Twinkle Troughton

About

Primarily a painter, music and writing have both also played important roles in my creative work; having been a singer in punk-rock group The Fairies Band and co-founder of indie-label Pushing Pussy Records, I am currently the editor for Margate Mercury as well as a regular writer for the magazine. Inspiration for my paintings comes mostly from English landscapes which provide a route for me to explore our collective history, storytelling, gardens, nature, and my conflicting feelings of love for a country which I have found increasingly unsettling in recent years.I paint in reverse, with whole surfaces of canvas or paper covered in oil paint and linseed before brushes and solvents are used to remove the paint to create luminosity and form. I am excited by the alchemical reaction of oil paint, mediums and solvents which results in decay, distortion, corrosion and light. With a strong DIY ethos, I have gained a wide range of experience in the arts with my own practice as a painter, curator, and arts writer. I started writing for Margate Mercury in 2016 when the magazine was first established, following a blog I established called Cloud CT9 highlighting the art scene in Margate at the time. To date for Margate Mercury I have interviewed Tracey Emin, Robert Diament and Russel Tovey, Turner Contemporary Director Clarrie Wallis, Lindsey Mendick and Guy Oliver, as well as many others.I have exhibited internationally and in 2010 was selected to represent the UK at the Redbull Hangar7 Gallery in Salzburg and in 2013 exhibited in a joint solo show with Tinsel Edwards at Galerie Michaela Stock in Vienna. Recent solo shows include Manchester's Paper Gallery in September 2021 and Ramsay and Williams in Margate in 2023.I have also been a director of a food bank in Margate, where my role has included social media outreach, design and branding, and website management. In 2020 during lockdown, I held front garden art sales to raise funds for the food bank, and after raising more than £3,500 was named as one of the Big Issue's Top 100 2020 Change Makers.I have experience mentoring for charity The Koestler Arts who are the UK's best known prison arts charity, and as an artist in residence at Dulwich College and St Saviours and St Olaves in London. I have also worked to commission both as a painter and as a designer.Specialties include painting, writing, curating, promotion, school workshops, social media management, section editing.Website: www.twinkletroughton.co.ukInstagram: @twinkletroughton