Our Friday Feature this week is the lovely Catherine from Catherine Bamber Art. Having grown up in a creative home, Catherine quite naturally found her way to becoming an artist. Lockdown was the perfect excuse to build her own business, and since then she has really honed her style – finding what works best for her. Spoiler alert: it involves lots of dots and second-hand frames!
Let’s get to know more about the wonderful creative woman behind the small business…
It’s the freedom to create something from scratch, whilst having fun and getting lost in the task. For me, this isn’t just achieved in my dot drawings but in lots of different ways. I like to try different craft ideas I’ve seen on Pinterest, paint art for my home, upcycle my second-hand finds and I love to make gifts for family and friends. I find that owning a business can stunt my creativity if I focus too much on sales, so having a few different creative outputs helps keep it fun and fresh.
Yes, ever since I can remember. My dad was an artist, so I grew up in a creative household and had access to all of his materials, which he encouraged me to experiment with. Creative subjects at school were always my favourite, and I was lucky that my parents encouraged me to do what I loved.
I’ve had to think about this a lot in the last few years! I used to work with a variety of media, but I was always drawn to fine-liners because I liked the clean finish and contrast on white paper. I traced my first attempt at a dot drawing back to 2019 after I was inspired by a few artists I discovered on Instagram. I noticed my dot drawings were getting the most attention, and so I decided to focus on those for my business. It helped that I find the process relaxing, and it seems to come naturally to me. I also love that there’s little to no mess (no paintbrushes to clean or surfaces to protect).
I had the idea to sell my own art in 2016, but didn’t give it a proper go until lockdown in 2020. I was without a job and had a lot of time on my hands, and found this was the perfect way to stay busy/sane during that time. It was a lot harder than I had imagined, as the business side doesn’t come easily to me. My business was called ‘Bamber Prints’ and I mostly sold greeting cards and art prints for children, but earlier this year I took the plunge to sell my original art, in collections, like a ‘real’ artist.
All my favourite projects have been since I decided to combine my love of second-hand shopping with my art. I’d always been asked if I would sell framed pieces, but could never work out how to do it in a way that felt right for me. I started seeing a lot of frames in charity shops and decided to repurpose them for my art. I love the look of old frames. I think they bring so much more character and each one is so unique. I finally feel like I’ve found an art style that feels the most ‘me’.
I’ve never been able to sustain it as a full-time business (falling back on freelance graphic design work when needed), which weighs on my mind and makes me feel like a bit of a failure. I have found it extremely hard to get used to working for myself, building routines and staying motivated.
I’m lucky that creating has always been an escape for me, so I continue to draw when times are tough and just try to take the pressure off. I’ve tried to get in the habit of filming as I go so I always have things to share on social media. It’s often during these times that I create the stuff that sells the best so I’m really trying to not over-think it!
Painting – I find it so difficult! Most people ask how I have the patience to draw with dots but I think painters have the real patience! If the first layer doesn’t look how I want it, I just give up. I have never found my style with painting and have been thinking of taking some classes because I love the idea of it.
I love supporting other women in business and seeing them succeed! It’s a hard question, as I don’t know any different!
I would love my art to give me some financial stability and allow me to travel more.
Having the right environment and encouragement to be creative is so important. For some that doesn’t come until later in life. For others, like Catherine, it starts as a child and brings out a natural creative talent. Just look at the detail she gets into her drawings… all created with the humble dot!
If you’d like to see more of Catherine’s dot-art, head to her website: catherinebamber.com – or for some fun behind-the-scenes content (including process videos and charity-shop finds!), take a look at her Instagram: @catherinebamberart
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