Kiri Keepen

I finished my postgraduate diploma at the Royal Academy of Art Schools, London in 1998 and have been a practising Artist ever since, fitting my creativity into family life, work commitments and volunteering.  A love of the natural world, landscape and the figure have informed my art. Painting and drawing portraits, flocking birds, elderly residents of old people’s homes, lizards, children, trees and woodlands.

As a resident of the Surrey Hills I am inspired by its beauty. Recently my paintings have been documenting the changing seasons in a local wood which I walk in every day, enjoying time spent there exploring, both with my own three children and also working as a forest school assistant facilitating the engagement of children interacting with nature.

I love working with children in a creative environment, helping to explore ideas through different art media, often materials from the natural world such as sand, string, plant dyes, charcoal, clay, earth, wood and leaves. I am also interested in wellbeing and the therapeutic powers of art and nature. I believe that art, creativity and time spent in nature have huge potential for healing and supporting our mental health.