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Buckley, Kate

Kate Buckley is an artist and a facilitator. She is interested in projects which link art, people and place. Kate now lives in New Zealand, but she used to live in Corca Dhuibhne on the west coast of Ireland.

Kate studied Fine Art and Art History at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, and went on to study Adult and Community Education. She lives on a farm in Taihape with her partner Kevin.

About the work…

I chose the best papers - Fabriano from Italy, Saunders and Somerset from Britain. These heavy, cotton rag papers are soft and have a very slight skin-like texture that comes through when I work the graphite onto the paper surface. They are beautiful to handle and creamy to touch. I want the artworks to have a cool, almost museum-like feel, so I choose book white or very slightly off-white paper.

Then I work careful shapes into the paper surface and burnish them into being, pulling these vessels into the image space.

I like to think the balance between image and paper invites the viewer to focus on the object described.

Occasionally there is a rope, pendulum or a suggestion of a horizon or compass on the page. This gives the work a little context and allows for a breathing space around the subject.

The colour comes from richly pigmented and shellac-based Sennelier inks. Shellac gives the colours density and a slight shine.

Then there’s a layer of size, a sticky, slightly pink fluid that’s brushed over the colour. When it dries I ‘haw’ on it, mouth open like a child on a frosty morning. The moisture from my breath makes the size sticky enough to attract the gold leaf.

Working with gold brings immediate symbolism to the work. It’s just beautiful when it catches the light, changing and reflecting different colours. I wanted the vessels to contain precious cargo, and the surrounding areas to support that without demanding attention. Each decision, intuitive at first and then deliberate, has been based around this idea.