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Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Oil on canvas board
12.5 x 17.5cm
Please email for international shipping
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Kristen Healy took a hiatus from painting for several years during early motherhood until moving back to Margate and renewing her studio practice in 2019. She spent most of the initial lockdowns developing paintings of County Clare, Ireland, working from original en plein air sketches, photography and memory, from her seafront studio in Margate. This latest body of work is loosely based on Margate’s history as a thriving then dying seaside resort. Growing up in the 1990’s opposite the dilapidated Lido where her father held a store, each summer was spent with the background organ music playing and elderly couples dancing in the sunshine. Each year the couples dwindled until the music stopped, echoing the slow decline of the seaside town. The 90’s and 00’s were a depressing place for the town and Kristen was quick to leave, only returning almost two decades later. In this series Kristen has developed a series of snapshots from Margate’s glorious past (beauty competitions, a thriving Lido resort) alongside observations of the town and the quiet beauty of a place she has come to appreciate with age. Each painting begins from a photographic reference- drawing the image repeatedly in quick sketches before translating in paint. The scale is small, and intimate- suggestive of snapshots of a place. The paintings were free to change and develop, inevitably mirroring the artist’s own impressions of the subject matter whilst loosely remaining true to the initial shapes and textures observed.
Kristen Healy was born in London and moved to Margate, Kent as a child. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (hons) from Wolverhampton University in 2003 and subsequently continued to develop her practice in studios in Margate, Brighton, Amsterdam and County Clare. During this time Kristen exhibited regularly in Ireland and the UK. Healy moved back to Margate in 2017, establishing a private seafront studio and in 2021 founded The Lido Stores, a gallery showcasing contemporary paintings by emerging and mid-career artists. As well as curating much of the exhibition programmer, her work can be found at the Lido Stores amongst the work on display.
Oil on canvas board
12.5 x 17.5cm
Please email for international shipping
.
Kristen Healy took a hiatus from painting for several years during early motherhood until moving back to Margate and renewing her studio practice in 2019. She spent most of the initial lockdowns developing paintings of County Clare, Ireland, working from original en plein air sketches, photography and memory, from her seafront studio in Margate. This latest body of work is loosely based on Margate’s history as a thriving then dying seaside resort. Growing up in the 1990’s opposite the dilapidated Lido where her father held a store, each summer was spent with the background organ music playing and elderly couples dancing in the sunshine. Each year the couples dwindled until the music stopped, echoing the slow decline of the seaside town. The 90’s and 00’s were a depressing place for the town and Kristen was quick to leave, only returning almost two decades later. In this series Kristen has developed a series of snapshots from Margate’s glorious past (beauty competitions, a thriving Lido resort) alongside observations of the town and the quiet beauty of a place she has come to appreciate with age. Each painting begins from a photographic reference- drawing the image repeatedly in quick sketches before translating in paint. The scale is small, and intimate- suggestive of snapshots of a place. The paintings were free to change and develop, inevitably mirroring the artist’s own impressions of the subject matter whilst loosely remaining true to the initial shapes and textures observed.
Kristen Healy was born in London and moved to Margate, Kent as a child. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (hons) from Wolverhampton University in 2003 and subsequently continued to develop her practice in studios in Margate, Brighton, Amsterdam and County Clare. During this time Kristen exhibited regularly in Ireland and the UK. Healy moved back to Margate in 2017, establishing a private seafront studio and in 2021 founded The Lido Stores, a gallery showcasing contemporary paintings by emerging and mid-career artists. As well as curating much of the exhibition programmer, her work can be found at the Lido Stores amongst the work on display.