Using a dynamic combination of colour and the ‘inspired mark’,
Katharine Asher’s brushwork is fluid and palpitates with movement, her images filled with a creative flair that secures commissions globally and from a wide spectrum of subject areas and media,
the fashion and beauty industry in particular.
Whilst specialising in figurative illustration, she tackles an extensive range of further subject areas with the same expertise, energy and elegance of line.
‘Exploring ideas through experiment and pigment is a daily pleasure‘ she claims.
Away from the studio, Kathy's interests are both rhythmic and creative.
Dance has always been part of her life as has rhythm and percussion, and Kathy’s energetic performances in two bands and a dance group are a perfect antidote to many hours spent hunched over a desk.
Whilst her private creativity leans towards the conceptual world of ‘process works' and 'installations’, pigment, viscosity and movement are key factors within the work.
Echoes and reflections of this personal work are now beginning to emerge in her illustrative practice.
Training
When studying illustration at Harrow College of Art, Kathy started taking on commissions in her final term at University, enabling her to hit the ground running from the day she left – and she hasn't stopped.
In the interim years, and alongside her illustrative schedules, she invested in extending her creative realm through acquiring both BA Hons and an MA degree in Fine Art.Approach
Kathy has a spontaneous and playful approach to a brief, choosing to use whatever medium, that best suits the job in hand.
‘One of the joys of working in this way’ she says ‘is focusing in the moment, using a triptych of experience, knowledge and happenstance’.Style
Much of Kathy’s work relies on water based mediums and mark making, often deploying a striking, graphical use of contrast and composition.
Stating her two favourite illustrative influences as being ‘the fearless graphic brilliance of Rene Grau, alongside the sensuality and movement of Robert Heindel's dancers’ - it’s no surprise then that fashion and portraiture make up two of the strongest streams within her portfolio.