Artists Bio and Statement
May 2007
Like most artists, I internalize and interpret what I see as a continual stream of visual information – constantly doodling and mentally painting when I can’t be physically painting. Having been educated in England I had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe. I gained exposure from an early age to artists and masters from many periods of art history. The effect of these experiences emerges in my paintings as I work.
I attended college at the University of London, Queens College with most of my art classes being taken at Chelsea School of Art. I actually snuck into most of those classes because I was an Art History/Humanities major and didn’t have many fine art classes in my curriculum. It seemed like a more marketable education at the time. I also snuck into the Courtauld Institute on a regular basis – but they had smaller classes so they eventually figured it out. I didn’t study Graphic Design or Commercial Art at all – in my infinite 18 year old wisdom I thought it would be a “Cop Out” HA! Guess what I’m doing now!
Early promise gave way to the practicalities of life, motherhood and making a living – and it was years before the siren song of the easel drew me back (forgive the pun). I’ve been back for several years now – and taking every opportunity to paint as well as workshops whenever I can. I still have the practicalities of life and the motherhood but with experience and God's help I've learned to balance things a little better.
I paint primarily in Oil or Acrylic in what is commonly described as an Alla Prima or Bravura style. My Plein Air work is authentic and usually executed in oil on linen panel. My studio pieces are Acrylic or Oil and are often quite large – at the moment I enjoy doing hugely colorful flower pieces that make one feel as though one is sitting in a meadow.
I enjoy working “En Plein Air” because I think I can capture the colors better in that immediate environment. On location, in natural light, our eyes can see variations of color and value that we can never catch in photographs. I love being outside and the excitement of having a limited time in which to capture that light. It’s not always convenient, and it’s often down right uncomfortable (sunburn, bugs, wind, rain etc etc) but I really think my Plein Air paintings have an immediacy about them that I couldn’t have captured in the studio.
A Graphic Designer and Commercial Artist, Kate co-owns a commercial printing & promotions company in Mount Dora, Florida with her husband. They have four kids; 2 or sometimes 3 dogs; 3 cats, at last count; and 2 turtles. The turtles are the least trouble.