Meet our ‘Hop to it’ Trail Artist – Karis Youngman

Last year, we were thrilled to announce our participation in the St Elizabeth Hospice ‘Hop to it! Suffolk 2025’ art trail, set to be unveiled in Ipswich and satellite towns this Summer.

We’re sponsoring a large hare on behalf of CF Group and a smaller hare on behalf of CF Education.

Ipswich’s St Elizabeth Hospice on Foxhall Road is based near the CF Group headquarters, and provides valuable care for adults with progressive and life-limiting illness in the community, in their own home or in the hospice across Ipswich and the Great Yarmouth & Waveney area. They also have a young adult service, Zest, which supports young adults aged 14+. Two CF Group staff members, Jake Rush and Gemma Holland already support the charity through volunteering.

Valuable funds will be raised through the art trail, which will see members of the public enjoying discovering a trail of hand painted hares around Ipswich and beyond.

Last month, we were paired with the artist that will be decorating our large hare, having been so impressed with the submissions we were asked to choose between.

We’re delighted to be working with Karis Youngman, an illustrator from Tasburgh in Norfolk.

Karis will be bringing her incredible design to life to adorn our majestic large hare. We can’t wait to see it come together. We’re keeping her plans under wraps for now but whilst we await the big reveal, we caught up with Karis to learn more about her artistic background and why she loves being involved in Wild in Art trails.

Discovering art

“I’ve always been interested in art, and I think one of my earliest influences was seeing the Wild in Art trails near me. I remember visiting one in Norwich when I was 9 or 10. I think it really influenced me as I didn’t realise people could do something like that as a job.

“I was home educated so wasn’t introduced to various forms of art in a traditional way. I took part in the national Arts Award programme, completing bronze, silver and gold levels, which means I have an equivalent of a college-level qualification, but I’m entirely self-taught. That worked best for me as it let me follow my own interests.

“It was really clear from the outset that my passion lies in illustration. I love making stories and characters up, then bringing them to life. Looking back, I was always doodling during home schooling, even when I should have been concentrating on other subjects, so there were early signs!

“My mum is a journalist and author and it’s through her work that I received my first commission. Mum was writing a book called ‘walking with children’, giving ideas on activities and games to play with children whilst walking, and the publishers were keen for some illustrations to accompany it. I submitted some, and before long they wanted more than 100 from me to illustrate the whole book - I had my first job!

“I went on to illustrate another of my mum’s books and have done many more, including a recent book on the dark side of Jane Austen.”

A love of the Art Trails

“The art trails organised through Wild in Art have been a big part of my artistic journey. I’ve seen every trail in Norfolk, and I also used them as part of my Arts Award. Part of what we had to do was to visit exhibitions and review them.

“I knew I wanted to be involved as an artist and have now been lucky enough to paint for a few. In 2021, I painted ‘Wandering Lions’ on a cow for Cambridge, then I painted two owls for the Big Hoot 2022 in Ipswich (‘Parliament of Owls’ and ‘Merlyn’). In 2022 I painted a woolly mammoth on his travels around Norfolk for the Norfolk trail, and an elephant for Southend-on–Sea in 2023. This year I’ll be painting a big hare and a mini hare for Hop to It, and two elephants for Go, Go Safari in Norfolk.

How the magic happens

“The hare has now arrived and is safely in my garage ready for me to begin work. First up, I unpack it, check it over and make any repairs as necessary. I’ll then be washing it down so it’s completely clean for painting.

“My process then begins with drawings in a dedicated sketchbook. I plan out all the characters and designs as much in advance as I can, then I enlarge them, and move them around the sculpture. It’s a flexible process as transferring something from a thought in my head to a 2d drawing to a 3d shape is always a battle.

“I then sketch onto the sculpture using coloured pencils, usually light blues and light browns for each element, as they don’t show up beneath the paint. Then I paint over them with acrylics. Finally, the Wild in Art team will varnish it so that it’s as resilient as possible against the elements.”

Why it matters

“I always go and see my sculpture in place when the trails go live. It’s amazing to see it, especially when you see people’s faces light up when they see the sculptures. You see young kids running up to look at the animals and they’re so excited. I also like talking to the families, pointing out things in the artwork they may have missed the first time.

“It’s great to be paired with the CF Group as a sponsor, and to hear that they’ll be involving the children they work with in designing their hare. I loved the trails when I was growing up and I hope that by taking part, they might be inspired to put their names forward as artists in the future.

“I’ll also look forward to seeing the sculptures being auctioned off to raise even more money for the hospice. I love it when the public fall in love with a sculpture and take it to their hearts. It’s a joy to hear. My mammoth was one of the most visited sculptures in the Norwich art trail and funnily enough, someone in my village bought him, so he’s almost back home with me!”

Follow Karis via Instagram.

Read more about the art trail here.