Katherine Eichler

"During my working career, I have had a variety of jobs.  I started in hairdressing.  I changed to airline work, which enabled me to travel around the world and to be paid well for it.  I now earn my living by gardening part time, selling in the antique trade, and am doing a fine art degree course.  I always felt something was missing until I began to draw and paint.

At Reading College, on the course, I have tried woodwork, photography, ceramics, textiles and life drawing.  I have found I like collage, using recycled articles.  Patterns, shapes and bold colours I find interesting to work with in a free way.  I also like drawing and would like to do more.  At the moment the focus is on flowers as I enjoy working outside, back to nature.  I seem to be very happy working with clay and would like to learn more about ceramics and sculpture.

I want to be able to take my painting a stage further and more.  I would like to be stretched.  I would like to say more about how I see the world with my ideas on shapes and colours and recycling.  To paint plants, flowers and nature alongside architecture, people, fashion and the business world would be a direction that is of interest to me.  I would like to teach young children as I have found that they enjoy my sort of artwork.

I have been visiting art galleries whenever possible with my sketchbook to copy other artists.  I like to learn their techniques.  Artists I have been interested in are John Bratby, Elizabeth Blackadder, Sandra Blow, Duncan Grant, Matisse, Terry Frost, Patrick Heron, Kirchner, Raoul Dufy, Eva Hesse and many more.

I am a member of the Reading Guild of Artists and have been nominated for the council, which I would find interesting.  To be able to help with the running of the group and to organise exhibitions would be fun.  I also belong to Wokingham Arts Group, Ambiance, and another group of six women which we have named Swanart.  I am kept busy with college, art workshops and demonstrations.

At the moment I am free to continue my education and to see where my artwork can take me.  I am part of a large family, some of them artists, some work with wood making beautiful furniture and carving.  I have many friends, so I have a lot of support in whatever I do and plenty of encouragement in my artwork.