Being able to bring something vibrant to life that didn’t exist before is a beautiful experience for Kate. She finds the detail of her chosen subject completely immersive; she sees so much more than a plant or a bird, there is light, shade, bold forms and colours you never thought existed. Kate seeks to provide the viewer with the wellness effect she gets from observing these subjects, the joy and intensity they bring, the awareness that an ordinary thing can be extraordinary. She sees beauty in life that many may walk past, it’s visual poetry.

Kate paints in bright watercolour utilizing a glazing technique made up of many layers of translucent paint creating a crisp realistic image. Using a saturated colour palette, the paint is applied to thick cotton paper.

Bold shadows often feature in Kate’s work, she is fascinated by the interplay between form and shadow. A distinctive aesthetic can be achieved when an object is placed against a dramatic shadow, like a footprint, anchoring the subject to ground, providing an imprint of something that is often impermanent.

Kate wants the viewer to tap into the visual processing parts of their brain. The anatomy of a plant has its own unique universe to discover, she wants the viewer to experience the complexity and connectivity of each individual leaf, petal, stem, root, and the shadow it casts.