Katy Brown

A Different Story - Byre Gallery, Cornwall August 4th - September 17th 2022

Katy Brown & Heath Hearn

Katy Brown is an established painter from Jersey, Channel Isles, that has been working in oils for over twenty years. She is an artist in residence on the Earl of Edgcumbe's Estate, in Cornwall.

Currently, she has a studio in the Old Cricket Pavilion. It has a veranda that overlooks the surrounding woodland coppice and fields, that lead to the magical camellia forest in the country park, and the beautiful River Tamar.

This collection of paintings reflect the artist’s encounters over the past three years with elements in the landscape, brought to life on canvas through a gentle palette of earth tones, golden hues and transparent fluid glazes. She hopes the onlooker will find a sense of immersive calm within the paintings.

The painter has exhibited in London, Bath, Cornwall and her native home, Jersey.

Inspiration & Painting Process

Working in oil on canvas, using pure pigments and layers of glazes, Katy applies marks and layers of fluid colour to capture fleeting moments with an almost spiritual sagacity. Katy works intuitively and in series, creating  a body of work that may take a few months or many years.

 ‘Layers are applied intuitively, through a painterly language of considered marks. These layers portray the mood and atmosphere of internal and external landscapes that I experience during each visit to the painting.’ Katy describes the act of painting as ‘… a process of distillation that occurs through the conscious and unconscious mind and senses, absorbing visual information and allowing the ideas to pour onto the canvas, creating an emotional ambiance that is both contemplative and compelling.’

When talking about her distinctive use of colour, she explains ‘I use colour to build a visual history, creating the transparent illusion of differing levels of depth, through extremes of dark and light, restraint and freedom, movement and stillness, absence and presence, within the two-dimensional space, giving the effect of overlaying many sheets of coloured glass.’

The artist’s ethereal landscapes are reflective of the terrain of Jersey and Cornwall. Inspiration from nature and its transient elements have always been integral to the work.

Little Gems, Summertime 2022

Medium & Large Paintings Summertime 2022