Interview with the Artist & Tutor
Karen M Berisford
Hi, My name is Karen and I would like to welcome you to this 'Step by Step Art' website that I created to offer help, advice and tutorials to all artists around the world. I have always had a love for art, most of my family were artistic so understandably it rubbed off on me, however I am the only one who chose to pursue a career in art and finally became a professional artist in 2011.
Art for me is about focus, perfection, passion, colour and most importantly, dedication - it can help you discover the world around you in far more depth than a casual glance and it can help those that may struggle with many of life's cruel physical & mental afflictions in so many powerful ways allowing you to escape into a reality of colour and fun and taking you into a world of joy that makes you forget about everything around you.
I am primarily a coloured pencil artist although have worked with graphite pencils for many years too, but now lean mostly towards acrylic paints - I have tried out a few different mediums in the past such as oils, soft pastels, watercolor and even had a go at scratchboard (terrible) and clay (even worse!) Having been brought up in a house full of animals (dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, budgies & tropical fish) I have always favoured them as a subject but birds were and still are my favourite. I was given a set of Caran d'Ache coloured pencils around the age of 8 and my love for the medium was ignited! Here are a few images of my attempts at other mediums over the years including coloured pencils.
Kestrel in Watercolour - Early 1990's effort
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Crossbills - An early Coloured pencil portrait (1996)
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A bit of fun! - Body paint of a Leopard
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A first attempt at Scratchboard
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First (and last) attempt at Clay of a Hoopoe
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I always received high marks in my art homework at school but struggled with exams and left with a poor 'E'. As art was a passion, I was particularly disappointed with this result but always felt that an exam result meant nothing and proceeded to draw what I enjoyed and consequently continued to improve. Over the years I have leaned towards realism and I would spend hours working on the tiny details to get the effects that I liked, which I still do to this day. I am still as critical but without this criticism I would not feel I was challenging myself and would no longer enjoy what I do.
Tutoring
How I got into Art tutoring
In 2010, my employers at the time, the Midlands Co-op in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, had decided to run an art class once a month and I was given the chance of being the tutor. I had never tutored art before and did not think about how I produced a painting or drawing whilst I was working on one, I just did it, so I was very apprehensive about the offer - I absolutely loved it!!
In August 2011, the pull to become a full time artist was strong enough to encourage my resignation from my job of 10 years and plan to set up more art groups at a selection of venues throughout Chesterfield.
I began my new art groups in October 2011, and called them 'Step by Step Art' as this is exactly how I tutor - in front of the group with my easel allowing everyone to copy me whilst giving advice and tips on how to produce certain effects. This allows those people who are not as confident with their artistic abilities to go as slowly as they wish and ask me questions of which I am always happy to answer. Some people are happy to go there own way with the colours and finished details, but I encourage this as I think it important for everyone to use imagination and of course to add a little of their 'personality' into their work too. Art would be boring if we all produced the same picture and that's what I love about it!
In August 2011, the pull to become a full time artist was strong enough to encourage my resignation from my job of 10 years and plan to set up more art groups at a selection of venues throughout Chesterfield.
I began my new art groups in October 2011, and called them 'Step by Step Art' as this is exactly how I tutor - in front of the group with my easel allowing everyone to copy me whilst giving advice and tips on how to produce certain effects. This allows those people who are not as confident with their artistic abilities to go as slowly as they wish and ask me questions of which I am always happy to answer. Some people are happy to go there own way with the colours and finished details, but I encourage this as I think it important for everyone to use imagination and of course to add a little of their 'personality' into their work too. Art would be boring if we all produced the same picture and that's what I love about it!
1 Day workshops
I will be adding more details about my 1 day workshops soon, here are a few images connected to these workshops
Students at an acrylic workshop
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Products from a coloured pencil workshop
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Tutoring an art group
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Past workshop booklets
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My advice to a learner of painting and drawing
Have patience and keep an open mind to your abilities. I understand that some people can become frustrated quite early on in their art path because they think their piece should look 'perfect' from the moment they begin the outline! Many paintings begin as a 'mess' and what makes a picture is that patience and dedication.....the saying 'Rome wasn't built in a day' is certainly the perfect example of my meaning. Try many different subjects and mediums....you will find that one in particular will feel more comfortable than others, almost as if you concentrate a little less because the subject seems to flow....this will be where your strengths lie which is good to work with when first starting out and improve upon.
Promotional & publications
Over the years I have displayed at exhibitions, entered online competitions, been involved with 'Paws for Charity' and written articles for various Magazines. I now spend my time writing online articles as this website continues to grow and with no access to transport, I no longer do exhibitions. Here are a few of the articles that I have written since beginning self employment back in 2011.
