About me
Hello and welcome
If you have browsed the shop you will find work from three series: 'Looking for the Nargun', 'Through the trees' and 'Treasures'. These are all related to nostalgic affection for my childhood home. The Mt Emu Creek, open paddocks of the Western District, River Red Gums and rocky outcrops are familiar ground. Trips along the Great Ocean Road, time spent in the Mallee and the Wimmera all play into the choices I make in these paintings. You are welcome to enjoy them as colourful, naive, whimsical seascapes and landscapes, but I invite you to delve a little deeper with me as I explore the psychological terrain of these recurring themes and motifs and painting techniques. The capacity to observe the beauty and complexity of nature, draw meaning from it and, through it, experience self-growth and renewal, is an opportunity that art offers both the artist and the viewer.
Looking for the Nargun
Have you read 'The Nargun and the Stars' ? It had a profound impact on me when I read it as a child, living on the banks of the Mt Emu Creek, where I imagined the rocky outcrops coming to life, just as the book forewarned. I wasn't scared of the slow moving Nargun, just in awe of its power. This spellbinding story by Patricia Wrightson, has recently been in my thoughts again; its environmental message remains as relevant today, as it was when it was written in 1974. In this series of paintings, my aim is to express large rocky shapes in pinks and golds looming behind the gum trees, to capture the essence of a quintessential Australian bush landscape and the steady strength of the land.
Through the trees
Looking out toward the horizon across the sea or open paddocks is restorative and inspiring. You can definitely enjoy the work as fresh, modern and vibrant seascapes and landscapes, evoking the comfort of places we know. As I paint this series I consider what the subject matter and techniques symbolize. The trees offer shade and protection, a retreat, familiarity and safety, but they may also represent the attitudes, beliefs and people that hold us back from striving toward the horizon; our potential. Looking out to sea or across the plains is restorative and calming. It gives us a chance to reflect, relax and dream of what is beyond the horizon. in this series I invite you to explore my use of different techniques. I use controlled, hard edge painting alongside willful and unpredictable poured paint. The trees are gnarly and deeply textured, the horizon is clean and clear, the push and pull of comfort and striving is ever present in us all.
Treasures
Do you notice the solitary gum tree in a paddock as you drive by? Do you visit a creek or river and admire the river red gum gently leaning over the water? As a child of the Western District in Victoria, I have been admiring these trees all my life. It feels like the right time to take on the challenge of capturing these unique beauties, before they are gone. In this large, original painting I want to celebrate the tree as a natural treasure, standing like a sentinel in an otherwise treeless paddock or gracing the river bank. I'm saying to each tree, "I see you, I appreciate you, I love you and you are important". I am also saying it to anyone else who sees themselves in this tree. Like us, each gum tree is unique in its gnarly, wizened, weather beaten beauty. In this painting I have used fluid acrylics, textured brush marks and delicate layers of colour to express the shape and patterns, light and shade, nooks and crannies of the tree. This is juxtaposed against the soft, controlled gradation of pastel colours that give the painting depth and enhances the gravitas of the tree.
My gallery in the Block Arcade in Ballarat and home studio in Haddon are both open by appointment 10-4 weekdays.
You can also find my work for sale on Bluethumb Online Gallery, Art Lovers Australia Online Gallery and Redbubble
Thanks for visiting,
Kate x
More about me
I am an artist living on Wadawurrung country, just outside Ballarat, Victoria. From the Wimmera and Western District to the Great Ocean Road, my local environment is an inspiring force, and it drives my creation of calm, flowing and fresh acrylic paintings. I studied visual arts at the University of Ballarat in the early 2000s. I have always enjoyed painting and dabbling in three-dimensional work, but the immediacy of acrylics gives me the freedom I need to work quickly and prolifically. I have been working as a full time artist for five years. I work from my studio in Haddon and my gallery in Ballarat.
In response to the impact of COVID on arts events, four local artists and I established Hidden Gems Artist Studios (@hidden_gems_artist_studios) in 2021. As a collective, we began opening our five art spaces on the first weekend of each month as a mini country arts trail. Initially we opened between ‘lockdowns’ and we continue to collaborate and open our home studios regularly.
Prizes
2023
Finalist
Petite Pieces Exhibition
Aspire Gallery Brisbane
2019
Winner
Buninyong Art Prize and Exhibition – Best Abstract
2001
Winner
University of Ballarat Arts Academy
Final Year Acquisition Prize
Community Arts Projects
2022
Smythesdale Community Mural Painting
2021
Smythesdale Community Banner Project – lead artist
Smythesdale Community Mural Painting
Exhibitions
2023
‘Place’ Golden Plains Arts Inc Annual Exhibition
Mercure Hotel Ballarat
Annual Exhibition
Smythesdale Art and Music Fiesta
‘Petite Pieces’ Exhibition
Aspire Gallery Brisbane
2022
‘Real and imagined’
Golden Plains Arts Inc Annual Exhibition
Mercure Hotel Ballarat
Annual Exhibition
Smythesdale Art and Music Fiesta
2021
Hidden Gems Exhibition
Art Trax Gallery Beaufort
‘Moving Forward’
Golden Plains Arts Inc Annual Exhibition
Mercure Hotel Ballarat
Annual Exhibition
Smythesdale Art and Music Fiesta
2020
Solo Exhibition
Western District Skin Cancer Service
Ballarat
2019
Buninyong Art Prize and Exhibition
Buninyong
Annual Exhibition
Smythesdale Art and Music Fiesta
2018
‘Buy Art, Buy Local’ Exhibition
The Lost Ones Contemporary Art Gallery
Ballarat
2015
Exhibition and Demonstration
Golden Plains Arts Trail
2014
Exhibition and Demonstration
Golden Plains Arts Trail
2013
‘Tactile Pleasures’ Exhibition
Apollo Bay
