25 Beautiful Homes – July 2019

25bh | partnership

bold &

be autiful

Anappreciationofthefemaleformandaneagernesstofindbeautyateveryturn

gives the work of Runway Gallery’s Bethany Perry an emotive, energetic edge

B

ethanyPerrytrainedasan

illustratorandthenasa make-up

artistbeforeaddingfineartto

herrepertoire.Shenowproduces

boldandenergeticpaintingsthatfocus

on beauty and the female form.

Wheredidyourloveofart

begin?AssoonasI wasabletohold

a paintbrush,I wasmakinga messinthe

kitchen. I grewupinthecountrysideso

therewasalwayssomuchfreedomand

spacetobecreative.I wasnevergreat

atmathsorscienceandfoundoutI was

dyslexicinmyearlytwenties,whichexplains

thedifficultyI hadatschool,butI always

felt confident in my artistic capabilities.

hoWdidyourcareerprogress?

Thejourneydefinitelyhaditschallenges

andI workedtothepointofcomplete

burnout.Mymentalhealthtooka huge

hitinmylatetwenties,tothepointI had

tostopworkingfora fewyears.Aspartof

myrecoveryI tookupdancing.Itwasvery

healingformymindandit inspiredmeto

producesomanynewpiecesofart.I feel

I needtomentionthedancerinme–

danceinspiresandfillsmybodywithso

muchrenewedenergy.Itliberatedme

during that difficult period in my life.

hoWWouldyoudescribe

yourcreativeprocess?W hat ’s

importanttomeis gettingintheflow,

feelingconnected.Thisis whyI loveto

crankupthemusicanddance– it pullsme

intothepresent.Myworkis ofteninspired

by my emotions – it is great therapy for me.

andhoWWouldyoudescribe

yourstyle?Mystyleis bold,colourful

andemotionallyexpressive.I loveplaying

withtexturesandcontrast.I useacrylic

andink,butliketointroducedifferent

mediums.Myworkis usuallyconcentrated

aroundbeautyandthefemaleform.I’dsay

Iliketolookbeyondconventionalbeauty

andchallengesocialnorms.Forme,

beautylies in difference and imperfection.

coMing

neXtMonth

Annecy-based

illustrator

BelindaFrikh’s

workdepicts

evocative

drawingsand

collagesof

womenwith

a strongand

sensual attitude.

clockwise, From top leFt:

Tigan

;river

;BeTTie

, All BethAny perry At runwAy gAllery

doesyourbackground

inMake-uphaveastrong

influenceonyourWork?

Definitely.I oftenusemake-upinmyart

• it addsanotherlayerandI loveplaying
  withdifferentmediums.I meetincredible
  peopleworkingasa make-upartist,and
  havecreatedstylesforsomeoftheworld’s
  topdesignerssuchasVivienneWestwood
  andKansaiYamamoto.Itgivesmesomuch
  energy and pumps up my ‘optimism tank ’.

doyouhaveago-tocolour

palette?IfI hadtochoose,I wouldsay

redsandblues.Coloursconveyemotions,so

italldependshowI’mfeeling.I’ma sucker

for vibrant colour and neons, too.

What’scoMingupneXt?

I’m keen to get my designs printed on fabric.

doyouhaveanyadvicefor

youngerartists?Exploreandwork

onyourself,everythingelsewillfollow.

BrowseandbuyworkfromBethanyPerryand

otherartistsatrunway-gallery.com–thenewly

launched,internet-basedartgallery where

fashion and art happily collide.

102 | 25bhjuly 2019