The Contemporary Art of Styling – Julia Kendell & Katy Jade Dobson

We were planning the photo shoot for our Exclusively Danetti with Julia Kendell range and we really wanted to select some inspiring props to style alongside the furniture that we were photographing. Our location had a clean and modern feel along with a real homely look. Because the interior was quite neutral, we knew it would help to have a few strong elements to balance the interior. While browsing galleries and stores for that perfect authentic piece, we came across this painting called ‘Lepus’ by Yorkshire based artist Katy Jade Dobson:

 

 

Title: Lepus

Edition size: 75 signed limited editions

Medium: Giclée on Hahnemühle paper

Total dimensions: 38″ x 43″ inches framed in black to artist’s specifications

 

We’d struck gold!

We absolutely loved this piece the minute we saw it in the Reem Fine Art Gallery due to its vivacity and effortless blend of colouring. We instantly saw the potential of the painting to liven up a contemporary living setting, by adding a splash of colour that would compliment the colours and textures in the furniture. As a top tip, it’s great to take one piece or even an object that you love and build the room around that item. One great item can be the cue for a whole scheme.

 

The Photo Shoot

For the photo shoot, we had a variety of our Form Barstools in a selection of rich teal and steely greys. We were also styling the Glide Sideboard which has a teal gloss accent, so we wanted something that would on the one hand compliment and balance the colours, while also strengthening the wonderful different shades. From a styling point of view, we decided to focus on two strong elements; one being the beautiful colours of the bar stools and the other being the simple textures. Bright artwork is a great way to bring focus to any space; balanced with other elements a room can take a surprising amount of colour!

 

Stylist’s Thoughts

I caught up with our interior stylist Jess to ask her what she liked best about this piece. She really knows what she’s talking about when it comes to styling a stunning home interior:

 

Our Interior Stylist Jess

“This beautiful print appealed to us for our latest shoot because of it’s subject matter and the striking way it’s been executed. There was something really breathtaking and magical about the colours. The perfect combination – a contemporary technique with an ‘Old Masters’ subject matter – is absolutely gorgeous and the colours give it a sort of kaleidoscope feel which is easy to use in almost any setting”

 

So, who is the artist behind such a magical piece?

Her name is Katy Jade Dobson, and her work is nothing short of beautiful. Describing her own work as “opulent, and colourful, traditional, a little bit weird sometimes” it’s clear to see creativity really is at the heart of Dobson’s work.  

 

 

Top Tip: Paintings of animals, nature and beautiful land and seascapes are a great way to add a hint of the outdoors into your home. Think about the theme and colour scheme of your room and consider what setting is right for your decor.

 

Lepus, like all of the work in Katy’s “Spectrum Collection” really optimises the qualities oil paints have to offer. Oil paints, unlike other mediums such as acrylic, are much thicker and can be layered on top of one another. It dries much slower making it easier to blend colours so seamlessly with one another- a technique Katy has used brilliantly to encapsulate the vibrancy of the wide choice of colours on her palette. This also results in the textured look that really helps to define her delicate yet obvious brush strokes. As Katy puts it, she wants to create artwork that gets “more interesting the closer you get to it”. 

 

 

Top Tip: It may seem a little overwhelming to place such a vibrant piece in your home interior, however, not every colour in the painting needs to be reflected throughout the room. Colourful imagery is great for tying together different coloured elements of your existing interior. You can also add hints of other colours that you may not have considered using.

 

The next few photos were taken on our location shoot:

 

 

We found that the delicate hand stitching was a subtle nod to the delicacy of the painting we’d selected. These gorgeous stools are available in Teal, White, Cool Grey, Graphite Grey and Black soft faux leather. They’re available to view on our website. 

If you like Katy’s work as much as we do, there’s still more to see! Take a look at Katy’s various social media platforms:

 

Feel inspired? We’d love to hear what you think of Lepus and how we’ve styled the painting with our range of Form Barstools- has it inspired you to be more bold with your interior decoration? make sure you let us know your thoughts in the comments!

 

Katy Jade Dobson:

Blog: https://katyjadedobson.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @KatyJadeDobson
Interview: https://youtu.be/S130VzABWVw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katyjadedobsonart
Instagram: https://instagram.com/katyjadedobson/

 

Published Date: October 2021