A Conversation With Artist Kirsty Fenton
Kirsty Fenton is a Scottish artist based in Barcelona, known for her stunning depictions of the female form. Her work is a joyful celebration of the curves and lines of the body in all its diverse shapes and sizes.
We caught up with Kirsty this week ahead of International Women’s Day to talk all things art, inspiration, female creatives and more…
JCA: Can you tell me a little about your latest collection “In Full Bloom” and what first inspired it?
KF: I’ve always had a fascination with the female form and it had been within my work throughout many collections. However, the collection “In Full Bloom” started with an experiment in the studio a couple of years ago. I wanted to play around with minimal brush strokes and bright vibrant colours, depicting the female shape in a different way. Since then it has been an outburst of artwork creating and expressing women and their incredible bodies and what they represent.
How would you describe your personal art style in one sentence?
Feminine, Minimal and Vibrant!
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
It's truly empowering to see women from all walks of life come together and celebrate womanhood. I feel inspired by other women and the fact we can come together like this creates a strong feeling of community between us.
How has your experience of pregnancy this year influenced your creative practise?
It has influenced it in a number of ways, I ́m not in the studio quite as much as before but the time that is spent there when I do go in is much more meaningful and serene. I take my time and find myself enjoying each piece a lot more. Pregnancy has taught me to be patient and more observant.
Do you have a very favourite piece from your archive?
I normally don't have a favourite piece but recently with being pregnant, I have connected with some of the more recent work I have been producing. This particular piece is a simple pastel drawing from my sketchbook which I have framed and it hangs in my bedroom. It's of a pregnant mother kneeling down holding her bump and you can see her baby within the bump, she's holding it as if she is protecting them from the outside in. it's a very minimal and simple drawing which I really love.
If you could collaborate with any other female artist, who would it be?
For so many years now I have been a great admirer of the photographer Lina Scheynius. Her photography is feminine, honest and raw quite like a diary. They tell intimate stories of people and they are truly beautiful in many ways. To collaborate with her would be fascinating!
A historical female artist you wish you could meet and why?
Louise Bourgeois, she had an incredible creative mind which was apparent throughout many different artistic disciplines. I ́ve seen some of her work in New York, Bilbao and France and she's always captured my attention creatively.
What first brought you to Barcelona?
The interest of living in a different culture initially enticed me to the city. The modernist era in Barcelona still amazes me while walking down certain streets and the space for being creative architecturally really shows in some parts of the city.
Where do you go in the city for inspiration?
I love getting lost in hidden gems of the city. There are so many parks and beautiful spots where architects or sculptures have used nature as their inspiration. One place that really impressed me was the Montjuic Cemetery, the gothic figures and plants carved in stone with overgrown flowers around them were beautiful.
A quote that inspires you about femininity?
“I will not be another flower, picked for my beauty and left to die. I will be wild, difficult to find, and impossible to forget.” - Erin Van Vuren
The last book by a female author you finished and loved?
Hypnobirthing, Practical Ways To Make Your Birth Better by Siobhan Miller who is the founder of The Positive Birth Company. It gave me an insight to having a positive and empowering birth which has helped me greatly in looking forward to the day itself instead of being in fear of it.
A piece of advice or wisdom you would give your younger self at art school?
Let your creative mind run loose.
Finish the sentence:
ART is church
Home is family
Happiness is motherhood
We absolutely love Kirsty’s work and each of us at TAB HQ has one of her pieces in our own art collections. Kirsty’s work was also hugely popular at our recent Valentine’s Day Pop-Up, and she created a series of bespoke sketches exclusively for our newsletter subscribers.
If you’d like to learn more about Kirsty’s work or are interested in acquiring a unique piece for your own art collection, please get in touch.
We would love to collaborate and support you in your ART journey!
Keep an eye on our socials for more of the best artists in Barcelona, Catalunya and Spain and follow our “Favourite Artists” board on Pinterest to discover more artists’ work we can’t get enough of.