Born in Dundee, Kerry earned a BA (Hons.) in Textile Design and Surface Decoration from Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, graduating in 1992. Her background in textiles continues to shape her artistic practice, alongside a deep-rooted connection to the coast-having lived near the sea all her life and influenced by her father's years in the Merchant Navy. Now based in Ayr, she finds constant inspiration in the ever-changing coastal landscape just beyond her doorstep.
Kerry's expressive, abstract paintings are a reflection of her personal and emotional ties to Scotland's shoreline, capturing the dynamic interplay between land and sea. Through her practice, Kerry delves into her personal connection with the environment, seeking to understand what draws her to certain elements. Continually captivated by specific marks, textures, and colours, she reflects on why certain details resonate more deeply, weaving these influences into her work. This process of introspection and observation fuels her artistic journey, shaping the way she translates her experiences onto canvas.
Working primarily in acrylics and mixed media, she builds her compositions with layers of texture, semi-transparent glazes, and collage-adding and subtracting elements to create depth and a sense of history within each piece. Her creative process is intuitive and evolving, often developing a series of paintings over several weeks or months.
"My abstract paintings are intuitive, ethereal, multi-layered artwork.... Gathering memories and found objects relating to a place or moment in time, I aim to create complex areas of intimate detail within expressive, abstract landscapes that combine the rich textures and organic pattern found in nature."
Artists