FEATURED ARTISTKate Strupinski
Kate Strupinski is a mixed media artist with a diverse portfolio of work. She studied at the University of Westminster where she gained a 1st class BA HONS in illustration and went on to complete a Master of Arts at Central St Martin’s School of Art.
She then spent many years as a successful freelance illustrator, having her work published and working for clients such as You magazine (The daily mail), Medicines sans Frontiers, Graphics International and Greene Moore & Lowenhoff. She also sold work internationally to clients in USA and Japan.
Having also worked for many years as a visual merchandiser amongst other things, she has more recently rekindled her love of painting and creating artworks and is making this a greater focus in her life. She lives and works in south west London where she works from her studio at home and is preparing to return to offering her popular art workshops on drawing, painting, collage and mosaics.
What inspires you?
I take many photographs as I’m out and about and these are a constant source of inspiration. I’m also always collecting things for collaging, so I only need to look through my boxes of found interesting bits of imagery, typography, and colours to get inspired by colours, textures, line or shape.
Who are you inspired by?
My big art heros are Matisse, Picasso, Rauschenberg, Hockney and a whole host of others, too many to name! I also find myself having phases of looking at different artists corresponding to what type of pieces I’m working on at the time – I’ve been recently totally in love with the work of Ivon Hitchins as I was working on a series of small expressive semi-abstract landscapes and found his work very inspiring – I love the loose, free quality it has – it seems like he doesn’t get bogged down by perspective or anything else, its all about the overall feeling and I love that!
“The ‘visual sound’ is of the first and greatest importance. Without it the picture is useless. My pictures are painted to be ‘listened’ to”
~ Ivon Hitchens
“What an artist is trying to do for people is bring them closer to something, because of course art is about sharing. You wouldn’t be an artist unless you wanted to share an experience, a thought“
~ David Hockney
I joined the En Plein Air group this year in place of my more usual life drawing and have enjoyed getting back to honest sketching and painting of landscapes and local places. Its a really good discipline to practise and informs the other work I do, even if it is more abstract in nature. I’m very much of the theory that no sketch is wasted!
I also find inspiration from things I see around me in the everyday, like street graffiti and modern graphics or even sometimes just a colour or texture combination that I chance upon.
What is your process?
I work with often mixed media, layering paint with drawing, print and collage. Themes can vary widely but the common thread is that it is a personal response to the subject, often using both recognisable and abstract elements to convey more of a feeling of the subject rather than a literal representation.
Each painting is a reflection on a memory, a record of an experience or an expression of an emotion in response to something. I enjoy creating a kind of dialogue between the mark-making, collage materials and printed or found elements. Remnants of recognisable imagery appear and disappear in my work as the layering of different materials are put down. My hope is that the viewer gets a glimpse of a recognisable fragment, colour combination or textural mark so they might be reminded of something from their own experience or memory when looking at my work.
Exhibitions and shows
Past exhibitions have included Posk Hammersmith, OSO Barnes, Orleans house Gallery, Portland Gallery, Richmond.
She undertakes private commissions and runs periodic art workshops in southwest London and sells work from her website.
“Creative people are curious, flexible, and independent with a tremendous spirit and a love of play.”
~ Henri Matisse
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
~ Pablo Picasso
Website: katestru.co.uk
Instagram: @Kate.strupinski
Workshops: @richmondartandcreativity
