Kirsten Britt

In the first of four case studies, the part-time artist explains how she developed her colourful, layered approach to painting portraits in pastel and watercolour

ABOUT KIRSTEN

Kirsten Britt was born in 1975 and studied at Wimbledon School of Art. She lives in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, and works part-time in the special educational needs department at St Richard’s Catholic College. With a brand new website showcasing her work, Kirsten makes portrait commissions and regularly sells work to raise money for charity, including Twitter Arts Exhibit (TAE21) for the Leukaemia and Intensive Chemotherapy Fund, and the Sophie’s Postcard initiative for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. www.kirstenbritt.co.uk

Finding subjects

I’ve been drawn to portraiture since I was very little. I always come back to the human face, I love it in all its forms and expressions and colours. I think a portrait is a really unique way of capturing a moment in time as well.

My style is something that has evolved really. The artists who appeal to me have got a real signature style and you know what to expect from them – I wanted my work to have a similar signature, really.

Aside from the famous faces like Frida Kahlo or Billie Eilish, I use the Sktchy app to find my subjects. It’s a beautiful, collaborative community of artists who share photos with each other, as well as inspiration and ideas. The monthly fee (which I choose to pay) is optional, but gives access to additional content.

The source photos are all submitted by artists, so you know you are going to get nice lighting, interesting faces and unusual angles – things that are a bit different. Sourcing from Sktchy means that I have permission to use the photo too.

Sketching out