Who is Kay Flockhart?
I'm an artist from the UK, but lived in Verbier, Switzerland for several years. I work from a small studio in my home, and balance my time between looking after my daughter, painting, and trying to keep fit so I can keep up with her on skis. I'm a self taught artist. When I left school I dragged all my large paintings and portfolio up many flights of university staircases, only to be rejected as they said I worked in too many styles, and I needed to identify with one. So I became very self disciplined and studied at home, and to this day still enjoy working with as much diversity as possible.
What Inspires You?
My inspiration changes constantly. I'm hugely driven by the desire to keep learning. And being in the studio keeps my relationship with technology to a minimum.
Different circumstances influence my relationship to my art. When I lived in the mountains I was immersed in nature and that got me psyched. Now, I'm temporarily based in suburbia so my awareness has shifted more to developing my skills in the studio, learning new techniques.My illustrations have been inspired by the voyeuristic attitudes we are developing, and my subsequent paintings are a reaction to that, pushing back against contrived media images to create something more holistic.
Faction Skis
Faction were looking for an artist to collaborate on their new women’s line. I was on holiday in Bali - post ski season with my friends nursing a snapped ACL. And one of my pals was working for Faction. She showed them my sketchbooks and I got the job. I enjoy working with Faction as I'm contributing to something that I love, and I get enormous freedom to work in all those many different styles, which pushes me to keep evolving as an artist.Your Most Recent Ski Graphics?
I've been working on the Faction Artist Series for 7 years now. The outlook for this year's design was about bringing the women’s line more under the umbrella of the brand.In the beginning there was a strong desire to make something very separate for women, but the feedback we received before starting the artwork was that the female skiers wanted to be taken seriously and have more equality. Performance levels have risen dramatically and the girls wanted designs that recognize that.
I created two designs. The Prodigy 2.0X is an abstract piece with an androgynous appeal to it. I have been experimenting with the paint pouring techniques on large scale canvas, and I collected various forms from a larger piece to compose the design.
The Prodigy 1.0X is based on a more narrative subject, and compliments the Prodigy 2.0X. Faction's female athletes are dominating the podiums and they remind me of ninja cat women. So I created these characters to centre the designs around. But then I wanted to react against the media notion of creating kudos based on someone's image and looks, so I took away their faces. The colours and background designs are inspired by street art mark-making and have a darker, edgier feel.
