The Artist

Katie centres her work primarily on the landscapes of Wales, and its changing seasons, which she renders through rich patterns, forms and colours. When viewed as a whole, her paintings are of recognisable landscapes and natural forms but on closer inspection they disclose detailed abstract patterns composed of intricate designs and subtle colour harmonies.

Her paintings explore the play of scale from macro to micro and the movement between representational and abstract. They are enjoyed on different levels, with the viewer constantly finding new areas to explore and be drawn into. Her practice is a prism through which what’s out there is refracted into a unique personal vision. Countless natural forms are boiled down into simple motifs that are, each in their turn, redeployed in tight and seamlessly orchestrated whole.

Significantly, subtle variations of tone and colour are built up graphically, allowing for a plethora of historical and cultural references to jostle for attention across the picture plane: mosaic and stained glass, Persian and Indian miniatures, Arabic calligraphy, Viennese art deco, 50’s textiles, 70’s psychedelia. Although it is hard to conceive of these landscapes as real places, they are perhaps the idealised landscapes and vistas of the mind. Landscapes that we may imagine to inhabit free from the impact of human destruction, places of refuge, calm, beauty and peace.