For my second-year work experience task I was torn between approaching a practicing artist, to gain experience and knowledge in a practical hand on fashion to contribute to my own practice and a museum to gain knowledge of curating and possibly art conservation.
I initially contacted The Watts Gallery, http://www.wattsgallery.org.uk near Guildford in Surrey with a view to gain experience with curation and conservation, but unfortunately, they had already taken an intern and were unable to offer me a position. Having been unsuccessful with a museum together with already having previous gallery experience in the retail sector I pursued the artists studio approach.
On visiting The Ox Market Gallery in Chichester during a group exhibition of local artist I was very much taken with the work of One particular artist, Kate Passingham, a figurative painter who also particularly likes to work with pastels and charcoal. In a room dominated with amateur representations of Chichester Cathedral and still life paintings Kate’s image of an East African boy stood out for its technic, execution and use of material, especially Gold and Silver leaf which I have used myself in the past year. After the exhibition and on looking through her website and social media pages I thought Kate would be a good artist to contact. http://www.katepassingham.co.uk I was intrigued with Kate’s subject and use of materials and wanted to learn more, not just of the back ground but also the technics employed and how I could bring that knowledge into my own practice.
I initially contacted Kate on 10th April through her social media page and she was very receptive and was happy for me to visit her studio in West Sussex but due to work commitments and commissions was unable to do anything until the beginning of May. I arrived at Kate’s studio at 10:30 on the 5th May as arranged which was the opening day of the Chichester Artists Trail which Kate was part of and was welcomed very warmly. After introductions and pleasantries, I was left to look around the studio and at the display of completed works which were for sale. After a brief time, we were talking in detail about her background and education we there were strong similarities with myself and we seemed to get on very well. Once sitting in the studio, I was keen to learn more about the use of gold leaf as well as silver and copper leaf and her technic. We went through several types of leaf, which ones were best used for larger areas and more back ground work and then ones for finer detail, together with the different adhesives used, this was also slightly regulated by the other materials used on the work, pastel on paper, oil on canvas for example. Not having much experience of pastel and charcoal work I was keen to learn.
During this time, we were in conversation about her influences in creating a large body of work based on the people from West Africa, especially The Gambia. Kates background and origins are in West Sussex so West Africa seemed an odd direction. Kate explained that during a holiday there a few years ago they were visiting a small village and she was completely struck by a teenage girl who had piecing Blue eyes, yet very dark skin, Kate asked if she could take a photograph and sketch her. This was the start of the project. After gaining the girls acceptance Kate was allowed to photograph and sketch various members of the girl’s family and to explore other residences and other families. (fig.1.)
FIGURE 1 ‘BLUE EYES’ (2017) KATE PASSINGHAM
The whole of this series which includes large and very small works in completed with pastels and charcoal on paper or board. The ground is primarily 22ct gold leaf laid out in a visible grid design with a very accurate depiction of the individuals face and paying particular attention to the clothing and hair. One of the fascinations for both Kate and myself was the juxtaposition of ethnic traditionalism and modernity. In the large work entitled ‘Welcome to Africell’ (2017) (fig 2) there is a depiction of a Gambian women in traditional dress with a blue water bucket resting on top of her head and yet she is walking past a modern yellow Africell logo which is the main telecommunication company in The Gambia and printed on her traditional looking dress are images of mobile phones.
FIGURE 2 ‘WELCOME TO AFRICELL’ (2017) KATE PASSINGHAM
After moving on from the Gambian series we were looking at her commissioned portraits which are usually completed in a traditional romanticised palette of soft colours and tones or slightly staged with an ethereal pre-Raphaelite feel to them. Kate was explaining about ‘paying the mortgage’ and sometimes having to accept commissions in order to survive as a practicing artist. These portraits although very accomplished did not hold the same quality as the aforementioned works.
Kate went on to show me about her framing techniques and choice of materials and mounts, which generally, remains the same for economic reasons and ease of use. She was very comfortable with the materials she knows and works very fluidly with them due to knowing exactly what will happen and what the end results will be.
By the end of my time with Kate she had made a couple of sales due to the studio being open to the public, a couple of small prints and the collection of a commissioned work. I had been very impressed not with just how she went about the actual process and production of her work but by what influenced her and where the inspiration came from. Although Kate enjoys the commission work it is a means to an end, her passion for the materials, tone and colour are very evident.
A body of successful work came from what was essentially a series of holiday snap shots but turned into something much more important and meaningful. The context of the work I found exciting and how a body of work can be represented in either a series or just as a collection inspired from a singular moment. They don’t all have to be of a uniform size or scale, that I found important. On departure Kate was very respectful and wished me luck in my studies.
On returning home I felt it was a successful day and I learnt some valuable insights in to materials and their usage, how to vary one’s techniques and to sometimes go with the flow, ‘let things happen and develop naturally’.
Michael Palmer 