Kathryn Sassall

Joined Artfinder: March 2015

Artworks for sale: 245

(4)

United Kingdom

Updates from Kathryn Sassall's studio

  • Another day another hat ... framing

    Another day another hat ... framing

    I've tried all sorts of framers, but thanks to a post on the Artfinder forum I thought I'd try decorating these new float frames for a couple of works going in to exhibition from 6th March 2018 including International Women's Day on 8th March (see Exhibitions). The smaller one has been painted in gold acrylic paint, and then a gloss medium mixed brown with the gold then restroked across the top lip. The larger one has been painted and sanded seven times with white chalk paint to give it a lovely finish. The canvasses were then centred and connected with metal connectors and d-ring with cord attached for hanging. The cost of purchase and time is pretty much on a par with getting them done wholesale by local framers. It was a great exercise though to see what effects could be achieved.

    20 February 2018
    Charity Auction - Postcards From Life

    Charity Auction - Postcards From Life

    3rd year of charity auction of postcard sized works by local hospice St Michael's Hospice, held at the Bishop's Palace, Hereford (UK). Three days of viewing and two weeks of online bidding. I created four works which carried on the experimentation with media that I started earlier in the year for the Light Series of works. Hellena - based on explosive light - volvanoes or fireworks you choose! Using vitrail and luminescent medium in an abstract cacophony. Out of the Blue - based on a photograph I took several years back which I wanted to capture in few brushstrokes, a bird of prey flying out of dark trees against a spring sky. Sunset Fishing - using copper tape, and layers of acrylic worked into with sticks to get movement and texture in the paint. On the Edge - a piece painted with sticks rather than brushes which creates a velvet like texture in the acrylic paint. Poppies captured at the edge of a local field. The works were framed and each of my four raised money - phew!

    13 November 2017

    Turning over a 'gold' leaf - "All That"

    I paint what I observe, and usually arrange my life to include visits to racing (cycles, horses, motorbikes, auto). The last eighteen months has been full of brick-bats so that's not happened. So I responded to the challenge to exhibit with local arts and craft society (HACS) with works on the theme of Light. These were ten paintings created in response to my observations journeying 180 miles every four or five days to support an elderly parent. So I was seeing colour through the seasons, trees, road, sky, light and road furniture. I was hearing memory loss, old age and recollections of life. Various blogs on my website under Ramblings. I'll be posting paintings in the shop here over the next four weeks (August 2017). Here's the making of "all that" ...

    22 July 2017
    Yellow Jersey Time

    Yellow Jersey Time

    So last weekend it was time to overcome a fear and get back on a bike myself. Yellow t-shirt on (a mini homage to the race which started last weekend in France) for a nifty six-mile ride alongside the River Thames which has it's source close by. It was good to remember the swish of the wind as speed is gathered. Apart from a saddle which kept sinking until fixed by a friendly car washer, the ride went without mishap. It reminded me how fit the Tour De France teams are and how the legs get sapped of energy. [Photograph shows part of Cotswold Water Park.]

    09 July 2017

    Making of "The Blues"

    I've created a series of works on the theme of Light. A little bit different from my usual subject matter, but it's what I've been observing. I generally paint what I've been experiencing. The Blues captures memories and the early spring light. The deep purple-blue of bluebells in an English wood. A 50 x 40 cm canvas in acrylics using an unusual implement to apply the paint for the trees. [Blog on website]. I will have up to ten works being shown for the first time my local bricks and mortar gallery, Apple Store Gallery, Hereford. "Light" is the theme for a non-selective exhibition of work by members of Herefordshire Art and Craft Society. from 14th June to 20th July 2017. Delighted to say that "The Blues" sports a red dot and was SOLD at exhibition.

    27 May 2017
    Light Series 2017

    Light Series 2017

    My work is usually created from events that I've attended and photographs that I've gathered of people in motion using pedal, horse or petrol power. I've not been able to attend those events since last July due to commitments to my family and friends as we cope with the challenges of 'carenting'. So I've been inspired to paint what I have seen whilst journeying along the A417 and the M4; corridors of trees, walls, metal and farmers fields. The group show in June by Herefordshire Art and Craft Society on the theme of Light has therefore given me the opportunity to create something very different but with a purpose. The paintings are dry, varnished, and labelled. See stories behind each one unfold on my website (blog)[http://www.kathrynsassall.com/ramblings] during May 2017.

    14 May 2017
    Palette Knife Painting (oils)

    Palette Knife Painting (oils)

    one of the things that I enjoy is the energy that can be put into a painting by using different 'tools'. Working in the studio on usually 5 paintings at a time, means paint can be applied, left to dry whilst the others are worked on and then returned to. I like to work with synthetic large flexible brushes to create the cycling works. The horses however benefit from some very energetic spreading of paint and scratching into the surface with a variety of shaped palette knives. This month I was visited by Malvern based John the Photographer who took a number of shots whilst I worked away. It's been interesting to see how someone else sees me at work, and their view on the art business both local and wider, photography and painting.

    17 March 2017
    Resin Finishing

    Resin Finishing

    Currently preparing a series of work for exhibition .This piece is a view from a train window and to capture the scratched, oiled and dirty glass of the train a series of resin layers have been applied to the artwork. A new experience for me which has been a successful try out. Blogs about the new series of works will be released on my website/social media in April and May. Exhibition details (in Hereford will be listed on ArtFinder as soon as the advertising literature is completed).

    15 March 2017
    Mark Making Day

    Mark Making Day

    Testing out a variety of paints, textural mediums and mirror-leaf. Working on a series for a group exhibition in a local gallery. The series will be based on travels to and from my mother last year. Lots of them. Saw a lot of motorway and the changing seasons as the noise-calming banks sprung into life. On those occasions where the traffic was at a standstill I was noting the types of trees and flowers, looking at the colours in the sky.

    13 February 2017
    Stretching the creative muscle

    Stretching the creative muscle

    As you've gathered I don't like standing still. Movement is the name of the game. This goes for my art as well where I like to ring the changes in terms of subjects and media used. So an etching workshop was a good chance to learn the skill of acquatinting (which I'd missed at art college many years ago). Using photographs that I've gathered in my work and travels over the years. Here's some horses exercising on the beach.

    31 January 2017
    Lights, camera, action ...

    Lights, camera, action ...

    Once a painting is complete it's first journey after drying is to the local graphics design, print and photography studio. A professional photo gathers all the details of the image by lighting the painting carefully. Whether an oil or acrylic, flat painted or impasto, the team at MystWorld know how to get the best so that the image can be used for limited edition prints and show the detail of the painting marks and canvas.

    15 December 2016
    It's hip to be square

    It's hip to be square

    Paintings are built in layers so always have 3 - 5 on the go. It helps to keep them in a similar style and colourway to maximise the use of materials but that's not always how it turns out! These two have been tackled very differently. "Dampener' is a quite detailed layered study, whereas "Downhill drive" is becoming looser and looser as each layer is applied.

    21 November 2016