Kate Brooks Parallels with Nature and Animals

Making pet portraits for commissions is my predominant interest for art in my spare time. Animal personalities are represented for their energy and attention, to illuminate their individual and unique nuances within the influences of their local surroundings.

The challenge of the process comes from setting out the main features at the outset, to the use of hues and tones with the soft smooth bendable pastel in various forms, bringing them to life. My intention is to make a fairly accurate portrait but with greater depth, life, personality and richness of colour than can be achieved with a photograph.

Pastel can be layered or blended and modified on the surface, which provides the flexibility to alter colour and tonal values, and this dry paint can be picked up and put down conveniently, even when the times available to paint are very short. The fine pastel works are generally done on Pastelmat with no fixer. Graphite is used for some of my works, arguably to the limit of the medium for drawings, since if powder has also been applied, it’s use becomes more of a dry painting medium than a drawing medium.

It is fascinating to see the volume of visual information and effects which can be portrayed with very limited or rough marks. Whilst much of my work is detailed, sometimes I use a more impressionistic style, especially when sketching. Coastal scenes have a strong influence, with changing weathers, anchored by maritime history and my in interest in sailing. Outdoor painting and urban sketching is useful for journalling and has helped to develop draughting skills, and drawing underpins the foundation of shape and composition for a painting.

Meet the artist open evening Friday 22 September 7-9 pm  everyone welcome