Karen Camkin received her MA Fine Art (Distinction) in 2012 from the University of Gloucestershire and her BA in painting from Exeter Art College in 1991. She is currently studying for a MA in Print at the Royal College of Art 2022- 2024. She has been selected for the Lynn Painter Stainers 2016, 2017, 2018, The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2015, 2017, The Royal West of England 2013, 2016 and Discerning Eye 2017. She has participated in exhibitions with the Arborealists across the UK and in a residency for two years at the National Trust Garden Hidcote. Since 2019 she has regularly shown with Eastwood Fine Art and runs classes and workshops from her studio in Gloucestershire.
The inspiration for my landscapes is on my doorstep. I walk every day and I love that the familiar is always so varied and fascinating. Flowers and nature have always held a deep fascination for me and can tap into our emotions and trigger memories. Painting and the exploration and possibilities with the paint, are as important as the subject.
Paintings are built up, scratched into, wiped out and worked into over and over again. They are intended to be intimate portraits, more about discovery than literal, attempting to capture what is moving and powerful about nature. The Still Life paintings are inspired by seasonal flowers, with the view to create a visual celebration all with the intention of immersing the viewer. It is important that the mark making is lively and fresh to capture the movement and fragility within nature.
I have been making pots since 2014 and its become a natural extension of my practice. I am interested in making functional pieces to be used everyday. Some pieces can be hung on the kitchen wall, with the intention of giving them a life beyond the cupboard. This group of work has been inspired by the dutch flower painter Rachel Ruysch and my garden. They are hand-built familiar forms that are comfortable to hold. The bowls are hand-painted using coloured slip on stoneware.