I’ve just completed MA Illustration at AUB this year, but I graduated from my BA (Hons) Fine Art at Staffordshire University back in 2007. Since then, I’ve worked as a secondary school Art and Photography teacher for 13 years and even became Head of Department!

A stressful work environment pushed me to step down and drop to part-time, but I was finally able to invest time in my own creative practice again. My work centred on surreal portraits of powerful women painted in watercolour and surrounded with seaweed cyanotype swirls, which I have been successful at getting into a number of galleries both in the Southwest and London. I was also getting quite a few commissions for private portraits, but also for album cover art and children’s book illustrations.

Through teaching and creative networking, I knew a couple of women my age (late 30s-50s, I am now 42) who said they did a Master’s in Illustration at AUB, and it transformed their creative practice and gave them amazing professional opportunities. At this point, I knew that I was ready to leave the teaching profession. In 2024, I quit my teaching job and took the leap – opting to study my Master’s degree part-time whilst I built my business as a freelance artist and illustrator in the background!

My most recent project has been on campaigning and protesting. It is impossible to not be affected by the current political climate: the rising hatred and racist rhetoric in right-leaning mainstream politics, the genocide in Gaza and the squeeze on the financial liberties of the working class. My work has focused on portraying protestors and celebrities who use their platform to fight social and political causes through messages of positivity, being kind, creating something beautiful out of an ugly situation and opportunities for people to grow, rather than feel repressed.

With my celebrity portraits, I playfully disguised activist symbols within their identities. Palestinian poppies, a burned, ripped teddy bear, the houses of Parliament and a dove of peace were woven into Paloma Faith’s vintage, exotic, hairdo to signify her protest of the UK government’s involvement in the war on Gaza. The actor, Idris Elba, knighted for his work preventing knife crime, utilising his love of DJ-ing by having knives emerging from a record player and turning into flowers, creating beauty from something ugly. The ‘Three Lions’ motif represented Gareth Southgate’s advocacy for mentorship, guiding boys and young men towards a better future, despite the current disadvantages they face in society today.

My aim was to evoke empathy to affect people and make them take action. My protestor portraits featured a crowd of people who are both diverse and familiar. They could be your grandad, your mum’s friend or your mates down the pub. They are of people giving video interviews at the March Against the Far Right in March 2026, where half a million people protested for values of kindness, decency, tolerance and inclusion. They are hand-painted to give them a distinct, tactile human feel and from video screenshots which gives them a sense of action and liveliness.

A stylised portrait of a woman with blonde hair, decorated with red flowers and a small teddy bear, with Big Ben and other London landmarks in her hair against a white background.

A purple-toned portrait of a man wearing headphones and mixing on a turntable, with floral shapes and stars in the background.

A blue-toned portrait of a man beside a lion, with a cub and red roses arranged around a white football on a plain background.

A collage of illustrated portrait faces of diverse people holds placards about immigration and human rights, set against a white background.

An illustrated portrait of an older man with glasses, a flat cap and white facial hair, wearing a black leather jacket with punk-style patches and studs against a plain white background.

Throughout my course, I have explored the use of digital technology combined with traditional media, having only picked up Procreate for the first time! I have found a really nice way to balance these approaches when both planning my compositions and finalising images.

One incredible opportunity I had was being chosen to visit China as a fully funded student at the Nanjing University of Arts Summer School! This was offered by AUB’s International Student Team and was funded by the Turing Fund. I was selected with 30 other students from AUB, across all years, including the Foundation course! We visited lots of amazing places like the Nanjing City Wall and West Lake in Huang Zhou. We learned tea whisking, lantern making and ink wash painting. Outside of AUB, I run adult art workshops, so this is a technique I am going to teach my future classes! Overall, I found this trip incredibly inspiring, particularly the trip to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, which honoured the 300,000 Chinese citizens who were killed during the Japanese invasion.

My illustration shows author Iris Chang, who is immortalised in a statue on the grounds, whose book The Rape of Nanking brought the story of what happened to the wider world. Surrounding her are framed photographs of the victims and stars which gives a feel for the inside of the Memorial Hall, as well as white chrysanthemums (a flower used in China to honour the dead).

Other opportunities were painting a mural as a private commission for a client who was the landlord of a block of flats, which my course leader, Jenni Saarenkyla, put me forward for. I got a taste for painting on a larger scale and this led to me exploring spray painting as part of my professional development into mural painting! I also had my first solo exhibition of my portrait paintings at the Lighthouse, Poole and my illustrations were featured in the Bournemouth Journal!

A woman in sunglasses stands beside a colourful portrait painting leaning against a graffiti-covered wall.

A group of women stands beneath an ornate stone archway with Chinese characters, surrounded by trees and ivy-covered walls.

A blue-toned mural of an illustrated long-haired figure beside white flowers, with many small portrait tiles scattered across a dark background.

A black-and-white building facade with a large Furniture News sign, featuring a horse, wheels and gears, beneath a pitched roof and TV aerial.

An open sketchbook on a wooden desk shows a coloured illustration of a blond woman holding food and a pumpkin, with an open watercolour paint set beside it.

A hand-drawn portrait of a blonde woman holding a fork over a plate of chips, framed by a green laurel wreath on a white background.

Illustrated portrait of a woman centred in a yellow oval frame, surrounded by purple flowers and the phrase 'We should all be feminists' below her.

An illustrated portrait of a person with curly dark hair and large glasses resting their chin on a hand, surrounded by flowing green ribbons of text on a pale background.

A smiling blonde woman in a black dress stands in a gallery and holds a glass, with framed abstract artworks displayed on a white wall behind her.

I’m really lucky to already be from Bournemouth, but I have lived in other places around the UK and there really is nowhere better than here! You’ve got seven miles of sandy beaches, beautifully picturesque hikes along the Jurassic Coast, the countryside, nightlife in town, excellent bus routes, fantastic coach and train links to London and Bournemouth International Airport right on your doorstep! I loved being able to complete my MA at AUB because as well as the wide range of facilities, there is always something going on – Student Makers Markets, Lecture Hall Karaoke, bake sales (there is ALWAYS a bake sale!), llamas… the list goes on!

I really loved exploring the Library for inspiration and how easy it is to explore different materials and techniques in other departments, from risograph printing to canvas making. Finally, there is a real positive energy on campus; all courses, students and professors mingle and share conversation, inspiration and ideas.

My top advice? Show up! Not just to your assigned lectures and workshops, but be on campus, in studios, in communal areas – soak up the vibe! You never know who you might meet, what random experience you might encounter or what opportunities you might be able to take part in. Also, it feels good talking to others. It helps you gain confidence and allows your work to grow as it won’t just exist in a bubble in your room, personal living space or in your head.

As a part-time student, step-mum and employed person, this is something I wish I could have done more. However, I am really proud of myself for jumping on opportunities as soon as they popped up. One more piece of advice – don’t talk yourself out of applying for competitions, just go for it!

Now that I’ve finished my degree, I’m sending my work off to different art directors and illustration agencies. But on top of this, I am growing my art workshops with the aim of opening up my own art café/creative hub in the near future! I was a part of Gather in Poole Dolphin Centre where I hosted a three-day art pop-up running from 23–25 September, including structured art workshops with lino printing, ink and bleach mandalas and acrylic painting to name a few. You can also find me running regular art workshops at St Peter’s Church in Ashley Cross, Poole and the Burning Bridge Tattoo Studio and Creative Space on Ashley Road in Poole.

Want to find out more?

Discover Katie’s art workshops and socials via her Linktree and Instagram.

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