with a percentage of proceeds donated to the charity, proudly raising over £4000 The Born Free Foundation work to end suffering and protect species in the wild by providing rescue and care, freeing animals from appalling conditions and misery as well as conservation efforts. They are a wonderful and dedicated charity and I am hugely proud  to have my work endorsed by them, and hopefully raise money for a great cause, as yet again a percentage of proceeds will be donated straight to their efforts. These Limited Edition prints are now available from affiliate galleries mentioned on my website, look for your local stockist, or contact Wishbone Publishing at info@wishboneart.co.uk where they will locate your nearest available gallery and prints.  

New Collection / Spring 2016

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One of the most beneficial ways for me to work, on a personal level, is to produce a ‘body of work.’ It has been a while since I have worked solidly on a collection of paintings. The Phosphenes Collection was released in spring 2015, which led to a period of being inundated with commission requests, following on from Phosphenes and the Spectrum Collection. (Released Oct 2014) In between this influx of work I have managed to work on subjects and styles that I couldn’t hold back on trying in order to keep up my own personal rate of progression and creativity,  peppering small boutique collections of Limited Edition prints throughout the year. With commission waiting lists reaching up to 12 months for an original, it can become increasingly hard to expand and grow with your style and improve on your talent. Commissions can hold a different type of creative beauty in having a framework to adjust to make your own. If the subject is chosen, or a certain size or shape canvas is necessary, then working to fit these …

Exhibiting at Smart Gallery – Redbrick

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In September I made my way to Smart Gallery in Leeds where they were showing a few originals, some new and unveiled on the day, and exclusive new limited edition prints. It is always a lot of fun to meet you all at these shows and get to speak to you one on one about my work and this one was no exception. It was great to see so many people and get a chance to speak to most of you about the prints and originals that you had bought. I then got to be nosey and ask where in your home you might hang them, what other artist’s you collect, why you like my work etc. Thanks a lot for coming and having a chat! It was lovely to meet you! The gallery was beautifully curated by the talented staff who made the event run smoothly and a lot of fun. I highly recommend Smart Gallery as an official stockist of my work, they have a beautiful gallery as home to other artists who …

‘Flutter’ Limited Edition Prints

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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 …

‘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 …

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 …

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 …

View my first collection with Wishbone Publishing here!!!

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The Spectrum Collection in full! My first collection with Wishbone Publishing is now available to view, with a handful of originals selling before the release and now the availability of a selection of limited editions. 10% of the sales from this collection will be donated to the Born Free charity, I am incredibly proud to have Born Free endorse this collection and to be included on the Certificates of Authenticity received on purchase. If you have enjoyed my previous work then hopefully the Spectrum Collection will appeal to you with a chromatic explosion of my favourite jewel toned colours to embellish a variety of wildlife species, all regal, proud and spectacular in their own rights. My collection is a celebration of the beauty and abundance in nature and a practice of my painting style that is both intricate and loose, serene and chaotic. Also an emalgimation of traditional draft work oil painting, with abstract colour use and impasto tendancies. I hope you enjoy them! Enquire with Wishbone Publishing or Eyeball Gallery about the availability and …