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I’m an artist/educator based in Margate in Kent and founder of GoCreate.co.uk which runs creative workshops and events.
My primary practice is oil painting and over the years my painting has journeyed from realism to smudgy impressions. I also have secondary and tertiary projects and artforms which allow me to explore materiality, processes and to be more playful with concepts and to explore and stretch the depths of my abilities.
As a painter I’m very aware of the therapeutic benefits. The very way I paint, the mark making, spontaneous dabs or instinctive strokes somehow helps me to unwind. There’s the Art world and an inner world and its inner wellbeing and my own spirituality expressed through painting which holds my focus and provides the raison d’être. This experience and knowledge of art as therapy is vital in my role as creator of workshops and courses.
Like many artists, my own art themes and interests are rooted in childhood experiences as well as life’s experiences. I was inspired to paint from an early age and knew that my pallette would be colourful. I was also exposed to homes and working lives, artist struggles and the need to promote arts and crafts. From the age of 4-11, I lived in the Scottish Highlands which deeply connected me to nature and highlighted material footprints made by man.
Early influences not only inspired my desire to be a painter but also a life-long passion to promote sustainability, arts and crafts and practitioners particularly young practitioners. Workshops, talks, books and exhibitions are the vehicles to support teaching and Go Create was set-up to develop workshop and delivery. Over the years these passions have led me to straddle and research across different fields: Art, Craft and Design, Education, regeneration, marketing, business, and more latterly interests in wellbeing and regeneration led through the arts.
Over the years, my goals have led to research in different fields: art, craft and design, education, marketing, business, and more latterly interests in wellbeing and regeneration through the arts. Practice led research has formed a vital component which also enhances my teaching and mentoring skills and feeds into an emerging philosophy for Go Create.
Kirsty
