Hello,
I'm Kathryn
My aim is to create colourful, vibrant, and harmonious paintings that challenge viewers to stop, look, and see the world from a different perspective.
As an artist, I am drawn to the medium of collage due to its ability to convey complex ideas and emotions through the combination of seemingly disparate elements. I find that the process of selecting and arranging different materials helps me to explore the tension between harmony and disharmony.
While I am always striving to create a cohesive and balanced composition, I also enjoy experimenting with ways to disrupt that balance in order to create a sense of visual tension.
Design elements seep into my work as I seek to create pieces that are aesthetically pleasing and thought-provoking.
As an artist, my goal is to continue evolving and pushing the boundaries of my work, constantly exploring new avenues of expression.
I am a Scottish abstract artist who uses colour as a means of self-expression.
I am continually exploring new ways to express myself through paint application, texture, and colour layering. I predominantly work with mixed media which gives me the freedom to experiment with various techniques and materials, emphasising colour, shapes, layers, and textural effects within my work.
My painting style is intuitive and may initially seem chaotic. However, by listening to my inner voice, responding to what's there, and using a process of problem-solving, my painting evolves. Being open to unexpected outcomes allows me to explore new techniques and experiment with different mediums that I may not have considered before.
My Process and Inspiration
I work with a variety of mixed media, mainly acrylics but
also watercolours, oil pastels and inks. I use bold colours, textures, collage, typography and a variety of marks to produce intricate layers within my work.
Within a painting I love exploring the possibilities of colours and colour relationships, developing the tonal relationships of the main shapes and how they all fit together. I like to go in with a colour plan, with the intention of unifying the painting and helping the design work more effectively. A sense of unity that comes from the placement and arrangement of all the visual elements is important to provide that feeling of one-ness to the viewer.
As a painting emerges I almost go on auto pilot, not letting the thinking mind interfere as I build layers of abstract shapes, textures and patterns. Typographical elements are recurring motifs within my work. Each typeface has its own unique characteristics and expressive personality and when it is seen as a form it no longer reads as a letter. This may be because it has been manipulated by distortion, repetition, texture or enlargement. I love how a well combined variety of fonts can create playful, rhythmic patterns in my work.
Humans are visual creatures and one of the most significant elements of visual communication is storytelling. I am particularly interested in the storytelling element of visual images and their ability to entertain, engage and inform an audience, whilst also eliciting emotion. In crafting a story with my visuals, I build a narrative. It makes an impression through its use of colours, texture and typography.
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In my work, I explore the intricacies of memory, nostalgia, and the interconnectedness of our daily experience. I find it fascinating how our experiences and memories shape our identity and contribute to who we are today. While each person's past is unique, certain shared experiences – like travel and the significance of colour – create a sense of belonging and shared identity. These themes are intricately woven into my multi-layered pieces of work. Overall, my paintings are an expression of my inner self and I hope that they can evoke emotions and thoughts from those who view them.
After seeing a Vincent Van Gogh exhibition as a teenager I developed an admiration for artists for whom colour was as much the subject as the subject matter and who used colour as an expressive tool and a compositional element in their work.
Klee's obsession with colour, Cezanne's insistence on coherent design, Van Gogh's stark contrasts and Kandinsky's thoughts on colour symbolism all influence my work. I love that for Rothko, colour evoked emotion and that each of his works is intended to evoke different meanings depending upon the viewer. As I look back on my earlier work I see the influence of Mondrian's simplified elements and colour based compositions and I continue to see that influence in my work which is anchored in shapes, lines and angles.
These influences spark my inspiration, motivate me, and push me to investigate and explore.
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