16 Artists & IllustratorsKATE BENTLEY
Portfolio Plus member Kate Bentley has lived in the Lake
District on and off since the age of 13. Today, she teaches
courses in the area and roams the landscape in search of
new subject matter. Paintings such as High Dam No 2,
Finsthwaite, Windermere reveal how closely attuned the
artist has become to her surroundings. The soft
modulations of colour in the top right-hand corner of the
picture in particular reveal a real sensitivity and skill.
“There are probably about 10 layers of paint there,” she
explains. “Initially I mainly use opaque pigments – my
favourites are Underpainting White, Cadmium Yellow and
Cobalt Turquoise Light. These are tinted with other
transparent pigments such as Burnt Sienna, Rose Madder
and Cobalt Blue to create a full spectrum of colours. Layersinbetween are often scrubbed, scratched or sanded,
depending on how frustrated I am!”
High Dam No 2... is part of Elements, Kate’s forthcoming
exhibition at John Ruskin’s former home in Cumbria. Her
aim with the series is to awaken the senses. “Hopefully by
asking the viewer to recall a personal moment, sensation,
taste or smell associated with the visual stimuli, I am
halfway there,” she says. “For me, it was all about smelling
the peaty waters, the occasional coo of a wood pigeon, the
plop of a fish and the stillness of the air.”
Sign up for your own personalised Portfolio Plus account today
at http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/register or visit Kate’s own
page at http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/kate-bentley
Kate’s new exhibition, Elements, runs from 25 March to 5 June
at Brantwood Trust, Coniston, Cumbria. http://www.brantwood.org.ukABOVE Kate
Bentley, High Dam
No 2, Finsthwaite,
Windermere, oil on
panel, 60x60cmtop tip
Kate works on several
paintings at once:
“It encourages you to
loosen up and stop
fiddling! ”fresh paint
12 Fresh Paint.indd 16 17/02/2016 16: