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I sometimes wonder what people expect when they hear the words 'contemporary artist'. Perhaps someone standing in an enormous white studio, wearing expensive linen, staring thoughtfully at a canvas while discussing the relationship between colour and the human condition. There might be a gallery owner hovering nearby, a glass of wine involved, and somebody describing a painting as 'a profound exploration of the spaces between existence and identity'.
My own artistic process is slightly less glamorous. It usually involves acrylic paint, a growing collection of brushes, several ideas competing for my attention and the occasional moment when I wonder whether I've completely ruined something I've spent hours working on. There are no dramatic artistic declarations, (although there is sometimes swearing.)
I'm an independent contemporary artist in Essex, creating original acrylic paintings and art prints through Kauter Studios. My work moves between humour, social commentary, human relationships, everyday life and whatever else happens to capture my imagination. Some paintings are deliberately uncomfortable, some are emotional and others are ridiculous enough that I'm not entirely sure what they say about me.
What connects them isn't necessarily a particular subject. It's my interest in making artwork that people respond to. I like paintings that make somebody look twice, recognise something about themselves, laugh at something they probably shouldn't or think about a subject from a different perspective.
I also believe that art should be accessible. You shouldn't need to understand complicated artistic terminology to appreciate a painting, and you certainly shouldn't feel embarrassed about asking what something means. Sometimes the meaning is obvious, sometimes it's open to interpretation and sometimes I've simply painted a very attractive piece of cheese.
That's part of what I love about contemporary art. There's room for all of it.
What Does Being a Contemporary Artist Actually Mean?
Contemporary art is often confused with abstract art, which is understandable when you consider how frequently the two appear together. People picture enormous canvases covered in expressive marks, unusual installations or objects displayed in galleries that make visitors quietly wonder whether they're looking at the artwork or part of the furniture.
But contemporary art is much broader than that. At its simplest, it refers to art being created in our own time. It can involve traditional painting, illustration, photography, sculpture, digital media and practically anything else an artist chooses to work with.
It doesn't have to be abstract, expensive, confusing or particularly serious. Contemporary artists can create realistic portraits, colourful landscapes, humorous paintings or work dealing with difficult social questions. What often makes contemporary art interesting is the way it reflects the world we're living in, whether through its subject matter, approach or the questions it raises.
That's the part that interests me most. I don't want to paint exclusively from a predetermined list of acceptable subjects. I like the freedom to respond to things happening around me, explore an emotion or create something because an idea has been sitting in my head and refusing to leave.
Sometimes that means looking at social expectations, inequality or the ways people treat one another. At other times, it means thinking about the absurdity of ordinary life and finding something funny in it.
I don't see a contradiction between those approaches. Human beings aren't serious all the time, and I don't think the artwork we create needs to be either.
Why I Don't Want to Paint the Same Thing Forever
One piece of advice artists often encounter is that they should develop a recognisable style, choose a particular niche and stick with it. From a commercial perspective, I understand the argument. If people know exactly what to expect from your work, it can be easier to build an audience and establish a reputation.
The difficulty is that I have far too many ideas to spend the rest of my life painting the same subject.
I enjoy the technical process of painting, but I'm equally interested in what I can communicate through an image. Sometimes the challenge is visual, such as finding the right colours or simplifying a complicated subject into something illustrative. Other times, it's conceptual. I might have an idea about a particular issue but need to work out how to represent it without making the image too obvious or heavy-handed.
My collections reflect those different interests. The Breathe series explores emotional experiences and relationships, while my animal paintings are playful and colourful. I create humorous artwork featuring people behaving badly, food paintings with cheeky captions and landscape prints containing wonderfully unhelpful advice.
Then there are the paintings inspired by social issues, where I'm more interested in making somebody uncomfortable enough to consider what they're seeing.
If I tried to make all those subjects fit neatly into one category, I think I'd lose much of what makes painting enjoyable for me.
That doesn't mean there aren't visual connections between my pieces. I'm drawn to strong colours, deliberate compositions, simplified shapes and details that help tell a story. I enjoy a stylised, illustrative approach to acrylic painting, particularly when it allows me to communicate an emotion without relying on photographic realism.
But I'd rather allow that style to develop across different subjects than restrict myself to producing variations of the same painting indefinitely.
Making Contemporary Art About Things That Matter
One of the reasons I enjoy art is that it gives me a way to explore subjects that aren't always easy to discuss.
Some issues are difficult because they're emotional. Others are uncomfortable because they challenge the way we understand society, relationships or the behaviour of people around us. Sometimes an image can communicate something that would take pages of writing to explain.
I've explored themes including child marriage, domestic abuse, sexual violence and female genital mutilation through visual ideas and paintings. These aren't comfortable subjects, and I don't think artwork addressing them always should be.
I'm particularly interested in symbolism and the way ordinary objects can take on different meanings depending on their context. A wedding dress, for example, might normally represent happiness, commitment and celebration. But place that dress on a child, make it oversized and introduce an adult groom, and the same familiar imagery becomes deeply unsettling.
The viewer recognises the traditional symbols of a wedding, but something about the scene is wrong. That discomfort is part of the message.
I also enjoy finding ways to communicate without showing faces. Body language, clothing, posture and the arrangement of figures can reveal a surprising amount. Sometimes removing facial expressions makes an image more powerful because the viewer has to pay attention to everything else.
I'm not interested in creating disturbing artwork simply to provoke outrage. I want the imagery to have a reason behind it, and I spend time considering how to communicate the subject respectfully.
Contemporary art has the freedom to ask questions without providing neat answers. A painting might challenge somebody's assumptions, draw attention to something they've overlooked or encourage a conversation they wouldn't otherwise have had.
Not everyone will respond in the same way, and that's part of the experience.
The Other Side of My Art Is Completely Ridiculous
It probably says something about my personality that I can spend time exploring serious social issues and then decide that what the world needs next is a painting of two grannies behaving disgracefully at bingo.
I don't find that particularly strange. Life is full of contradictions, and I think humour can be just as interesting an artistic subject as grief, injustice or relationships.
One of my collections, People Doing Things They Shouldn't, takes familiar characters and puts them in situations that are wonderfully inappropriate. The humour comes from the contrast between what we expect people to do and what they're actually doing.
A respectable-looking grandmother, a nun or a policewoman comes with certain assumptions about how they should behave. Change the circumstances, and suddenly those expectations become part of the joke.
I enjoy that kind of visual humour because it doesn't always need words. You understand the scene by recognising the character and noticing the contradiction.
My animal paintings take a different approach. They have bold colours, stylised shapes and playful personalities, while my kitchen artwork turns ordinary ingredients into the sort of characters who probably wouldn't be welcome at a polite dinner party.
There's a slightly ridiculous amount of comedy potential in fruit and vegetables. I've discovered that lemons can be remarkably unpleasant, chillies lend themselves to all sorts of inappropriate comments and cheese offers an almost endless supply of terrible puns.
I don't think making someone laugh is a lesser artistic achievement than making them think. A humorous painting still needs an interesting composition, carefully chosen colours and a visual idea that works.
And there are few things more satisfying than seeing someone notice a painting, understand the joke and immediately smile.
Why I Work With Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paint suits the way I like to create artwork. It allows me to work with bold colours, build up different areas of a composition and make changes without spending days waiting for layers to dry.
I enjoy the versatility of it. Depending on how it's applied, acrylic can produce smooth blocks of colour, textured surfaces, fine details or more expressive brushwork. That flexibility is useful when I'm moving between subjects that require different approaches.
My painting style often involves defined shapes, shadows and highlights, rather than trying to reproduce every tiny detail exactly as a camera would see it. I'm interested in creating an image that feels complete and recognisable while retaining the character of an illustration.
Choosing colours is one of my favourite parts of the process. I love experimenting with combinations that give a painting a particular atmosphere, whether that's a deep blue background behind a colourful animal or the warm tones of a coastal sunset.
I also enjoy the problem-solving involved in painting. You might begin with an idea that seems straightforward, only to discover that one part of the composition isn't working. Then comes the decision about whether to change a colour, adjust the shape or reconsider the entire arrangement.
Sometimes the solution is obvious. Other times, you spend an unreasonable amount of time staring at a canvas wondering why something looks wrong.
One thing I've learnt is that a painting often changes considerably between the first idea and the finished result. I might begin with a very clear picture in my head, but as I work, I notice opportunities to improve the composition or communicate something differently.
That process is part of what makes original painting interesting to me. I'm not simply producing an image. I'm making a series of decisions, each of which contributes to the final artwork.
Contemporary Art Doesn't Have to Come From London
Living and working in Essex, I find it interesting how often contemporary art is associated almost exclusively with major cities, particularly London.
There's no question that London has an extraordinary concentration of galleries, museums and creative institutions. But the idea that interesting art only happens in those spaces seems rather outdated.
Artists work everywhere. They create paintings in home studios, spare bedrooms, converted garages and small independent workspaces. They exhibit locally, sell online, collaborate with other creatives and develop audiences through channels that would have been much harder to access a generation ago.
Essex has its own creative communities, with artists working across areas including Chelmsford, Colchester, Witham, Braintree, Maldon, Brentwood, Southend-on-Sea and the surrounding towns.
Those places aren't all identical, and neither is the artwork being produced in them. Some artists are inspired by the Essex coastline, countryside and architecture, while others focus on portraiture, abstract work, illustration or contemporary social themes.
For me, being an Essex contemporary artist isn't about ensuring every painting features something recognisably local. My interests extend far beyond the county, and many of the subjects I explore are relevant wherever you live.
But Essex is where I create my work, develop my ideas and build Kauter Studios. It's part of my identity as an artist without needing to dictate what I paint.
I also think the growth of online galleries and independent art websites has changed what it means to be a regional artist. You can develop a creative business from Essex while reaching people across the UK, without needing to move into a fashionable London studio or secure representation from an established gallery.
There's something quite liberating about that.
Art Should Be Something People Can Actually Live With
I've always found the separation between fine art and decorative art rather interesting. There's an assumption that artwork intended for someone's home is somehow less important than something created for a gallery.
But where do most people encounter paintings in everyday life? In their homes, workplaces, cafés and the places they spend time.
I don't think creating artwork that somebody wants to live with should be considered a compromise. A painting can be visually appealing and still contain an idea worth thinking about.
In fact, I like the thought of artwork becoming part of somebody's ordinary surroundings. A painting might be noticed every morning while someone makes coffee, or catch a visitor's attention and start a conversation.
That relationship can develop over time. Something that initially appeals because of its colours might eventually become associated with a particular period of someone's life, a memory or a person.
I also enjoy the idea that people can connect with the same artwork for entirely different reasons. Someone might appreciate the symbolism in a painting, while another person is simply drawn to the composition.
Neither reaction is wrong.
My original acrylic paintings are created as individual pieces, with art prints available for many designs. That allows people to choose between owning the physical painting and enjoying a reproduction, depending on their preferences and budget.
I don't believe buying contemporary art should require a considerable amount of money or an established collection. Sometimes a small original painting can bring just as much enjoyment as something far more expensive.
What matters is finding artwork that you want to keep looking at.
The Relationship Between Art and Social Media
Social media has changed the way contemporary artists can share their work, and I think that's both exciting and slightly complicated.
On the positive side, artists no longer have to rely entirely on galleries, exhibitions or traditional art publications to find an audience. We can share work directly, show people how paintings develop and have conversations with people who might never otherwise have discovered us.
That creates opportunities for independent artists who are developing their practice outside established institutions.
But social media also encourages a particular kind of creativity. Images that are immediately recognisable, visually striking or easy to understand tend to attract attention more quickly than work that requires somebody to stop and think.
There's also the temptation to judge everything according to numbers. A painting receives a certain number of likes, and it's easy to interpret that as a measure of whether the artwork has succeeded.
I don't think that's a particularly useful way to assess art.
A humorous image might attract attention because people immediately understand the joke, while a more challenging painting could produce a quieter response. That doesn't necessarily make one better than the other.
Some of my socially focused work has generated strong reactions online, particularly pieces addressing issues that people feel deeply about. I've found it interesting to see how viewers respond, what details they notice and how their own experiences influence their interpretations.
But I don't want every artistic decision to be determined by what might perform well on social media.
I want to make work that interests me, even when the subject is less obviously popular or the finished painting doesn't fit neatly into a particular trend.
For an independent artist, balancing those things is an ongoing challenge. You need people to discover your work, particularly when you're building a business, but you also need to retain the freedom to create something that matters to you.
Otherwise, you risk spending all your time producing what you think people want to see rather than exploring what you actually want to make.
Why I Created Kauter Studios
Kauter Studios is my way of bringing together the different sides of my artistic practice without pretending they all belong to the same category.
I wanted somewhere that could accommodate serious artwork, playful paintings, colourful illustrations and the occasional deeply inappropriate idea.
The name gives me room to explore different collections as they develop, rather than limiting the entire business to one subject.
I also wanted to create a place where people could see the work as more than a collection of individual products. The ideas behind paintings interest me, and I enjoy writing about those ideas, whether that's the inspiration for a particular subject or something broader about art and everyday life.
My website includes original paintings, art prints and collections organised around different themes. Some pieces stand alone, while others belong to a wider series.
For example, my Breathe collection explores emotional experiences through the language of breathing, while my animal paintings have a shared visual identity through their bold blue backgrounds and playful pink details.
The Uncollected is home to paintings that don't fit into any particular series. I created that collection because I don't think every idea needs to become part of something larger. Sometimes a painting deserves to exist simply because I wanted to make it.
Other collections are much more humorous, including my rude kitchen prints and unmotivational landscapes. They reflect a side of my personality that enjoys British sarcasm, terrible puns and artwork that refuses to behave itself.
I like having all those ideas under one name because they're different expressions of the same creative interests.
Do You Need to Understand Contemporary Art to Enjoy It?
One thing I'd love to change about people's relationship with art is the belief that they're supposed to understand it in a particular way.
I've heard people describe themselves as knowing nothing about art, almost as though that disqualifies them from having an opinion. They'll look at something, decide they like it, then immediately qualify that reaction by explaining that they don't know enough to judge.
But enjoying a painting doesn't require specialist knowledge.
You can appreciate a piece of music without knowing how to read musical notation, and you can enjoy a film without understanding every technical decision made by the director. Art shouldn't be any different.
Of course, learning about an artist's intentions, historical influences or techniques can add another layer to the experience. I enjoy understanding why someone made particular creative decisions, especially when a painting contains symbolism or references something I hadn't previously considered.
But that knowledge should enrich the experience rather than become a requirement for participating in it.
Sometimes contemporary art is deliberately ambiguous. The artist might want viewers to bring their own interpretations to the work, rather than prescribing one correct meaning.
Other times, the message is perfectly straightforward.
And occasionally, there isn't an elaborate message at all. The artist might simply have found a subject visually interesting and wanted to paint it.
I think people should feel comfortable admitting that they love something, dislike something or find something completely baffling.
You don't need to pretend a painting has moved you if it hasn't. Equally, you don't need permission from an art critic to enjoy something colourful, funny or unconventional.
Your response belongs to you.
What I Want People to Take From My Paintings
I don't have a single reaction in mind for every piece I create, because the subjects are too different.
With my more emotional paintings, I hope people recognise something about the experiences being represented. It might be a feeling they've struggled to describe or a moment that reminds them of someone important.
With social commentary, I'm interested in creating images that encourage people to question something or reconsider a familiar situation. I don't expect every viewer to agree with my perspective, but I do want the painting to give them something to think about.
And with humorous artwork, I mostly hope they laugh.
There's no complicated philosophy behind wanting somebody to smile at a painting of a badly behaved grandmother or a piece of cheese with an inappropriate caption.
I also like the idea of people discovering different layers in an image. A painting might appear simple at first, but the arrangement of figures, colours or small visual details can change how someone interprets it.
My approach to contemporary painting is still developing, and I expect it will continue to change as I explore new ideas, subjects and techniques.
I don't see that as a problem. One of the most interesting things about making art is that there's always something new to try.
I'd find it rather depressing to think I'd already created the most interesting thing I'll ever make.
Finding Contemporary Art by Independent Essex Artists
If you're interested in contemporary artwork, I think it's worth looking beyond the artists and styles that are already familiar.
There are independent painters producing interesting work across Essex and the wider UK, often with their own distinctive approaches to subject matter and materials.
Some focus on landscapes and the natural environment, others explore portraiture or abstract forms, and many use art to investigate cultural, political or personal themes.
Discovering new artists can be as simple as exploring their websites, visiting local exhibitions or following somebody whose work catches your attention.
I also think it's interesting to see how an artist's work develops over time. A collection might begin with a particular subject and gradually evolve into something quite different as they experiment with new ideas.
That's part of the appeal of supporting independent artists. You're not simply encountering a fixed catalogue of designs. You're seeing somebody's creative practice as it changes and develops.
For me, Kauter Studios is very much an evolving body of work. I have ideas for new collections, paintings I want to experiment with and subjects I haven't yet worked out how to represent.
Some will probably become successful pieces. Others might never make it beyond a sketch.
That's the nature of creating things.
Contemporary Artist in Essex: Explore Kauter Studios
I don't think contemporary art needs to be complicated, pretentious or deliberately difficult to understand. It can be thoughtful, emotional, funny, colourful, uncomfortable or completely unexpected.
It can challenge the way we see something familiar, capture a moment in a relationship or make us laugh at the absurdity of everyday life.
And sometimes it can simply be a beautiful painting that we enjoy having around.
As a contemporary artist based in Essex, I want to keep exploring those possibilities through Kauter Studios. My original acrylic paintings and art prints cover a wide range of subjects, but they're united by my interest in creating work that has personality and gives people something to respond to.
Some paintings make a statement, others tell a story and a few probably raise serious questions about my sense of humour.
I'm comfortable with that.
I don't want every piece I create to look the same, and I don't believe every painting needs to have a profound explanation attached to it. What matters to me is having the freedom to explore interesting ideas and turn them into artwork that people can connect with in their own way.
If you're looking for an independent contemporary artist in Essex, or simply want to discover original paintings and art prints that are a little different, you can explore my collections at Kauter Studios.
There are colourful animals, emotional paintings, social commentary, landscapes, sarcastic quotes and quite a few things that probably shouldn't be discussed over a formal dinner.
Which is more or less how I like it.
Paintings with something to say. Even when that something is completely ridiculous.