Katy Alston

Katy Alston Having graduated with a degree in Fine Art Painting at West Surrey College of Art and Design, now UCA Farnham, Katy continued to paint for some years before moving to illustration where she has freelanced for over twenty years. She works in pen and ink, watercolour and digital media. Katy is particularly known for her maps of the Welsh Borders, both commissioned and self-initiated. She also creates illustrations, and images inspired by the natural world. Motivated in part by her residency at Hereford College of Art (2015-16) Katy undertook a PGCE teaching qualification, and after teaching natural history illustration with Aberystwyth University she now teaches occasional workshops in Shropshire. She was awarded the Michael Marks Illustration award in December 2021, for her images in the ‘Fan-peckled’ pamphlet, and has been selected for this year’s Cheltenham Illustration awards. Katy was granted an arts council award in 2023 to develop her creative practice, making images in egg tempera, which she is trying to continue between illustration commissions.