Welties artist wins Alice’s Art in the Garden

One of the most healing means of self-expression is the creation of art. Kim Paxton has always had a peculiar interest in art, and although she never had the opportunity to properly study it, she has maintained her love over the years.

Kim together with Lee Templeton, Abraham Kiewiets, and Willie Steynberg were some of the winners at the Art in the Garden show at Alice Art Gallery.

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“Having my art hanging in Alice’s gallery has given me a new sense of confidence in my work,” Kim said. She went on to add that she went to three of the events and began experimenting with watercolours during that time.

“I did some research, of course, through the usual channels – YouTube, Google, and so on. I couldn’t get enough of the watercolours once I started,” Kim continued.

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Kim studied and worked as an Architectural Draftsperson, assisting the firm with presentation drawings and enjoying building small models of the concepts they generated.

“That’s where I channelled my creativity.”

Kim expressed that she only began to seriously pursue painting and making art after marrying her second husband, who provided her with the flexibility and chance to experiment.

“I began to gain confidence in my art. I joined a painting club and expanded my understanding of oil paints – and received part of the art studio once it closed.”

Kim noted that, while she used to create using oil paints and pastels, she fell in love with watercolour painting and its rebellious disposition.

“Oils and pastels are so precise, whereas watercolours have a freedom of movement, and you never know what they will do once you spray water on them,” Kim explained.

She went on to say that she feels as if she is channelling a higher force when painting, and that it is a very therapeutic process.

“When I first started painting with watercolours, I was inspired by an Instagram artist named Claudia Drexhage, and as I learned more, I just fell deeper into the rabbit hole.”

Powdered colours, water, and salt are all components that mix on Kim’s canvas to produce artwork that hopes to elicit an emotional response from its observer.

While her work is abstract, Kim wants it to signify something to those who see it – to leave an impression of something.

“I believe that you have to understand the rules to break them, especially in art.”