First Brush with the Elements: 20th Feb - April: view all

Art is a new direction for Katie since beginning art classes five years ago. She has a PhD in Chemistry from the University of London and worked as a patent attorney specialising in nanotechnology.

However, she says she "has always been deeply intrigued by representations of nature".

Originally from Otago and still there often, Katie is inspired by the southern landscapes, its clear light, its shades. The Hawkdun Range is a particular feature in her work, often appearing in backgrounds. 

A resident of Auckland's North Shore, Katie also enjoys painting the Shore's icons such as Rangitoto Island and Pohutukawa trees.

She began art using ballpoint pen and has produced a significant body of work, especially portraits of people and pets, including a number of commissions.

She took up painting two and a half years ago and came to her pointillist-like style in a eureka moment in a painting class. She enjoys painting people's houses on request. 

Katie says as well as enjoying the journey through art making, exploring light dark, contrasts, and temperature intensity for example, she is now enjoying discovering connections with how art history and theory connect to what she has already experienced and experimented with in her painting.

Katie lives "with the 5 important males in her life - her two dogs, two sons, husband and cat (in no particular order!)"