Jo Oakley
“This beautiful unspoilt space gives constant inspiration”
For the last 35 yrs and since training in Fine Art at North East London Polytechnic I have continued to pursue my own fine art practice whilst working professionally within the arts and raising a family.
I am a South East Londoner but have had a deep connection with the East Kent Coast all my life. Childhood holidays set in motion my love of the Thames estuary and this is now where I live working solely on my art practice and running the shop and art gallery, She Rose. I now have workshop space within the gallery for my printmaking and painting and am minutes walk away from the sea and ‘The Downs’ of Herne Bay.
This beautiful unspoilt space gives constant inspiration. The connection with nature has added the ‘something’ I had been missing for a while living in London. Being aware of the seasons and developing an interest in foraging and collecting seaweed to eat as well as paint and draw.
The paintings themselves are a mixture of memory and still life study. The forms and textures of the surface of the paintings are built up in layers using gesso in the preliminary stages. I am drawn to faded turquoise, blues and greens in every hue in pursuit of the fading light of a certain season trying to evoke its unique qualities.
My interest and practice in printmaking has bought me in the last years to Lino. I have had a lasting fascination with the illustrations by Arthur Rackham and have collected Victorian seaside postcards for many years. Now living by the sea my imaginary world of sea dwelling folk has emerged. Aubrey Beardsley’s monochromatic line fascinates me, the form and flow. I am now exploring these lines for myself.
My grandmothers words fall from my lips now and immortalising this combination of line and words fill my mind. To find out more about Jo visit her website here.
We are delighted to have Jo as part of our Contemporary Kent Artists exhibition at The Horsebridge Arts Gallery the 8th - 20th of October 2025.
How and why did you become an artist?
When I was at school, I knew that I wanted to go to art college, and I did a Foundation course before starting a degree in Fine Art at North East London Polytechnic. Although I felt that I needed to express myself through my art, I found myself becoming extremely disillusioned with the politicised environment at art school. I wanted to step away from that world and do something practical, so I left to do a course in shop display carpentry. I then spent two years travelling around England with a team of workmates fitting out shops, before becoming pregnant and getting married.
For the next ten years I continued to pursue my artistic interests while raising a family. My mother is also an artist, and I began to help her in her print studio with large editions, learning the art of printmaking as I did so. Everyone in my family was self-employed, and I very much wanted to be a working artist. When my husband and I divorced I knew that I needed to support myself financially. I gave myself a year to make a go of my artistic career — and have never looked back!
What inspires you in your work?
There are two main themes in my work: interiors and seascapes. Everything that I own represents a memory, such as sitting in my grandmothers’ kitchens as a child, which felt like a refuge to me. When I depict my belongings in my paintings, I’m trying to share that experience, and feeling of stability and security. I’m so pleased that they’ve also been meaningful to viewers, and I’ve made some really deep connections with people who have bought my work — as an artist you can’t ask for anything more, really!
Read more of Life after London: an interview with artist Jo Oakley by Rebecca Wall.