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Katya Robin
✏️ drawing everydayPortfolio
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petit genre
documenting daily life
petit genre
documenting daily life
Nightshift
Watercolour, A1
Watercolour, A1
Mopping
Ink & Pastel, A2
Ink & Pastel, A2
Lobby Boy
Watercolour & Pastel, A2
Watercolour & Pastel, A2
Petit genre is an art history term for depictions of everyday life, in contrast to the grand genre of ‘important’ subjects.
These three drawings belong to a series depicting cleaners. They are painted using Prussian Blue, a highly staining pigment, with yellow acrylic accents suggesting plastic cleaning equipment.
Mopping was included in the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2019. Four further large drawings from this series are showing in Cupboard Love.
Watercolour & Graphite on Sketchbook Pages, 2023
Sketches of a yellow skip in a parking bay. Pages from a sketchbook arranged in a 4×4 grid as a time-lapse sequence.
Watercolour & Graphite on Sketchbook Pages, 2023
Sketches of a parking bay, arranged in a 5 x 4 grid, like a work schedule or surveillance feed.
nature morte
revisiting still life
Ink & Pastels, A2
Ink & Pastels, A2
Ink & Pastels, A2
Graphite & Watercolour, A2
Watercolour, A2
Ink & Pastels A2 approx
Acrylic on Cardboard
Acrylic on Cardboard
Marker and Watercolour, A2
Monoprint, A3
Graphite & Gouache, A4
Graphite & Gouache, A3
Graphite & Salt, A3
Graphite & Salt, A3
Graphite & Gouache, A3 approx
Nature morte, also known as still life, traditionally depicts everyday objects symbolising deeper themes:
vanitas
transience & mortality
I apply these themes to contemporary domestic objects such as plants, food, and domesticated animals, isolating them on white backgrounds—a style often used in commercial or scientific imagery for its clarity. However, my style is instinctive and gestural. I work quickly, in short stages, as my energy fades too soon for longer sessions. This also reflects the vitality and fragility of daily life that is encapsulated in the concept of nature morte.