Noise For Your Walls
by Kathryn Sassall

Original paintings. Acrylics. Oils.
Capturing people in motion; various sports.
Expressing my observations of landscapes and life.

Inspiration

There is a noise element in all sports. Whether it’s the coaches calling after the cyclists, the rev of an engine or the enthusiasm of a crowd of fans and followers. The noise and colour gives an intensity to the experience. I’m an artist who likes to try to excite all your senses by taking you there to feel the splash of the mud, hear the swish of the bikes, smell the engine oil or feel the heat from the horse.

Unlocking the excitement of seeing people in action using various methods of propulsion; hands, feet, animals or wheels. Whether riding on horse or two-wheels, motoring around asphalt, along wooded tracks, or cutting through water it’s all about the feeling, and often risk, to obtain speed with exhilaration. The aim is to give a notion of motion in colour.

Technique

Bold and dynamic brushstrokes, dripping paint and a free drawing style all add to the impression of movement. I am influenced by lots of colourists and artists both old masters and modern technicians.

When I can I go to local, national or international events to enhance my understanding of the sports and the people involved. YouTube and Vimeoare useful for refreshing my excitement of what I’ve seen. I record events on TV to review as well.  Also get images and videos sent to me by journalists that I’ve met and not met!

I work intuitively and in fast bursts across several canvasses at once. I may leave something out, adapt the light, highlight a detail but at the end of the day it all comes down to hard observation to satisfy both the knowing specialists in the sport or those new to it.Stepping back and stopping to let layers dry which is why paintings may take a period of six to eight weeks to complete.  Drying of oil can then take up to a year to settle.

This creates a series of five small or three larger paintings. Acrylics were my original medium applied with wide brush on springy stretched canvas or textured paper. Water-soluble oils  give a different finish and I often use a palette knife to complete those. Energy and attack.

Observation

Anatomy and how it works alone or in tandem with a machine or animal in sport is key to creating a readable painting and a recognisable sporting stance to those taking part. It’s important for me to understand the torsion of the body.  I take the opportunity to study bones and muscles and draw from life models each month. A number of those sketches are exercises which I refer back to or trash. Some of them are longer poses which turn into finished drawings and paintings. Those are offered for sale through my Naked Ambition collection with online gallery ArtFinder.

I’ll take my camera out a couple of times a month just to try to capture light and patterns and people around and about. Of course always have the phone camera with me. Follow me on Instagram or LIKE my page on Facebook Page to see what I share as I’m out and about, including exhibition visits.