Resurrected at Chichester's Oxmarket Gallery
Katie said: “I was born in Chichester, so am a true Cicestrian and Chichester Cathedral features in part of my exhibition ... partly because I love it and partly because of my faith as a Christian. It brings life and light to the city. The exhibition is a series of works exploring bringing things to life and bringing colour to otherwise dead or common subjects, using watercolour, acrylic, ink, soft pastels and charcoal.
“I woke up on my birthday in April last year thinking ‘What do I really want?’ and then started to take Thursdays off since last July to go on a year of artistic discovery. I had three years’ worth of ideas in my head and decided to give life to those and resurrect any ideas that I had previously left behind.
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Hide Ad“Revisiting the first thing I drew when studying fine art at the University of Chichester, a dead hydrangea flower, was my starting point. I became inspired by 18th-century artist Rachel Ruysch and botanist Marie Sibylla Merian on my recent trips to Amsterdam. Seeing the intricacy and life-like detail of botanical drawings has brought a new slant to my artwork.
“Where I would normally be abstract and painterly, I have allowed myself to meditatively observe the world around me. I feel this exhibition would appeal to people, because of the careful balance between positive vibrancy and newness with delicacy and depth. I hope this exhibition will give me and others a new lease of life.
“I grew up in Chichester in an artistic family and became particularly influenced by my mum, who was an artist and teacher and her mum who was also an artist and teacher. Rainy days in childhood were filled with covering the dining room table with newspaper and splashing out with whatever art materials were around – paintings and drawings copied from books, collages of paper and natural materials collected from walks, salt dough craft, pebble painting and wax reliefs to name a few. I am a lateral thinker, so I love coming up with new ways of seeing things.”
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