Charlie Kirkham
Charlie Kirkham is a UK based visual artist with a penchant for the fantastical and a deep love for history. Charlie was educated at the esteemed Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Israel before completing the Diploma in Portraiture at The Heatherley School of Fine Art, London.
Her work has been shown internationally including at the esteemed Mall Galleries, London. She has received funding from The Eaton Trust, Coventry Mysteries Festival, Edge Arts Bath and the STEAMhouse, Birmingham.
Awards include the Visions of Science Award (2018), in collaboration with the University of Bath, nomination for the Visual Artist category at Passion for Freedom (2024). She completed a funded studio programme at The STEAMhouse, Birmingham in 2024.
Charlie is an elected full member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art. She is also a member of Holyhead Studios, Coventry, the Visual Artists Association and Castlefield Gallery Associates.
About Charlie’s work “The Rebirth of Venus”:
Inspired by Sandro Botticellis ‘The Birth Of Venus’ this was an exploration of techniques utilising Midjourney AI image generation alongside Apple Pencil digital drawing in ProCreate.
When I started thinking about the depiction of women with implanted and external defibrillators the idea of utilising AI generated art appealed as a compliment to the bionic women depicted.
One of the fascinating aspects of using AI was the inherent data bias in the image set. It made generation of classical nudes impossible and massively restricted the range of women that could be generated using the term ‘woman’ to a westernised ideal of beauty.
Pulling the images into ProCreare allowed me to digitally paint the skin, remove clothing and insert the defrobilliarion devices. It felt like as many of us are dependant on technology to stay alive, but have to be our own strongest advocates alongside this, in the same vein the technology for art generation is merely the support structure for the artist to paint on.
About Charlie’s work “Danae Sleeping Away Death:
Inspired by Gustav Klimt ‘Danae’ I used AI prompts to create an image of a sleeping red haired woman using a Klimt palette. I then needed to redraw the skin, torso and adjust the hair and background. It was an intense drawing experience working in a machine
Made scaffold, similar to using reference photos. AI struggles with eyes, limb positions and to skin tonality, which meant a lot of overpainting to get a sense of flesh and tone. I wanted to bring in the idea that when we honour women through saving their lives we can change death itself. In mythology Danae was imprisoned in a bronze tower by her father. Keeping the bronze and gold themes the expression is one of peace, referencing a character who was imprisoned in a tower and a box seemed reflective of the way in which flawed hearts can feel like a physical prison sometimes, with the limitations they place on daily life.
About Charlie’s work “Dancing My Heart Back (after Le Baker)”:
Lois Maelou Jones used an incredible colour scheme in her painting ‘Le Baker’ and keeping to that but making the figure more figurative paid homage to the reference artwork. It was created using MidJourney and ProCreate (digital drawing with Apple Pencil) and the feathered skirt required lots of individual pencil strokes to create the feeling of dancing, this piece is a celebration of life after Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
About Charlie’s work “After Lois Maelou Jones, La Baker with AED”:
Working on a American black walnut wood, the dark brown flattered the palette of the acrylic paints. Using a digital cut file I burned out the details of the picture and worked in layers of burn and acrylic paint to create depth. The composition stays true to the Lois Maelou Jones original painting which I fell in love with. I wanted the central figure to feel like she was swaying and for the defibrillator and pads to seem as if they were as intrinsic as the background to emphasis that it reviving women should be the norm, not the exception.
About Charlie’s work “Flora With The AED”:
Inspired by Titian’s (Tiziano Vecellio) painting ‘Flora’ I generated a Flora figure in Midjourney and then painted her using Apple Pencil in ProCreate. Using digital collage the original Flora is introduced on the left. The atmosphere of the painting is deliberately subdued and thoughtful, as these two women commune with one another almost as if the original Flora forms the ghost to our younger Flora figure. The pads are also painting in a subdued palette to create an ethereal feel.
About Charlie’s work “La Fornanina with a Defib”:
Based on ‘La Fornanina’ by Rafael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), this oil painting re-imagines the muse of Raphael as a woman with a cardiac condition. She stares out at the viewer inviting them to consider her active engagement, her body is presented as an equal rather than as a passive subject to be gazed at.
About Charlie’s work “St Eulalia in Cardiac Arrest”:
Inspired by John William Waterhouse ‘Saint Eulalia’. The original story depicts the martyrdom of the young Saint Eulalia of Merida, a 12 year old Roman Christian who was stripped, tortured and burned to death. Her body was cast out where a dove flew from her mouth and snow began to fall to shroud her body. It’s a dark legend reflecting the historic vulnerability of women in a gendered world. In this rendering the death of Eulalia is turned into a rebirth, the yellow dove echoing the yellow of the AED cabinet on the column to her right, the snow vibrating with the life being shocked back into her.
About Charlie’s work “Reese’s Candy Girl”:
When Mel Ramos created ‘Reese’s Rose’ it reflected the pop art obsession with merging consumer products with voluptuous women. In my homage to Ramos, I’ve considered the three elements: woman, candy wrapper, AED as reflecting aspects of society. In the same way that a chocolate bar wrapper is easy to toss away women’s lives are being thrown away because another product, the defibrillator, is not being unwrapped.
About Charlie’s work “The Snow Princess with the Pads On”:
The creation of this snow princess was a challenge due to the struggle of AI to recognise the prompts offered. After generating the skirt and background in MidJourney using AI I generated a figure who needed to be extensively redrawn in ProCreate. Juxtaposing the bare chest with the voluminous skirt was an exciting process, I loved bringing the AED pads in as if they are an accessory or jewellery piece, as much part of the princess as her gown skirt. The painting reflects the contrast between seeing women depicted as idealised princess figures who need a reducer and the reality of bystanders refusing to apply pads to rescue real women in cardiac arrest.
About Charlie’s work “HeartCharged Mugshot”:
Simplifying an iconic photograph of the HeartCharged duo, sisters Hannah and Bethany Keime to create a single layer burned out mugshot. The simplicity of the image belies the complexity inherent in processing the message to “Flash The Boobs!”
About Charlie’s work “Princess Borghese Reclining”:
Antonio Canova created a sculpture of Princess Borghese (nee Napoleon) in the reclining pose of goddess Aphrodite. Playing on the idea of that meeting space between mortals and gods the pads are placed to reflect on each mortals ability to give the gift of life to another.
About Charlie’s work “I Have Realized I Should Live Before I Die”:
A portrait of Bethany Keime using a limited palette that contrasts bright teals with magenta. It depicts Bethany holding up a large pink fabric in a moment of contemplation. Based on photographic references the focus is on contemplating how becoming bionic alters self-perception. Diagnosis with a lethal condition at a young age triggers reflection on life, mortality and how to live before we die.
About Charlie’s work “She's A Shock Star! (Anastasija)”:
Anastasija is an advocate for HeartCharged, she even had their logo tattooed on herself. Channeling Andy Warhol vibes I created this miniature paintings mixing laser etching with paint marker. Thematically they’re bright, zingy and celebrate all the “Shock Stars” out there supporting HeartCharged to share lifesaving techniques.
About Charlie’s work “Kickstart My Heart: Give it a Start, Kickstart My Heart: Hope It Never Stops, Kickstart My Heart: My Heart, My Heart”:
A triptych of Hannah Keime.The bronze brushed acrylic sheet intends to create a sense of iconography and embrace the concept of the ethereal touching Hannah, a Sudden Cardiac Arrest surviour. The lyrics are from Motley Crue’s song ‘Kickstart My Heart’, chosen by Hannah’s mother.
About Charlie’s work “This Ain't The End, I Saw You Again”:
Portrait of Hannah Keime mixing digital drawing (SVG files, laser burn out) and hand painting on wood. This paired portrait of Hannah is based on a photograph of her sitting above a fountain. Instead of using the original summer water background, the landscape has changed to a surreal snowstorm where the black MDF wood shows starkly against the layers of acrylic paint. It is a celebration of survival thanks to technology (an implanted ICD saved Hannah’s life), which made the choice of merging digital drawing with hand painting seem fitting.
About Charlie’s work “This Ain't The End.”:
Portrait of Hannah Keime mixing digital drawing (SVG file, laser burn out) and hand painting on wood.
The pair of portraits, This Ain’t The End and This Ain’t the End, I Saw You Again are lyrics from ‘Heart’ by Barracuda. The titles were chosen by Hannah’s mother and speak to the experience of a loved one surviving sudden cardiac arrest. Hannah survived sudden cardiac arrest twice as a teenager, the first time during sleep. The implanted ICD she had saved her life on both occasions. This portrait is of Hannah wired up to a heart monitor, the aim was to first present a young woman, then to emphasis the wires with the additional diagonal line running through the piece.
About Charlie’s work “Reclining Nude with AED (After Matisse)”:
Playing around with the bright, colour popping Henri Matisse palette to create a hybrid digital (laser etched) and hand painted piece on wood. Altering the colour scheme the intention was to unite the pads and defibrillator with the overall scene.
About Charlie’s work “Reviving the Venus of Willendorf”:
Inspired by the famous sculpture, this Venus is ready to come back to life and shake things up. The jolts in the background reflect the energies of this powerful earth mother figure. Using a mixture of laser engraved digital burns and hand painting the complimentary colours pop to highlight how vital the life giving shocks can be.
Instagram: charliekirkhamart
Website: charliekirkham.com