Kate Shields! Night porter, night painter. For six months she has been working at the Artists Residence hotel, preparing her exhibition, Friends and other Animals. A true underground artist, working night shifts while holding sittings, Kate Shields! has finally emerged from her basement studio with a series of portraits of her friends including poet Chris Parkinson, aerialist Kitty Peels, model Frankie Cluney, and more.
The nocturnal portraits show some of the "curious and wonderful people" Kate has met in Brighton. They are painted onto wood and feature animals that Kate associates with the sitters.
It's been fun visiting Kate over the last few months and seeing the exhibition take shape. I was even there the weekend before the launch, helping Kate by drinking gin and writing while she put the worked on a painting. I'm not sure if I was much help and we drank so much gin that we felt a little poorly the next day.
The Private View on Thursday night was amazing. I met up with lots of old friends as well as meeting some fascinating strangers, including a neuroscientist and a chef who explained to me about the melting point of collagen. It was an exciting and educational night, supported by Hendricks Gin (although I was more careful this time). Here is a picture of me with Chris Parkinson, Brighton's Shadow Poet Laureate.
The exhibition runs until August 27th at the Artists Residence in Regency Square Brighton.
