Artist Kitty Valentine, a.k.a. foxglovepearly, lives and works in a converted artisan studio located in the oldest part of London. The Shoreditch dwelling was built during the arts and crafts movement in the early 1890s, and it has become as much a part of her work as the curiosities she fills it with. The strong bond with the history of her surroundings has heavily influenced her ongoing Victorian Mischief project.
In her own words, “The project involves politely defacing English and European cabinet photographs from the Victorian era, creating a darkly humorous yet poignant set of memento mori that raise questions about identity, sexuality, memory and mortality.” Kitty describes the process of delicately painting animal and bird skulls onto the faces of the deceased as breathing new life into them, while simultaneously representing a kind of double-death. She draws upon Victorian obsessions such as spiritualism, seances, deception, religion and the morbid sense of curiosity evoked by carnival freaks and sideshow attractions. “The resulting image may be fearful or comic, poignant or endearing, depending on the viewer’s response. This ambiguity relates to the conflicting perceptions of Victorian public and private behaviour — a subject which fascinates me.”
The abandoned photographs Kitty sources are often very small, so she paints upon them in minuscule proportions. The act revives the tradition of miniature paintings — sentimental, portable portraits of loved ones. She feels that the anarchic act of “vandalising” the photographs is “balanced by considered brushwork, and a respect for a much older art form that was a means of visualising and feeling close to a distant or deceased loved one.”
The most recent pictures in the series have been painted onto Edwardian postcards of stage actresses. In Crow Girl With Cat, Kitty portrays a cautionary fable in the reversed power structure between predator and prey. “The glittering crown adds to the fairy tale quality of the image and I think this is the direction the next works will follow. I was bewitched by beautifully illustrated fairy tales and nursery rhymes as a child and these were in my mind as I painted both Crow Girl With Cat and Fox Girl With Cat.” Kitty’s paintings are connected with themes of transformation that traditionally appear in fairy tales with a hint of menace. “I like the conflict and the duality of the characters that are created. It provides an interesting tension.”
Fairytale illustrations such as Dean’s Fairy Tales (left) have influenced Kitty’s work, as with Fox Girl With Cat (right).
She listens to music that transports her while she paints. “I hear pictures in the songs of Bonnie Prince Billy and 16 Horsepower, new bands like Dark Dark Dark and Black Prairie, in the mysterious religious imagery of old time bluegrass music like The Louvin Brothers and the haunting lyrics of ancient sailors’ shanties about stormy seas and the bitter life of the whalers.” Kitty predominantly works at night, accompanied by a glass of red wine and a candle, at a desk gloriously cluttered with old ink bottles and brushes, brittle bird skulls, Venetian glass and dusty, leather albums, “filled with strangers’ stories.”
Many thanks to Kitty for sharing her mood and inspiration with us. In addition to selling on Etsy, you can find her work in the Tearooms Market on Brick Lane.
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148 comments
Sign in to add your ownLittleWrenPottery says:
Fascinating work, I like how you can still see tantalizing glimpses of the person through the eyes like a mask.
1 year ago
SylviaJanssen says:
Absolutely amazing and cool!
1 year ago
JMGJewelDesign says:
How can you not be inspired everyday living in such a hauntingly beautiful place! Love it!
1 year ago
kjgrigoriadis says:
I found myself looking again and again. Very Surreal. Your right LittleWrenPottery you can see the people through the eyes. Thought provoking.
1 year ago
VivaGailBeads says:
your pics are stunning. i really like the family.
1 year ago
DecadesOfVintage says:
Very commanding work.
1 year ago
lovelygifts says:
Interesting and creative!
1 year ago
sewZinski says:
You have a very unique style. I love your work. I can almost hear the jaws clattering together on the skull masks,
1 year ago
ohbabydotcom says:
unique, different
1 year ago
dodres says:
Stunning pictures and paintings.
1 year ago
blessedvintage says:
very creative!
1 year ago
perfectwear says:
very special and interesting.
1 year ago
JudiPaintedit says:
I love the fox girl w the cat!
1 year ago
lovisetto says:
Absolutely love Gothic fiction and this photos remind me of Diane Setterfield's books... A little bi scary as well...
1 year ago
lovisetto says:
Absolutely love Gothic fiction and this photos remind me of Diane Setterfield's books... A little bi scary as well...
1 year ago
hazensattic says:
You have my same sense of love of Victoriana, and the macabre...and we share the same last name...perhaps we are related!
1 year ago
rwgoldsmith says:
just like the book mortal engines kitty valentine is a main character
1 year ago
lucky0girl0racer says:
The lady with the cat, I like that one!
1 year ago
gossamer531 says:
Fascinating work. Thank you for sharing with us the flavor of your world.
1 year ago
Floreal says:
Very fascinating.... and a very unique perspective. I like that.
1 year ago
SunSong says:
I LOVE bones as well. Hauntingly marvelous. Definitely can be seen as one's personality inside out, then the image within the skull....lurking! Wow. Thought provoking.
1 year ago
vKnit says:
This style reminds me of artwork I saw of the chapman brothers years ago in the Tate for the turner price. I'l be on the look out for your work next time I'm down near brick lane :) xox
1 year ago
SewSweetandSimple says:
Very unique and creative! Love the armadillo man:)
1 year ago
OliveLongstocking says:
fascinating and so special !
1 year ago
5orangepotatoes says:
what a beautful place to live. fascinating work.
1 year ago
BingoBox says:
Really nice work, Kitty. Congrats on the feature!
1 year ago
kathyjohnson3 says:
I love your decor, very beautiful! your art work is very interesting too! congratulations!
1 year ago
squarepaisleydesign says:
Very cool. I love them!
1 year ago
AsLuckWouldHaveIt says:
Fun article!
1 year ago
EnglishShop says:
Breathing in new life - hopefully around for another 100 years - brilliant!
1 year ago
stepbackink says:
Totally odd just love it :)
1 year ago
EyeSigh says:
Very unusual...it makes you think!
1 year ago
TubaMavituna says:
Quirky and fun, love them! Bird family is quite funny :)
1 year ago
tippleandsnack says:
Amazing work!
1 year ago
AuntieMsDesign says:
You are one wonderfully, weird chick and I like that!
1 year ago
The10TieCo says:
I like her work, but it seems to be a mere reincarnation of the work BANKSY started in England almost a decade ago with the street art movement. Not to say it isn't fascinating or creative or artistic, it indeed is.
1 year ago
myvintagecrush says:
Brilliant work, I love it!!
1 year ago
HartVariations says:
thank-you for portraying life and death with such beauty...as it should be. ...love your studio!
1 year ago
aliveness says:
It is definitely the artist that can creatively raise questions around identity, sexuality, memory and mortality. What an intent! AND what a sensuous, spirit filled place to do it in!
1 year ago
gordonvolante says:
Fantastic work, Miss Kitty. Beautiful and captivating - and that's just you! I am a great admirer of your work - do keep it up!
1 year ago
TheHandOfFatima says:
can i please come live in your house? shoreditch is my boo, i love it.
1 year ago
TipsyTimeMachine says:
Enticingly dark, interesting way to breathe new life into photos from a bygone era.
1 year ago
AraneidaStudios says:
Very interesting and creative work!
1 year ago
melida says:
Such an imaginative way to repurpose the photographs! Reading about you makes me want to decorate my own studio on this rainy morning
1 year ago
ThePolkadotMagpie says:
Fantastic...Kitty Valentine, sounds like a character in a novel. Great work!
1 year ago
MissHildebrandt says:
Interesting In a weird distant kind of way it is similar to graffiti to me.
1 year ago
EdensEndeavors says:
I'm so intrigued. I particularly love "crow girl with cat"
1 year ago
Asianexpressions says:
Awesome!
1 year ago
carousel2 says:
just the beautiful dark work we love.....
1 year ago
LillyBoneDesign says:
Wonderful!
1 year ago
WickedCrochet71 says:
Absolutely beautiful.
1 year ago
ZellerZazzles says:
Wow.
1 year ago
gormanstudios says:
Very Chapman Brothers-esque.... brits who did the same sort of thing to a rare collection of Goya's "Disasters of War" series that they then called "Insult to Injury".
1 year ago
PatinaArtsAlchemy says:
Ironic and unusual work. I'd love to see more pics of your studio/workspace.
1 year ago
tigersanddragons says:
I love the darkness of your work. My mother has two photo books of portrait photos of her great grandparents college friends, since these people are no relation she doesn't know quite what to do with these photos....
1 year ago
ruteparedes says:
oh wow, stunning work. It is darkly ironic and witty. Frankly, I find the Victorian photographs far spookier without your beautiful brush work :D. congratulations!
1 year ago
hingedjewelry says:
You bring beauty to the odd. I'm so very grateful for a glimpse into your work, your home and the new personalities you give forgotten souls.
1 year ago
choisette says:
i heart the macabre.
1 year ago
TheIDconnection says:
I love this! Amazing! Monica TheIDConnection Great Victorian Pics
1 year ago
redheart13 says:
Love your work, congrats on the feature darling.
1 year ago
DreamReignDesigns says:
love the mood!
1 year ago
ZULYA says:
I am afraid of that pictures!
1 year ago
throughstormyseas says:
a talented and wonderful individual who has always been an inspiration to me and the only person i know with better taste in music than me. lovely article Kitty x
1 year ago
Carolinajess says:
i have that same book of fairy tales. it belonged to my mom when she was little.
1 year ago
kmariedesignz says:
Wow! Your work is incredible!
1 year ago
kmariedesignz says:
I wish you the very best!
1 year ago
BreatheCouture says:
Kitty I love your uniqueness and adore the Victorian Era, fairy tales. It's nice to see others inspired ;)
1 year ago
PrettyNeurotics says:
What interesting works! They're mysterious and pull you in. I'm a fan.
1 year ago
frommylifetoyours says:
very different
1 year ago
PereLachaise says:
<3 Dark and wonderful :-)
1 year ago
KMalinka says:
Superb work!
1 year ago
MetroGypsy says:
Fascinating dichotomy...
1 year ago
WayaWolf says:
Disturbing but fascinating.. Amazing work!
1 year ago
drunkmansdaughter says:
How romantic!
1 year ago
lopecreative says:
LOve.LoVE.LOVE these. I'm envious of her workspace.
1 year ago
GinaMicheleEco says:
I adore her work!
1 year ago
accentonvintage says:
Love the girl and cat! You are very and uniquely creative!!
1 year ago
Squarekitty says:
I am equally obsessed and fascinated with Victoriana & also hold a morbid curiousity for circus freaks/carnivals & momento mori. Quirky, interesting work in that dark theme I love-well done on your feature, Kitty!
1 year ago
DoubleDmentia says:
Incredible and inspiring! I've been trying to decide for awhile which pictures to own, and still can't pick my favorites!
1 year ago
ShellBeach says:
holy cow! that is so cool! I love them.
1 year ago
giginstudio says:
My mother once said "should I take the stand to show them I am not a three headed monster?" This body of work so hits the nail on the monster head! Thanks for sharing your insight. Since darkness and frightening imagery are often feared, it takes a very secure artist to create work worthy of discussion, Bravo!
1 year ago
daydreamjewels says:
Interesting!
1 year ago
theroyal says:
ooh i like this artist, i am glad to see them featured.
1 year ago
SugarCubeVintage says:
hauntingly beautiful work! congrats! lucky you living/working in shoreditch- i fell in love with the area last time i was in london. cheers!
1 year ago
Legacy925 says:
Creepy, yet cool. I love vintage photographs. What a fun and interesting way to repurpose! Love the Fox Girl with Cat, African Wild Dog Girl with Pansies, and the ones with women holding babies on their laps are priceless. The looks on those babies' faces says it all, as in w.w.winter. Too funny. Boulogne sur mer is especially interesting. Wonderful studio as well. Would love to have an architecturally interesting, historical location to work from. Must be fun and inspiring.
1 year ago
foxglovepearly says:
thank you so much, i am quite overwhelmed by all the kind words that have been left, i really do appreciate these messages. x kitty
1 year ago
Bumbleweedz says:
Kitty, I just love your creative mind!
1 year ago
maddshatter says:
Very creative! (:
1 year ago
Foxgloves says:
Noooo! Don't eat the baby!
1 year ago
shelostit says:
Love your work! Creepy, but in a very cool way. :)
1 year ago
HeavenlyNaturalSoap says:
darkly seductive.
1 year ago
heidispaws says:
Intriguing and fabulous!
1 year ago
FruteJuce says:
Really love your work.
1 year ago
StudioConestoga says:
I keep starring! I CAN'T looke away! Amazing work!
1 year ago
RubyRedDragon says:
I was about to go to bed and had logged out already, but had to relog in to leave a comment on Foxglovepearly´s work. Beautiful - bedtime stories and fairytales to my taste. Besides, the brushwork is excellent.
1 year ago
vintageNsome says:
cool
1 year ago
VictoryJewelry says:
Absolutely amazing, I love it all! Cheers to you & to much success! :)
1 year ago
odiliafu says:
Awesome! Wonderful works!
1 year ago
poorjimsvintage says:
to be a fly on that wall for a day.
1 year ago
ChrissiesRibbons says:
chilling but enthralling work
1 year ago
Mclovebuddy says:
scary beautiful. :) there's beauty in death and decay as well.
1 year ago
Mclovebuddy says:
scary beautiful. :) there's beauty in death and decay as well.
1 year ago
shop1848 says:
I LOVE your work! So moody and gorgeous!
1 year ago
AmberGypsySky says:
Hehe I like the decorated officers
1 year ago
Meandtheboy says:
AWESOME!!!!!
1 year ago
sweetaccessories says:
I just have to visit Tearooms Market next time I'm in London...
1 year ago
julessabjewelry says:
Definitely inspires the macabre! I love your work and I'm looking forward to seeing more. For the time being, I'll just imagine what you'll think of next. Thank you Amity for sharing Kitty's work with us - it's brilliant.
1 year ago
ValintheValley says:
Absolutely STUNNING and meaningful work. Vibrant, smart, funny yet sad, it evokes so many different subtil feelings at the same time. I like the link that can be made with death and all these moments in of these people, like a reality check. Because let's face it it's all around us. I LOVE your Messene one. Big congrats and have fun much sucess in fantastic Shoreditch ! (hubbie lived there for some years way back). Val
1 year ago
JewelsbyJasmin says:
Fascinating, amazing work!
1 year ago
chelseavintage says:
All my life I've looked for someone that could paint the kind of picture I've had in my head, and these are all it. I love all of your paintings. Excellent excellent work!!
1 year ago
TheOmegaWorkshop says:
Fascinating & inspiring!
1 year ago
brooktroutoriginals says:
Morbidly fascinating! Ive always loved old photos, great idea to add new "life" to them!
1 year ago
Studio7329 says:
Amazing work so glad i found your shop
1 year ago
olechkodotorg says:
Very cool stuff, been following her blog since she was featured by Spitalfields life
1 year ago
BlessedBeeApothecary says:
i just love this!
1 year ago
HydrangeaRow says:
Definitely thought-provoking...well done!
1 year ago
lovodesign says:
Thank you for introducing us to Bonnie Prince Billy.
1 year ago
whimsicals says:
wow! chilling and creepy, awesome and amazing, thought provoking and completely unique!
1 year ago
collectiblesatoz says:
Very different. I do like the vintage pictures.
1 year ago
FrenchTwistPostcards says:
Wonderful pieces I love the darkness in them, really wonderful!
1 year ago
NYLeatherRose says:
Wow, foxglovepearly like my type of roses?! Thanks!!
1 year ago
fiveorsixgirls says:
OMG, i must buy one!!
1 year ago
sparrowsalvage says:
This is a fantastic post (I love the UK edition of the etsy blog!) - at first one questions the de-facing (what would the subjects say!?) but then on considering the almost meditative and rather intimate process (and time) that goes into working on such a tiny scale, the 'vandalism' seems to wither and the works become more than their original part- which is my constant thread when I work with antiques. ('I've often had people say to me 'how could you destroy such precious old things!?') I too hear pictures in the music you noted, and I'm jealous of your studio locale- I have a mysterious connection to the East End which began as a child, long before I learned my grandmother grew up there. I'm in the middle of saving to come live in London, hopefully in a tiny, near-derelict Georgian garret. Maybe I'll come over for tea and art!
1 year ago
DarwinsDress says:
I have LOVED your work since the first time I saw it in a Treasury! and now we get to see the lovely and interesting person behind the masks!!!Thank you for sharing, very unique work! Bittersweet, a little scary, and definitely other worldly.
1 year ago
chelseavintage says:
Amazing work! This is a true artist not only creating her work, but living it! I love your studio, and your working process.
1 year ago
foxglovepearly says:
just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful comments and encouragement i have received here, i am so deeply touched. x kitty
1 year ago
earthangelsarts says:
This art does remind me of some dark fairytales from childhood! XX
1 year ago
bmused says:
Amazing talent! So dark & fascinating!
1 year ago
janieg says:
I like your look...I like your place...I like your work...I like your words!
1 year ago
valeriephoto says:
Fascinating and fun! I share your love of Victorian macabre.
1 year ago
Friston says:
Ditto on the "FASCINATING"! I'm digging this!
1 year ago
GalleonGal says:
fairy tales may have been created from events in history, these spectral yet awesome tales frightened small ones, illustrations from these Fairy tale books are exquisite, here abide such spellbinding creativity
1 year ago
Beadit1 says:
Very unique!I have some friends that will love your shop.
1 year ago
Longnose says:
Love it!
1 year ago
SweetiePieCaketopper says:
As you can see by my icon I'm into bunny rabbits. Don't eat me please.
1 year ago
JustAddWater says:
I see you share the same love of skulls! Brilliant work, will be placing order very soon....if I could just decide which one!!
1 year ago
Stravaigrant says:
I love this article, it's a dark little portrait in itself! Brilliant work. I especially like "Fox Girl with Cat". I love wondering who was beneath the skulls, before death and time took their stories. It makes more sense that the faces should be hidden, it gives even more distance to lives we will never know.
1 year ago
cakemates says:
I love your work, its so unique!
1 year ago
rubyrhino1 says:
Wow these are simply stunning, you're one talented lady Kitty! It's so nice to know there's creative juices following just outside the financial bustle of the City - I used to escape my office on Liverpool street just to wonder through the streets and get inspired by Shoreditch! x
1 year ago
HerissonRose says:
Wow. Their fantastic, phantasmagoric. I have a fascination with skulls, and love how you've made them so expressive. Thats what makes them so fascinating and disturbing - their personalities show through, and the observer automatically has attribute humanity and it quirks to a representation of death, a topic normally avoided or sanitised in peoples minds. I'm going to have some very weird dreams..
1 year ago
SwitchDesignsNYC says:
So creative!
1 year ago
bornrestless says:
Really great idea that looks awesome and creepy and beautiful! x
1 year ago
indiagemsbeads says:
love it too much
1 year ago
janoak says:
Cool art, cool taste in music...
1 year ago
TheGraveyardGirls says:
Fantastic work <3
303 days ago
freyagushi says:
How didn't i came across this before , esp living in London it is shameful !? brilliant artworks !
279 days ago
EssentialVintage says:
love your artwork. I have just discovered a victorian purse that i am going to be listing, as soon as i picked it up i had flashbacks of the film "From Hell" and such dark debauchery!!!
277 days ago
snotbooger says:
! victorian
169 days ago