"It’s crucial to protect the arts from becoming an exclusive domain, dominated by a single voice. We need the stories of the underdogs, working-class people, northerners, women, LGBTQIA+ communities, and artists of colour—voices that reflect the diversity of our society."
Katie's Instagram: @kt_tomlinson
How and when did you know you wanted to be an artist?
I've always felt like an artist. My parents took me to Yorkshire Sculpture Park when I was seven where I walked around meticulously drawing every sculpture I saw. For weeks after, I made collages from the photos my parents had taken on their disposable camera. I’ve been lucky to have two very creative parents who encouraged my artistic exploration. They rarely discouraged me from my ambitions, always supporting my creative ideas. My parents tell me that from as early as I could talk, I would wake up every morning, stand at the end of their bed and demand pens, scissors, oil pastels, or whatever random materials I felt I needed for what I wanted to create that day.
What was your experience of art school?
While in London, I pursued my MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, where I was fortunate to be part of the last cohort of the two-year programme. It's now a one-year course, and they’ve removed the dissertation component, which I think is a loss—those two years were essential to my growth as an artist. Generally, art isn’t valued or advocated for in schools, particularly for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. During secondary school, my friends and I would spend lunchtimes in the art department drawing, but after a while, we were told to stop because the school couldn’t afford to provide the materials anymore! It’s disheartening to see how art is often overlooked in education. I think this is particularly an issue up north - I was the only northerner in my year group at the RCA, which highlights the barriers working-class and underrepresented students face. The arts are up against so much scrutiny, especially for students from underprivileged backgrounds. That’s why it’s crucial to protect the arts from becoming an exclusive domain, dominated by a single voice.
Can you tell us more about the ideas and inspiration behind your work?
My paintings reflect on the united experiences of women and focus on the intricate dynamics of human connections. Ideas surrounding power structures and vulnerability; nuances of consent, exchange, and desire; heteronormativity and performative femininity; and the politicisation of intimacy recur throughout my practice. I want my paintings to invite viewers to perceive the familiar as strange, prompting them to become conscious, critical observers of the narratives unfolding throughout my pictorial imagery. Using vivid colour, playful and surreal motifs, symbolism, and varying applications of paint, the works are imbued with tension, concealed messages, and fluctuating tempos. My paintings overtly reference moments throughout the canon of Western, patriarchal, art history. I reconsider, reconfigure, and reclaim specific moments from Painting's problematic past.
Are there other artists or movements that have inspired your work?
Yes, so many! I’m like a sponge, constantly soaking up inspiration from both the past and present. I often reference art history in my work to convey conceptual messages, and while I deeply appreciate and am inspired by art history, I’m also critical of it due to its bias and focus on western, white, male artists. My all-time favourite painters are Nicole Eisenman, Paula Rego, and David Hockney. I would love to evoke the same feeling in viewers that I experience when looking at Rego’s “The Dance”, Eisenman’s “The Triumph of Poverty”, or Hockney’s “My Parents”. My dissertation focused on Bertolt Brecht’s “Distancing Effect” and how it can be applied to painting. The research focused on paintings that are surreal, that render the familiar strange, and that engage with political, social, or feminist ideas.
Can you describe a typical day in the studio? How do you approach your work?
Studio time is precious, so I always come in with a plan. While I sometimes spend time writing, reading, doing admin, on video calls, or drawing in my studio, my favourite time spent is painting. I like to have multiple paintings on the go at once. When I’m working, I prefer to have background noise—usually the radio, an audiobook, or a TV programme I can tune in and out of. There’s a John Cage quote I love - “When you start working, everybody is in your studio—the past, your friends, enemies, the art world, and above all, your own ideas—all are there. But as you continue painting, they start leaving, one by one, and you are left completely alone. Then, if you are lucky, even you leave."